A safari is a journey that can change your life. It is the ultimate adventure: exciting, educational, inspiring and – above all – fun.
The game reserves in which we operate are large and wild, yet exclusive, and so offer unbeatable experiences. Each camp and lodge has a superb location. The camps we use are small and intimate and typically have fewer than 10 rooms, meaning that they offer a warm and homely atmosphere.
Typically our clients will spend time at three different safari camps. Each camp has something very different and unique to offer and the ultimate safari is about a set of well balanced experiences, such as combining dry areas with more water based areas.
In most of the camps everyone eats at the same table making the experience feel like a "house party". Guests can discuss and debate the day's events with each other as well as with their hosts and guides. This interaction should make guests feel as though they are visitors in the home of their hosts and guides, who have a genuine love for their countries and what they do.
Meals are served at elegantly set dining tables, sometimes under the stars and sometimes under thatch or canvas in the camp’s mess area. Highly trained safari chefs generally opt for good, wholesome home-style cooking. Vegetarians and other dietary requirements are easily catered for but please notify us about these when making your reservation.
Most camps have no access to regular electrical power as they are in such remote locations. Generators are used in the camps but these can be noisy and are therefore usually switched off when guests are in camp and at night. The electricity created is used to power ice machines, deep freezers and to charge up the batteries that store the power for the bedroom lights and the fans. There is ample electricity for charging batteries for video cameras etc but not for hairdryers and air conditioning.
The majority of camps we use have flushing toilets and both hot and cold running water; a few of them have buckets showers and even fewer, generally the mobile camps, have safari short drop toilets.
Most of our clients come from developed countries and have travelled extensively, often staying in the best hotels. When they come on safari most don’t want a conventional hotel room out in the bush. The camps we use provide our guests with many of the comforts of a hotel room but at the same time when lying in bed at night they are able to feel the pulse of wild Africa. When lions roar, we want our clients to hear them, but they must also be safe! Experiencing this wildness in a brick building is nigh impossible, therefore most of the camps we use are tented or are under thatch with canvas walls. These rooms offer a safe sanctuary, but have atmosphere.
At Ultimate Safaris & Islands we are here to design a journey for you. We will discuss all the options before we start designing an itinerary. Together we will fine tune it to be exactly what you want and you can embark on your journey knowing you had the best knowledge and advice available.