Why Camp Location is Key to the Best Safari
There are two main types of location to stay in on safari: private concessions or national parks. Occasionally, in cases such as Tanzania’s Ngorongoro Crater, there are no accommodation options within the confines of a park, and therefore you will day trip in from a lodge outside its parameters.
But 80% of the time, and especially on an Africa Odyssey safari, you want to be in the thick of the wild action.
Private conservancies – such as those which jigsaw the Okavango Delta, or Kenya’s Laikipia – offer an unparalleled experience in terms of exclusivity: you could be zooming around all day and only come across just one or two other vehicles, meaning you can enjoy that rare wild dog sighting all to yourself.
© Little Mombo Camp
Privately owned land also means you’re not restricted by park regulations, which means activities are varied and exciting. Although you can sometimes enjoy night drives in parks such as Ruaha in southern Tanzania and Zambia’s South Luangwa National Park, in the Serengeti, for instance, it isn’t permitted.
Contrastingly, if you take a trip to one of the big privately owned ranches in northern Kenya, you can quad bike, horse ride, fly camp, and even ride camels if that’s your thing. The horizon is the limit. This makes a private safari bliss for families with children, in particular.
© Kicheche Camps
Botswana’s luxurious Okavango Delta private concessions offer boating, fishing, mekoro rides, and horse riding too. But for the exclusive experience of a private concession – particularly in Botswana – you do naturally pay more.
But while we could rave all day about private concessions, there’s a reason patches of wildlife-packed wilderness are national parks: they are often must-sees. In Tanzania for instance, you have to be in the north of the Serengeti National Park in order to catch one of those mighty Great Migration river crossings, where wildebeest launch themselves into the jaws of the Mara River.
We can’t stress enough how important camp location is – but there are many variables which determine what we’d recommend; from the time of year you’re visiting, to your budget, to your style. Just give us a call and we’ll guide you to the right place.
