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Experience

Fly Camping

One or two nights in a light camp pitched away from the lodge: canvas, a bucket shower, dinner by the fire and a walk back in the morning.

At a glanceOn land
How longOne or two nightsOne or two nights out from the main camp
How hardModerateA walk out and a walk back; the camp itself asks nothing of you
SeasonDry monthsOffered in the drier stretches, when the ground and the walking allow

You walk out in the afternoon with a light pack, and a crew goes ahead of you with the rest. By the time you arrive there is a small line of canvas tents in a clearing you have never seen on a map, a bucket shower hanging in a tree, a long-drop dug that afternoon, and a fire with dinner on it.

Then it gets dark, and the difference between this and the lodge becomes obvious. There is no generator, so what you hear at two in the morning is whatever is out there. Someone stays awake and keeps the fire going. The bedding is good, and that part matters more than anything else and the camps that do this well know it.

In the morning you have coffee, and you walk back by a different route while the camp comes down behind you. Nothing stays behind but the fire ring, and by the following week that has gone too.

One night is enough for most people, two if the walking suits you. It works best in the middle of a longer safari, as the night that breaks up a run of lodges.

Good to know

  • Not every camp offers it, and those that do offer it seasonally. We check availability against your dates before it goes in an itinerary.
  • Minimum ages, party sizes and whether an armed ranger walks with you are set by the camp and the reserve. We confirm rather than assume.
  • Pack light and pack a torch. Everything you need for the night walks out with you or goes ahead on the vehicle.
  • It is simple by design. If a plug socket and a solid door matter to you, this is the wrong night out and we will say so.

Which camps offer a fly-camp night on which dates, what it adds to a stay, the minimum ages and party sizes, whether an armed ranger is required on the walk and what the reserve's rules currently allow are all set per camp and per reserve. We confirm what applies to your dates in writing before you pay anything.

There is no generator, so what you hear at two in the morning is whatever is out there.

Where to do it

Where we arrange fly camping

Start from the destination, and we will build the days around this.

Or browse every itinerary andthe rest of the experiences.

Questions we are actually asked

What is actually in the camp?
Small canvas tents with proper bedrolls, a bucket shower rigged in a tree, a long-drop dug that afternoon, and a fire with dinner cooking on it. A crew goes ahead and puts it up while you are walking, and takes it down after you leave. Nothing stays behind.
How rough is it?
Simple, but not uncomfortable. The bedding is good, the food is cooked properly and there is hot water when you want a wash. What you do not get is electricity, a solid wall or a door, and for some people that is the whole appeal and for others it is a reason to stay at the lodge.
Is it safe?
Camps are chosen and set by people who do this constantly, the fire stays lit and someone is awake through the night. Whether an armed ranger walks with you depends on the reserve's current requirements, which vary and which we confirm with the camp rather than assume.
Do you walk there?
Usually, with an afternoon's walk out, arriving as the camp is finished, and a different route back after breakfast. Some camps drive you out and walk you home instead, depending on the ground and the distance. The walking is the reason to do it rather than a detail of it.
Can children come?
Some camps take them and some set a minimum age, and it varies by reserve as well as by operator. It is one of the first things we check once we know which camp you are staying at.

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