Glamping—Let’s Talk Accommodations

There is so much to talk about when going on Safari that I wasn’t sure where I wanted to begin. So, I decided that we will all start with the campsite.

Campsite Crew

Before we talk “buildings”, let’s talk about the campsite crew. First, there is Annelies. She is the owner of Drumbeat Safaris (find her on Facebook), and she served as our cook. Her right hand man was Jimmy. He has worked for Annelies for years and is responsible for setting up the campsite, gathering water, starting the fires, digging the holes for our private toilets, and heating then bringing the water to us for face washing and showering. Yes, we had showers daily. Also along for the trip was Musi. He was invited because Annelies needed a second driver (Jimmy doesn’t drive.). He assisted and worked alongside Jimmy. When they needed to fetch the non potable water, Musi drove to get it.

Our campsite moved three times. We started in the Moremi Game Reserve. For this campsite we had waterfront property. The lake had all manner of wildlife including: hippos.

After a three night stay, our campsite crew took everything down and moved to Khwai. This location was near a recently flooded field and included nightly visits from Henry—our neighborly hyena. He must have enjoyed the thirst quenching water.

We had two nights in Khwai before we moved to Savuti. I’d love to share the photo of the leopard that stopped by my HEAD, but I was sleeping and have no photos. I think I’m glad I was sleeping. The animal tracks were enough to scare me.

Tents

Jenny and Mark had a tent. I had my own tent. Each employee had their own pop-up tent. Jenny was excited every night to hear the sounds. I was terrified every night at any sound. Jenny had a roommate. I was alone. Thankfully I had a downloaded children’s book on my phone (doing my librarian work), but there was a catch. The book was about a girl whose brother died in a car accident. So, each night I had to decide…did I want to fear for my life because of the sounds I heard outside (and once inside) my tent, or did I want to cry every night because the sad story was on repeat? I chose crying…and lots of praying.

Realistically I knew I was safe. Scotty had been giving tours over 30 years, and he never lost a camper. Vividly imagining, I thought I could be the first. I mean, it was hard listening to the hippo urinate right beside your tent. It was unbearable to hear the lions cheering as they caught a delicious and savory meal. And…it was terrifying when you realized something was IN your tent.

Okay, here’s the story. After dinner I decided to eat a power bar in my room. I asked if it would be okay to have snacks in the room (I know about bears in the US), and the reply was yes if it didn’t smell meaty 😂. My power bar was chocolatey NOT meaty. So, I ate it. I laid the wrapper down and went to sleep. Sometime, in the middle of the night, I heard it. Then I felt it. The loud sound of an animal scraping along the plastic parts of my tent. I laid as still as I could praying that I wouldn’t die a horrible death.

After thirty minutes, and I was still alive, I decided to turn on my flashlight. After all, if there was a leopard laying in my tent not killing me, I wanted to see it.

All I saw was the wrapper. It had moved right by the front door. Hmmm…how did it get there? Then, upon closer inspection, I saw a nose peeking through the tent where all the zippers converged. In an act of great bravery, I got up, crumpled the wrapper, and put my fisted hand under my leg and all the blankets. I kept thinking…if it can still smell my wrapper, I have just now made my leg a delicious treat (good thing I had that rabies shot). So, I braved getting out of my bed once more. I moved a crate in front of the door, and I grabbed my soap container. I was sure that if I put the wrapper in there, the soapy smell would confuse my potential attacker and render me safe for the evening.

Then, I tried to sleep. Thirty minutes later I heard sound. This time I whipped out my trusty flashlight and saw the beast—a very small mouse. I clapped my hands loudly (that’s what Scotty did when checking for lions) while telling it to get out of my tent. It looked at me, shrugged its shoulders (or something like that) then reluctantly left—never to be seen again. As for me, I was up the rest of the night.

Now that I’ve shared my tent story, let me introduce you to my home away from home. At the front door there was a vanity table. It had water for teeth brushing, a flashlight, and a mirror (I never used the mirror). There were also some other health items there. Beside the vanity table was a cloth basin that was filled twice daily with warm water, a washcloth and a hand towel.

When you entered the tent, there were four things: a luggage rack, an incredibly comfortable bed, a table with a light, and a crate for placing clothes you’d need after your shower—or to place in front of the door to protect you from a mouse!

When you walked out the back door, you found the bathroom. There was a wooden pedestal that easily folds. Next to it was a bucket of dirt to scoop into the toilet after each use. There was a table that kept soap, shampoo, and lotion. And finally there was a shower on a pulley. Jimmy or Musi would walk to the back of the tent and lower the shower to the ground (outside the tent). Then they would pour the water into the bladder and raise it on the pulley. We’d hear, “Shower ready!” and know it was time. There was a lever that would release the water for the shower. It was divine.

At night when I needed to go the bathroom, I’d take my flashlight outside with me to make sure there were no leopards in the trees.

Dining Room

We would eat breakfast in chairs around the campfire. Before we arrived to the Safari, I was asked for my drink order. Since they usually have hot chocolate (my favorite), Brian didn’t mention it. However, the campsite was stocked with hot chocolate ONLY when there were kids in camp. Little did they know; I’m just a big kid.

Each morning we had a fruit medley, homemade bread with peanut butter or jam, and porridge. I was one of the only ones who loved breakfast even if there was no hot chocolate.

We dined under a tent for lunch and dinner. The food was always homemade and incredibly delicious. I ate most everything which is surprising. We had fish, mushrooms, chicken, beef, salad, pasta… You would never know the food wasn’t prepared in a fully stocked kitchen.

Kitchen

Annelies gave us a tour of the kitchen. Her oven was a metal box. Her stove was an open fire. She had a truck with a fridge and freezer, and the team had a prep table too. Jenny and I were in awe of this kitchen. How in the world could she make things that tasted so good?

And, that’s the accommodations tour. Annelies and Scotty told us we couldn’t walk around the camp in case we had surprise visitors. Did I mention the mouse?