Bush Camps are perhaps the ideal balance between more rustic “fly” or “mobile” camps and more permanent camps offering a more advanced luxury experience. Bush Camps tend to be a southern African phenomenon, because they are often closely allied to walking in certain parts of Zambia and Botswana.
These tend to be rustic in nature, with a tendency to blend in very closely with the natural bush and, as well as being sometimes “tented”, can often be semi-permanent. As such they might be made up of a handful of thatch-and-reed cottages or tents or simply a stand alone special bush camp with just one cottage or tent, perfect for those seeking a little privacy for a night or two.
Because of the special place that such camps have in the way a safari operates in areas where walking is prevalent, bush camps tend not to be a destination in themselves, but more places where one might spend a short period (the aforementioned night or two) as part of a walk from A to B, or as a more permanent alternative to flycamping “out” from one’s main camp.
However bush camps need not lack the essential comforts! A bed that generates a really good night’s sleep, good food, hot “bucket” style showers, a campfire, decent wine and good company with your guide – and the full gamut of the ever-vast African night sky. What more could a soul desire?
Some bush camps even have rooms on split levels, with the bedroom “up” and the bathroom “down”. And all will be en suite to a greater or lesser extent. Bush Camps also offer a truly natural experience, with the game coming close by at night and the night sounds being, in many cases, very close by indeed as such camps are often sited in or around groves of trees.
There’s actually very little that can better the feel of a walking safari.
Without having the separation of being in a vehicle one’s senses, perhaps because one feels a little more vulnerable even despite being accompanied by expert guides and trackers, become much more attuned to the bush. Sight, sound and smell become more immediate and at the end of the walk, your bush camp becomes a haven of comfort whilst at the same time being fully part of nature.
Bush camps are also excellent for exclusive use. A family, small party of friends or just a couple can use the camp as an adventurous “pied-a-nature”; somewhere where memories will be forged in the firelight and stories told at dinner, where slumber will be deep but dreams punctuated by the dislocated sounds of the night-time bush.
Fun, fulfilling & fabulously authentic – bush camps are an essential part of Africa!
Where? Zambia, Botswana
By Marcela Kunova - 20th April 2017
Nicola Shepherd, founder and CEO of The Exploration Company, organises unusual trips for HNW and UHNW clients ranging from birthday parties at an Indian Maharajah's palace to reliving Sir Vivian Fuchs's 1950s expedition to the South Pole. Citywealth caught ...
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