AFRICA - ACCOMMODATIONS

Our first camp was VUMBURA (vum'brah) in Botswana. Our accommodations were varied by camp but we enjoyed them all ... The one thing I really, really enjoyed was that every time we returned to camp - from first arrival to returning from twice-daily safaris - there was someone there to greet us and most times we were given moist, scented towels to clean our hands. Talk about feeling appreciated! Here are two people to greet us when we first arrived.


We had basically one big room with step-down living room - outside private plunge pool - decks with shaded seating or not and a view of the river - the Okavango Delta. The inside shower was a corner of the room, closed off by curtains - large enough for 20 people! There was an outside shower also. The closets and storage were behind the beds and we had desk and electrical outlets for most countries. They thought of just about everything.


The toilet was a kick. The one 'wall' was just screen with a view of the foliage outside. We had lizards sunning themselves in there and unfortunately we had a few 'flat spiders' ... aptly named ... and we emptied the DOOM spray that was provided.




Our two khayas were a 5-minute walk along raised, wooden walkways from the main section of the camp. We didn't mind because after we'd eaten all the fantastic food, we needed the exercise. This is our walkway from the main one to our khaya. Nothing was locked unless we were inside then we had hooks only.



Someone would come by and wake us in the morning around 6 am - I always set my iPhone alarm 15-30 minutes earlier so I could shower. This is the dining 'room' - always al fresco - and our breakfast buffet. We'd leave for safari at 7 am, return about 11 or so, lunch at 1, tea at 3, out at 3:30 back around 7, cocktails and appetizers around the fire pit, dinner at 8 or so.



Our second camp was DUMA TAU, not far from Vumbura and on a different part of the Okavango Delta.

Our welcoming committee here consisted of the camp manager and one of the men from our first camp who'd been transferred here so as our vehicle arrived, there were greeting choruses of 'BRYAN'.




Duma Tau is one of the oldest camps so it has the dark wood and is a little smaller. This is the bedroom (I roomed with my sister here) with desk and plugs, wardrobe and shelving with the sprays, drinks, etc. You can see the nice deck to the right which had a view of the fauna and the river in the background.




This is the spacious bathroom and another neat shower arrangement. The walls were flexible with zippered windows but we mostly kept everything open. Again, nothing locked but honest people.





We were a little closer to the main camp at Duma Tau but they had the same raised wooden walkways - this is the walkway to our khaya.







Here's the breakfast dining area - al fresco again - well appointed. The cocktail area was under cover and there was a long dining table for dinner, also under cover.






Here's Paula and Babs in the dining area - lunch I believe - and you can see the lovely view we had from there.






Our third camp was TOKA LEYA where we stayed on the very high Zambezi (zambay'zee) River. No safaris here - but we had a day-trip into Zimbabwe to see Victoria Falls from that side of the river - and we visited a local village which is sponsored by Toka Leya.


I didn't take a photo of our welcoming committee here because we drove on a winding road and reached the camp without time to take one .. but here's Danni, the manager. She welcomed us upon arrival, was attentive and so friendly while we were there, and said a sad goodbye when we left.








The khayas here were superb - the walls were heavy-duty vinyl over wooden frames - regular glass windows and sliding glass doors with LOCKS! And air conditioning. The bathroom was behind the bedroom and it offered inside and outside showers.





Outside each khaya was a solar panel set-up for hot water. Danni said the power costs had reduced substantially since their installation. What a great idea seeing that there's so much sunlight there.






This is what the inside of the room looked like - to the left was a desk and plugs for recharging, etc. Behind the beds was the bathroom, wardrobe, toilet and inside and outside showers.






This is the deck in front of the khaya - I'd sit out there in the morning to put my makeup on (yes, I wore makeup - didn't want to scare anyone). The glass doors were our entry into the sitting area (with desk and plugs) and bedroom.




This is the view from the deck looking out towards the Zambezi - sorry it's a little dark but that's only because I didn't set the camera correctly.







Our lunch was on a deck above the Zambezi. The tables were decorated exquisitely - with salt and pepper in small bowls and always with interesting flora.





This is the cocktail area where we waited for dinner to be served and caught up on the excitement of the day. You can see my three friends and Danni, standing with the hors d'oeuvres.





These are some of the dining tables - almost too attractive to sit at. The food was exceptional - as it was in all our camps - and beautifully presented.













Our final stop was at RATTRAY'S in Mala Mala, South Africa. This was the most luxurious camp of all - our khayas were luxury bungalows with decks, gardens and a plunge pool.


















Here's our khaya (bungalow) - what a shame we didn't spend more time inside - it had everything we could require and more. How lovely it was to enter and leave the khaya.


















The only snag was that we had a king bed instead of twins so as Babs was poorly, she had the big bed and I took the small one which was equally comfortable.





Between the bed and this living room was a desk, with laptop, stationery, etc. The living room looked out the sliding glass door onto the back deck and across the river.





This was our breakfast table if we chose to eat in the room - outside the window you can see the plunge pool and deck furniture.








Here's the back deck, plunge pool, lovely view and Babs.








This was the most popular place in camp. We had our cocktails here before dinner was served. Dinner was eaten in the boma (an open, natural space that provides safety and shelter in the bush) - a circular area with 15' fencing, a buffet and circular row of tables.




Once a week, the staff put on entertainment for the visitors. Here the women are singing typical African songs and it stirred the man to perform native dances for us. It was really memorable.








We ate mostly outside although there was inside dining. When we firt arrived, lunch was over but they had kept food warm for us.