Fly camping and Sleepouts – what is the difference?
Fly Camping – This is is one of the most extraordinary and unique experiences in Africa, to be as close to nature as possible, in a safe yet exhilarating situation and we couldn’t recommend it highly enough for those that are game! In its purist form fly camping is where you will walk out from camp or your vehicle on a walking safari and you will arrive at a predetermined spot, set up an amazing lightweight camp with your guide, a scout and a chef (don’t worry you wont be carrying the camp!), you will spend an amazing night under the stars having had a simply barbecue and the following day you will continue on your journey!
Sleepout – A sleepout is a more permanent structure, often around a tree or on stilts that has varying degrees of luxury but usually a full size and very comfy bed, sometimes with a canopy and sometimes without. A big difference is that this is often not done as part of a walk or an excursion, depending on the set up you will head to the sleepout for dinner or shortly after dinner at your lodge or camp. You will then be left in the most romantic of settings bathed in starlight
Below are a few examples of different styles, these are all fantastic but there are many more, if you are interested in an experience like this then let us know when you enquire and we can build it into your amazing tailor made itinerary.
One of the best walking and fly camping experiences in Africa, the “Return to the Wild” excursion leaves one of Norman Carr’s iconic bush camps on foot after tea, walking to a lovely spot and settling in for an evening of campfire stories with your guide.
This is an amazing luxury property that offers an incredible luxury sleepout, you will have a romantic candle lit dinner atop your wild platform before spending a night under the stars with a loved one. This is the perfect thing to try for more adventurous honeymoon couples or those on special trips.
Kichaka Expeditions is run by the fantastic Molli and Noelle, this couple are an excellent team and run a great operation one of the best national parks in Africa. Here you can decide on the day if you would like to go out and spend a night under the stars or we can arrange an even more adventurous mutli-day excursion.
This is a wonderful option in a remote part of this beautiful park. This is a great option for those that have never tried this sort of thing or are a little apprehensive, the sleepout deck is above your luxury safari tent meaning that you are only a few steps away should you decide you would rather be inside…having said this it is still a wonderfully experience and we have not heard of many heading inside.
Without wanting to spoil the whole experience for you by going into minute detail below is an excerpt from a blog written by Tom while working in the South Luangwa. If you would like more details about what to expect from this experience or would like an itinerary including something similar then get in touch.
“I wake up and 02.30, disorientated and dazed, it takes me a few seconds to realise where I am and what has woken me. I am lying in the dry bed of the Luwi River in one of the most remote parts of the South Luangwa National Park and the noise that has woken me is a territorial call of a lion, I look up at the stars through my mosquito net, roll over and go back to sleep.
We walk out from one of our bush camps in the afternoon being guided through the wilderness, seeing what we can see and learning about all the small elements that make up this incredible eco system until we reach a spot in the river where some equipment has been dropped earlier that day. The whole thing runs with military prisicion, you arrive before sundown and your guide, scout and chef set to putting the camp together. The sleepout consists of a comfortable roll out mattress under a square mosquito net held up by bamboo poles, a cooking fire and a small table and chairs, there is also a toilet tent and a support vehicle located nearby. The whole campsite is surrounded by a handful of camp fires that are kept burning all night.
As you sit with your beer, G&T or wine watching the sun go down it is an incredible feeling to know that you are the only people around, there are no camps, no vehicles, just you and the wild. It is never clearer than when the stars start to come out, even in a camp with only a few solar powered lights the stars can be partially obscured, here there is nothing to stop you seeing them in all their magnificence. The first time you see the stars in a remote part of Africa is something that will stay with you forever, for me it was northern Namibia when I was only 15yrs old, I remember looking up with disbelief that the sky could be so bright.
The next morning we have a quick cooked breakfast and start to break camp, there will be a crew here later to finish up so we set off towards where we heard the lions calling and towards our next destination. Unfortunately we did not find the lions on our walk to Kakuli camp but we came across elephants, giraffe and found leopard tracks. The guides knowledge and experience is incredible and is what makes this such a worthwhile thing to do for anyone with an adventurous spirit. Although we did not find our lions this time, we did later that day on another walk but that one can wait….”