What happens on safari
... here is what you can expect
How do you move around?
Typically, you will arrive at either Maun or Kasane International Airports.
From here there will be a meet a greet service waiting for you and they will escort you to your charter aircraft and you will be flown to your first lodge, or into one of the National Park airstrips if you are going a mobile safari. Some mobile safaris start with a drive into the National Parks instead of a charter flight.
Arriving at your destination airstrip, you will be met by your guide and transferred to your lodge of mobile campsite.
Click the link below for more details on charter flights
How do I get from camp to camp
Most safaris being lodge safaris, you will be transferred from one lodge to another by charter aircraft.
The times for these charters are not scheduled and are only set the day before travel. The manager of your lodge with inform you of the time of your flight…. At all times, you will wake up in the morning for a normal activity before heading back to your lodge for a bite to eat before getting ready to depart for your next lodge. You will arrive at your next lodge in time to settle in before your afternoon activity.
What can you expect from the accommodation?
Most safaris here are to either the fly-in lodges or the mobile camps… although the vast majority are to the lodges.
The lodges in this region are remote, and as such the offer an all inclusive packages, including all accommodation, food, drinks, all alcohol plus all activities offered as standard by the lodges… so all game drives, boating, mokoro etc…. its only extra activities such as helicopter trips which are not included.
Lodges are semi permanent structures, meaning that in conservation sensitive areas, particularly in Botswana and Zambia etc, they are designed to be able to be removed and leave little to no footprint… so many do not use concrete or bricks, and are made of canvas, gumpoles and thatch…. This does not make them simple though as in the case of Botswana, they can the most ornate accommodation in Africa….. just cleverly built.
Only in South Africa, due to their strong infrastrure and road networks, are they made more from concrete, brinks and mortar.
GENERAL CONDITIONS:
In general they will all have running running hot water, full electricity (in modern times this is full solar), so no need to worry about lights at night or charging camera batteries etc… Showers are standard, with some having baths. And the more private upmarket lodges will also have private plunge pools, a mini bar and perhaps aircon.
The beds will be some of the most comfortable you will have ever slept on, with washed linen and sumptuous duvets.
LAUNDRY:
Most lodge will have a complimentary laundry service, which negates the need to bring too much clothing.
AIRCON:
Aircon is one thing which is getting stronger as solar energy becomes more efficient, but they do not all have this
WIFI:
Most camps now have some form of WIFI…. be it in the general area or in your rooms… The use of STARLINK is more prevalent now, allowing you to have very fast and very accessible internet in many of the camps.
FOOD:
The absolute truth is that you will not go home hungry. Food is of a western standard, and is very good, regardless of the star quality of the lodge. We also ways make sure we ask you about any of these before hand, so that the lodge is pre-warned of any needs.
Any food allergies and preferences such as VEGETARIAN is easily catered for
To see a little more about Mobile Safari accommodation, click the button below.
What's the vehicle like?
Generally speaking, virtually all lodges have very large 9 seater “game viewer” vehicles… these are converted large Toyota Landcruisers with no sides and a detachable canvas roof top…. this can pretty much be said of all lodges and mobiles.
They guarantee you a great view as for every row of 3 seats, these do not use the space in the middle, so everyone is assured of a “window seat” (even though there are no windows)… so every car has 3 rows of 3 seats, but they only use 6 of the seats, so its a max of 6 per large vehicles…. there are some lodges with a little more exclusivity who only use 4 of the seats in the rear, and budget oriented mobile safaris may use a specially converted vehicle housing 12 guests.
These vehicles will be equipped with charging ports for cameras and will have plenty of drinks and snack in the stow areas. Below are example of standard game viewer vehicles.
What about water activities?
There are two types of water activities, depending on the camps you visit, which can only be offered if there is enough water.
Firstly, Okavango Delta boating is undertaken on medium sized, open aluminium boating with an engine ate the rear… these are the best at coping with any sharp objects in the water, and keeping well away from hippos etc…. you will spend your activity boating in the varied landscapes of the Okavango, utizing the permanent or seasonal channels
Secondly, we have the mokoro, a very specialist water activity allowing to guide gently and silently through floodplain of channels. These use to be made out of the trunk of a sausage tree, but to be ecologically frie4ndly, they are relocated in fibreglass. The skill of the poler is essentials is its a fine balancing act, but these guys would have been born on the waterways and are experts of course… You can learn a little more about the mokoro with the bottom below.
To learn a little more about mokoros, click the link below
