Inside the Elephant Camp Luxury Tent
I was shown inside and greeted by a wardrobe and steamer trunk to store my gear. Arriving with my bright orange duffel bag and backpack instead of the luxury, designer luggage on wheels the other guests arrived with made me eschew the fancy storage area and live out of the bag as I had the past week. The floors were concrete (of course my shoes brought in the sand and dirt) and some of the walls could be rolled up, while other parts were sliding glass doors to open up and bring the outside that much closer to expose you to the elements.
On the left side of the room was the plush seating area with minibar area and local drink.
The bed was flanked on either side by the romantic vision of mosquito netting. It was in the center of the room where you could lay in bed and look out the sliding glass doors to watch animals in the distance (I would see buffalo when I awoke the next day). There was a table area with the electrical outlets in the floor and walkie talkie to contact the staff if you needed anything. On the table was a handwritten welcome letter from the house manager, Jonathan, which I found a very nice touch.
I was shown the air conditioning unit on the wall and provided instructions on how to use it – given that it was September, it was still hot outside and I would need to run the a/c and or fan inside (there would be a few electrical outages for which the backup generator would kick in). Yes, air conditioning was available in the middle of Zimbabwe -this was definitely a western convenience afforded luxury travelers.
The Elephant Camp Tent Bathroom
I was led to the bathroom and tried to contain my glee at the site of the travel magazine worthy decorated bathroom with a separate soaking tub, shower, sink area and of course the chandelier, because every tent needs one of them (sadly you can’t see it in the photo)! If I didn’t quite understand the “glamping” term, I did now.
The Elephant Camp Viewing Deck
I was then led to the deck and shown the outside shower area, my private plunge pool (yes, my own pool!!!) and the deck area with seating to enjoy the outdoors. I didn’t have enough time to properly enjoy this amenity – I should have had a bottle of wine to watch the sunset and enjoy the animal sightings but I had places to go.
The Elephant Camp Luxuries
My nearest neighbor was quite far away (there are 12 tents for 24 guests at the main camp) so my tent was a private oasis. Times like this when you wish someone else was with you to experience this and at the same time, it gives you pause if you overthink it. I had an indoor and outdoor shower as well as a soaking tub. Whatever you put in the hamper, the staff would wash and return the next day which was a great perk for me living out of my duffel bag and rotating clothes for the past week in Botswana. The room had a walkie talkie to contact staff if you needed to leave at night (you had to be escorted by staff to/from your room at night due to the fact that the animals can walk by and did mostly at night). There were so many other small details that made this luxury small boutique camp stand out.
I’m a hotel girl and this luxury room/tent/oasis definitely made me happy and it was all mine to enjoy for the next two days.
Victoria Falls Activities
While you might be tempted to stay in your tent and enjoy the pool and relax, I was keen to check off my “to do” list. Now normally, I’m not the checklist person but really this was a once in a lifetime visit as Zimbabwe was never on my radar before and I wasn’t sure it would be again.
The staff at The Elephant Camp drove me to Victoria Falls and gave me about two hours to explore (it was enough time given that it was low water season September and not crowded) before they would pick me up to bring me back to the property for my amazing dinner (the food was fantastic). The next day, I would ride a helicopter over Victoria Falls before enjoying afternoon tea at the historic 1904 built Victoria Falls Hotel on the way to many sundowners (happy hour drinks) on the Zambezi River sunset cruise.
On my final day, it was time to walk the hotel cat, Sylvester. She isn’t your normal cat, she is a cheetah (their ambassador) and she doesn’t quite walk at your pace, she runs and its beautiful to see. We walked the property and it reminded me of my walking safari in the Okavanago Delta as I could see animal tracks.
Luxury Glamping at The Elephant Camp Victoria Falls
I stay in luxury hotels usually because of hotel points, but in Zimbabwe, I chose to pay for the luxury tent at The Elephant Camp and it was a nice contrast to the other parts of my safari journey. I met Helen who inspired me and had a memorable time with Sylvester and the staff at the property. Hopefully, one day I can return to The Elephant Camp, because I’d like to enjoy a sundowner in my pool watching the animals go by in the distance as well as the other activities they offer that I didn’t have time to do.
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The Safari Itinerary Planning With a Travel Agent
I printed my draft African safari itinerary on the color printer and carried it back and forth to work each day for over a month to research more about each place and see if the general feel was right for me. I was still a bit back and forth on the tent and the small bush plane flights. My 27 days trip to Africa would essentially be 5-6 trips – it was a big commitment and despite pricing out much less than a regular tour group would charge for a solo traveler, I was a bit hesitant to book it. I love the idea of travel, finding the award space and yet making it real gives me a bit of pause -not sure why really (ok, I have a few theories but let’s not go there now).
With my hotel savings using points, I inquired about upgrading my Kruger safari to the Sabi Sands private game reserve. It was initially outside of my budget but I thought I could now include it (I don’t ask the price per night because I knew it would be insane as I was a solo travel subject to this, that and the other fees). I had read in one travel guide that Sabi Sands was a SKIN trip (of course my mind wandered just like yours) but stood for Spend the Kids Inheritance Now for the one time incredible safari experience. The travel agent was able to add a Sabi Sands property and I was thrilled.
There was only one part of the safari itinerary left that gave me pause – it was at the end when I would join a third party tour operator for the Garden Tour from Capetown to Port Elizabeth – the hotels used were part of a local chain and neither were highly rated – one was rated last and I believe one comment said “I found a flea” so you could understand my concern despite the other good reviews. The tour was set, did not deviate and there was no other way for me to see the Garden Route with my dates so I decided that I could always change hotels at my expense if needed or sleep in the tour van (ok, not really but in my mind I needed a few options).
So with the safari itinerary set, my adventure was good to go, I emailed the OK to the travel agent and she sent me the invoice to pay. Since it was less than two months out, the entire amount was due in South African Rand and US dollars so I found my credit card without foreign exchange fees and booked it online. Funny what you can book online without getting called by your credit card – when I tried to buy something at Wal-Mart my credit card was flagged for fraud and shut down but spending x amount (over my tolerance) and out of the country online was OK- never can figure out the fraud alerts with credit cards.
The Ultimate Safari Itinerary
The final safari itinerary would be twenty seven days mixing luxury with points and cash.
Johannesburg (overnight at the airport) at the Intercontinental (using points & cash rate)
Botswana
- Okavango Delta – 3days/2 nights (4 safari walks)
- Chobe Safari Park – 3 days/2 nights (2 game drives, 1 boat drive)
Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe – 3 days/2 nights
White River (overnight as too late to get to camp) – 1 night
Sabi Sands, Kruger Park – South Africa – 4 days/3 nights (6 game drives) at Inyati
Capetown, South Africa – 7 days/6 nights – Tours of City & Table Mountain, Robben Island, Cape Peninsula, Hermanus and Whale Route and the Winelands
Garden Route tour – 3 days/2 nights
Port Elizabeth – 2 days/1 night
Johannesburg (overnight at the airport) – city tour day of departure, flight at 8pm
Now that the planning is done, the itinerary set – the fun of preparing for the trip is next. Travel shots, medicines, drab color clothes, duffel bag?
The Safari Experience & Planning
To read about the safari expeience in each country as well as the planning do a search by category or drop down the destinations tab for Africa. There are still posts from Africa to share – the safari in Sabi Sands, Capetown and surrounding day tours, the Garden Route and one day in Johannesburg. As always, if you have any bespoke queries, just contact me and I’d be happy to help with questions or to plan your adventure. This trip inspired me in so many ways – to start the blog, to start my travel planning business and to live my life a bit differently. What will an African Safari Itinerary do for you?
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