I think the head scarves were Tauck lagniappe's. Our TD got them for all of us, but your mileage may vary. I think the night under the stars is more dependent on temperature and precipitation- very rare here. We spent the night on the Makgadikgadi Pan in early June- when the sun went down the temp dropped like a rock!! Look at the clothes folks are wearing in Sealord's pics posted above. Obviously, it was warmer in British's photos. We had heavy-duty sleeping bags with mattresses, and the hot water bottles which were especially welcome! I kept my head mostly covered because the dew was especially heavy. I believe the rectangular spec to the left of the line of ATV's in my last photo was the loo. If you must visit it- it is lighted, the ground is flat, no predators, and they give you a good flashlight. The guides keep a fire going all night and have hot coffee in the morning.
The head scarves are provided by Tauck, but unlike the Antarctica parkas, you don’t get to keep them. They are just loaners. The phase of the moon thing is just speculation on my part. We were in the dry season, and we were not offered the sleep in the kalahari option, so I decided to bark at the full moon.
I extended my K&T trip with 7 days in CAPETOWN. We stayed at The Taj. We loved the location - it wasn’t in the V&A Waterfront but in the city centre. Next door to the hotel was a fantastic green market with incredible arts and crafts. It was a wonderful friendly - and safe environment. We walked all over - we felt very comfortable with special city patrols who, when asked, would escort you to your destination. The Taj had a car available to guests for transport around the city, including the V&A Waterfront. We hired guides to take us to the Wine Country, historic tour of Cape Town, the penguins, Robben Island, food walking tour, Jewish heritage tours etc. it was amazing — I want to return for more!!
You guys are nuts. On our honeymoon my husband and I enjoyed sunrise on the beach in Jamaica with Blue Mountain coffee. That's how I want to enjoy a sunrise. Not sleeping in the same kind of bed I endured in boot camp.
The beds were really comfortable, regular mattresses. One of my most ever favorite magical nights!
Hope to do the tour again soon. Feel bad for those who did not get to experience this on the tour.
Cathy, as you can see, our beds were much further apart than the ones on your tour, interesting,
Well if they were comfortable then not like bootcamp. The mattresses look about twice as thick. Then again I'm again 3 times as old. Boy the difference in what we can endure at age 19.
shower @ 5:30am.... lord! all the things we have to do as travelers... 5:30 am I'm having my best dreams, not fair.
cathyandsteve question, did the camps had hot/warm water to shower? where the showers outside? was there something to do at the camps during down time? was there any chance to do a walking tour with someone from the camp during down time? The pools, was the water super cold?
Thanks for the info.
When you sleep out on the pan, you go back to Camp Kalahari soon after dawn and shower there. In Camp Kalahari it is very hot in September, there is no pool, just a small hot tub where the water looks very milky, due to where it comes from, it is not dirty. It was so hot in her desert that we all sat in the hot tub water up to our necks and hung out chatting and drinking.
There is no walking tour. The tents are very high up on platforms. There are sandy trails ot each tent. There is hot water but the tent is kinda colonial. One single woman was marooned in her tent for quite some time as there was a huge male elephant who decided to hang out at the bottom of the steps. She just had to wait it out.
British, when did you go? It sounds like a different Camp Kalahai or one that hasn't been updated or was updated. When we went in June 2019 they had a small pool right next to the dining area that was longer than the one pictured on the Tauck website. It had a smaller wood deck. They probably don't heat and treat the water during the cool season, because it was low, scuzzy dark greenish-brown, and definitely not suitable for swimming or soaking when we were there. Reportedly, the visiting elephant was known to drink from it and possibly take an occasional swim. Our tents were on low (12" +/- high) platforms not on the elevated platform shown on the website. We did a short walking tour with the San Bushmen. (I was running out of batteries so got these photos from TripAdvisor but this is exactly what we had.
Thanks so much British, good to know about the Milky water, I have been in pools like that at some ranches in Venezuela, where I'm from.
Well, nothing bad about chilling in the pool with drinks... certainly is not an ordinary pool, IT'S!!! a pool in the hot Kalahari Desert, very cool.
I would be in heaven if the elephant comes to visit I, secretly even thought about making a trial of bananas that would go directly to my tent. :0
we'll see.
Good night, everyone
Well Alan, the mystery is solved, you must have stayed at a different camp. I stayed at the camp that Sealord has pictures of, camp Kalahari, there were others nearby, I think one might have been called Jack”s camp or something like that. You can see how high off the ground they are. SeaLord, do you have any pics of the tiny little pool?
As you can see from Sealord’s photos, there are sandy paths and high grass around, no fencing. Any animal can get in camp, you have to be vigilant and of course not leave your tent in the dark. Believe me, it is not fun to have a solitary male elephant in a bad mood near your tent Mil. We were at a camp where we saw that happen and another when an elephant rampaged thorough fhe camp but we did not see that. There is nothing romantic about it. Oh, and we’ve seen a heard of drunken elephants from gorging on Marula fruit trees….I bought some Marula liquor, I like it. I’ve read numerous books about people who study and live around elephants, they can destroy a tent in minutes and can kill you, read descriptions about it regularly.
The camp had a fantastic guy from Belgium in charge when we were there, his knowledge of the area and map skills were great.
I think that may also explain why some people were given the head scarves and others were not, we were given them to wear but had to give them back, there was a very limited supply. It must depend on the camp you are at. You can buy them n Cape Town by the way, they are very reasonably priced.
You can also see from the dining table pictures that people do not dress for dinner on these tours.
Cathy, which camp did you stay at?
I just looked at the website and there are pics of Camp Kalahari, you can see how small the pool is if you compare it to chairs nearby. The buildings shown are the communal buildings, there are no pics of the tents
Yea, that’s Kalahari. You know those Bushmen were thrown off their land and only come to do tours. Many have idrinking problems, because their way of life was taken away from them. I loved meeting with them and almost wished we had not been told the background.
I think it has to do with the age of the photos and also there may have been a mix of low and high platform tents when we were there. The tents were not close to each other so I really didn't pay much attention to the other ones, but ours was definitely low like in my photo. The insides of our tent looked exactly like in Cathy's photos (no mistaking that bathroom decor! ), and yes, there was an electric fence around the area and horses. At night we could hear the lions roar- probably wanting to come in for some tasty horse meat!
British, look at the pool in the photos at your link- it is rectangular, not square. It is not a big pool for sure, but it is not a hot tub either. The long, narrow dining area with a single very long table in Sealord's photo and at the link is what we saw. One or more photos of the pool show logs on the ground on each side- to keep the elephants out or to raise or build new high platforms? We had electric lights in our tents- a bare bulb hanging by the cord- one in the bed area and one in the bath area.
OMG! that elephant is precious.
British, yes! I know elephants in the wild are not a laughing matter... specially if they are drunk! but I know humans that can be worst. Amarula is delicious, I love it. I always get it at Total Wine & More.
The tent is rustic, but that makes it more interesting and real... I don't mind- it's only for a couple of nights. I'll be at the community area zipping Amarula or Cosmos...
Thanks everyone for the pics and the input.
CathyandSteve: I’m pretty sure we are showing pictures of the same tent, but left and right always depends on which way you are facing … that’s why there is port and starboard. If you walked out of the dining area with the dining area behind you the lounge was to the left and the bathrooms were farther to the left. Our tent was in ‘that’ direction.
The bathrooms were out that doorway in the upper right corner of the above picture.
Any who are interested, this is my Z,B, and SA Photo Album:
Brings back memories from our trip in 7/2017.Neither of us have any camping experience but sleeping in the salt pans in Kalahari was just so unique and enjoyable ;made very special by the guides who made the beds with hot water bottles and rugs for our feet by the bed; we did have a full moon.We we’re also treated to a special dinner before retiring to bed under the sky.
HI mil- I did this trip in August 2019, just before the pandemic hit. It was the trip of a lifetime and I absolutely loved it! I did the Elephant Cafe for dinner on the day I arrived in Livingstone and it was great fun. We took the boat over to the sanctuary, fed the elephants, took lots of pics and then had a nice dinner in an outdoor pavilion.I won't say it was a fabulous gourmet dinner, but it was good. Service was nice and the weather was lovely. Regarding the Malaria pills, I did take them and had side effects. It turns out there was a big drought, no standing water and no mosquitoes so I eventually stopped taking the pills. And of course, did not get Malaria. Our TD was terrific as were the individual tour guides at each stop- every day had surprises. And yes- Tauck provided us all with the scarves for day/night in the salt pans. Ours were multi-colored. At the end of the tour we left Cape Town and stayed a few nights in Franschhoek- went on private tours to wineries, spice gardens and more.Had some amazing dinners there before heading heading back to Cape Town for our trip home. I went on this trip with a friend, but am scheduled to go on the Morocco trip in October solo- can't wait!! I hope you have a fab time on your trip in Sept.
Hi Anniek
Glad to get all the info. very helpful. I'm doing the Elephant Cafe for lunch, also going on the speedboat
I have already some Spa treatments schedule.
I'm planning on taking the Malaria pills- just in case. I didn't have any problem with it first time.. but will check how was the rainy season , so I'll have a better idea what the water levels are at.
I'm doing this trip on my own, so I can manage my time better and have the freedom to move around at my speed and interest, which helps.. I like to get up early and off I go... to see as much as possible, I do every year something different )
Comments
sept. 17th-2022, third quarter moon.-
Pure Luxury. I didn't take this tour, I went to Kenya and Tanzania.
I think the head scarves were Tauck lagniappe's. Our TD got them for all of us, but your mileage may vary. I think the night under the stars is more dependent on temperature and precipitation- very rare here. We spent the night on the Makgadikgadi Pan in early June- when the sun went down the temp dropped like a rock!! Look at the clothes folks are wearing in Sealord's pics posted above. Obviously, it was warmer in British's photos. We had heavy-duty sleeping bags with mattresses, and the hot water bottles which were especially welcome! I kept my head mostly covered because the dew was especially heavy. I believe the rectangular spec to the left of the line of ATV's in my last photo was the loo. If you must visit it- it is lighted, the ground is flat, no predators, and they give you a good flashlight. The guides keep a fire going all night and have hot coffee in the morning.
The head scarves are provided by Tauck, but unlike the Antarctica parkas, you don’t get to keep them. They are just loaners. The phase of the moon thing is just speculation on my part. We were in the dry season, and we were not offered the sleep in the kalahari option, so I decided to bark at the full moon.
We got to keep ours!
I extended my K&T trip with 7 days in CAPETOWN. We stayed at The Taj. We loved the location - it wasn’t in the V&A Waterfront but in the city centre. Next door to the hotel was a fantastic green market with incredible arts and crafts. It was a wonderful friendly - and safe environment. We walked all over - we felt very comfortable with special city patrols who, when asked, would escort you to your destination. The Taj had a car available to guests for transport around the city, including the V&A Waterfront. We hired guides to take us to the Wine Country, historic tour of Cape Town, the penguins, Robben Island, food walking tour, Jewish heritage tours etc. it was amazing — I want to return for more!!
You guys are nuts. On our honeymoon my husband and I enjoyed sunrise on the beach in Jamaica with Blue Mountain coffee. That's how I want to enjoy a sunrise. Not sleeping in the same kind of bed I endured in boot camp.
However, riding around on ATV's would be fun.
The beds were really comfortable, regular mattresses. One of my most ever favorite magical nights!
Hope to do the tour again soon. Feel bad for those who did not get to experience this on the tour.
Cathy, as you can see, our beds were much further apart than the ones on your tour, interesting,
Well if they were comfortable then not like bootcamp. The mattresses look about twice as thick. Then again I'm again 3 times as old. Boy the difference in what we can endure at age 19.
It's definitely a unique adventure.
Hello flagger. 🥰
Yes, Tauck provides the head covering. Nice souvenir.
cathyandsteve / British,
How long did you have to go before showering?
shower @ 5:30am.... lord! all the things we have to do as travelers... 5:30 am I'm having my best dreams, not fair.
cathyandsteve question, did the camps had hot/warm water to shower? where the showers outside? was there something to do at the camps during down time? was there any chance to do a walking tour with someone from the camp during down time? The pools, was the water super cold?
Thanks for the info.
When you sleep out on the pan, you go back to Camp Kalahari soon after dawn and shower there. In Camp Kalahari it is very hot in September, there is no pool, just a small hot tub where the water looks very milky, due to where it comes from, it is not dirty. It was so hot in her desert that we all sat in the hot tub water up to our necks and hung out chatting and drinking.
There is no walking tour. The tents are very high up on platforms. There are sandy trails ot each tent. There is hot water but the tent is kinda colonial. One single woman was marooned in her tent for quite some time as there was a huge male elephant who decided to hang out at the bottom of the steps. She just had to wait it out.
British, when did you go? It sounds like a different Camp Kalahai or one that hasn't been updated or was updated. When we went in June 2019 they had a small pool right next to the dining area that was longer than the one pictured on the Tauck website. It had a smaller wood deck. They probably don't heat and treat the water during the cool season, because it was low, scuzzy dark greenish-brown, and definitely not suitable for swimming or soaking when we were there. Reportedly, the visiting elephant was known to drink from it and possibly take an occasional swim. Our tents were on low (12" +/- high) platforms not on the elevated platform shown on the website. We did a short walking tour with the San Bushmen. (I was running out of batteries so got these photos from TripAdvisor but this is exactly what we had.
Thanks so much British, good to know about the Milky water, I have been in pools like that at some ranches in Venezuela, where I'm from.
I, secretly even thought about making a trial of bananas that would go directly to my tent. :0
Well, nothing bad about chilling in the pool with drinks... certainly is not an ordinary pool, IT'S!!! a pool in the hot Kalahari Desert, very cool.
I would be in heaven if the elephant comes to visit
we'll see.
Good night, everyone
This was our camp Kalahari.
Well Alan, the mystery is solved, you must have stayed at a different camp. I stayed at the camp that Sealord has pictures of, camp Kalahari, there were others nearby, I think one might have been called Jack”s camp or something like that. You can see how high off the ground they are. SeaLord, do you have any pics of the tiny little pool?
As you can see from Sealord’s photos, there are sandy paths and high grass around, no fencing. Any animal can get in camp, you have to be vigilant and of course not leave your tent in the dark. Believe me, it is not fun to have a solitary male elephant in a bad mood near your tent Mil. We were at a camp where we saw that happen and another when an elephant rampaged thorough fhe camp but we did not see that. There is nothing romantic about it. Oh, and we’ve seen a heard of drunken elephants from gorging on Marula fruit trees….I bought some Marula liquor, I like it. I’ve read numerous books about people who study and live around elephants, they can destroy a tent in minutes and can kill you, read descriptions about it regularly.
The camp had a fantastic guy from Belgium in charge when we were there, his knowledge of the area and map skills were great.
I think that may also explain why some people were given the head scarves and others were not, we were given them to wear but had to give them back, there was a very limited supply. It must depend on the camp you are at. You can buy them n Cape Town by the way, they are very reasonably priced.
You can also see from the dining table pictures that people do not dress for dinner on these tours.
Cathy, which camp did you stay at?
I just looked at the website and there are pics of Camp Kalahari, you can see how small the pool is if you compare it to chairs nearby. The buildings shown are the communal buildings, there are no pics of the tents
https://naturalselection.travel/camps/camp-kalahari/
I want a newspaper every morning with my breakfast!!!!
Yea, that’s Kalahari. You know those Bushmen were thrown off their land and only come to do tours. Many have idrinking problems, because their way of life was taken away from them. I loved meeting with them and almost wished we had not been told the background.
Well it is still a mystery-
I think it has to do with the age of the photos and also there may have been a mix of low and high platform tents when we were there. The tents were not close to each other so I really didn't pay much attention to the other ones, but ours was definitely low like in my photo. The insides of our tent looked exactly like in Cathy's photos (no mistaking that bathroom decor!
), and yes, there was an electric fence around the area and horses. At night we could hear the lions roar- probably wanting to come in for some tasty horse meat!
British, look at the pool in the photos at your link- it is rectangular, not square. It is not a big pool for sure, but it is not a hot tub either. The long, narrow dining area with a single very long table in Sealord's photo and at the link is what we saw. One or more photos of the pool show logs on the ground on each side- to keep the elephants out or to raise or build new high platforms? We had electric lights in our tents- a bare bulb hanging by the cord- one in the bed area and one in the bath area.
OMG! that elephant is precious.
Amarula is delicious, I love it. I always get it at Total Wine & More.
British, yes! I know elephants in the wild are not a laughing matter... specially if they are drunk! but I know humans that can be worst.
The tent is rustic, but that makes it more interesting and real... I don't mind- it's only for a couple of nights. I'll be at the community area zipping Amarula or Cosmos...
Thanks everyone for the pics and the input.
CathyandSteve: I’m pretty sure we are showing pictures of the same tent, but left and right always depends on which way you are facing … that’s why there is port and starboard. If you walked out of the dining area with the dining area behind you the lounge was to the left and the bathrooms were farther to the left. Our tent was in ‘that’ direction.
The bathrooms were out that doorway in the upper right corner of the above picture.
Any who are interested, this is my Z,B, and SA Photo Album:
https://share.icloud.com/photos/046pLY-ttf7S20oBkx9KVRg9Q
I love the neatly aligned bags with those Tauck tags!
Brings back memories from our trip in 7/2017.Neither of us have any camping experience but sleeping in the salt pans in Kalahari was just so unique and enjoyable ;made very special by the guides who made the beds with hot water bottles and rugs for our feet by the bed; we did have a full moon.We we’re also treated to a special dinner before retiring to bed under the sky.
Trying to make a ‘slideshow’ link. Not working
https://forums.tauck.com/home/leaving?allowTrusted=1&target=https://share.icloud.com/photos/046pLY-ttf7S20oBkx9KVRg9Q o far.
Great pictures Sealord. Thanks for sharing.
HI mil- I did this trip in August 2019, just before the pandemic hit. It was the trip of a lifetime and I absolutely loved it! I did the Elephant Cafe for dinner on the day I arrived in Livingstone and it was great fun. We took the boat over to the sanctuary, fed the elephants, took lots of pics and then had a nice dinner in an outdoor pavilion.I won't say it was a fabulous gourmet dinner, but it was good. Service was nice and the weather was lovely. Regarding the Malaria pills, I did take them and had side effects. It turns out there was a big drought, no standing water and no mosquitoes so I eventually stopped taking the pills. And of course, did not get Malaria. Our TD was terrific as were the individual tour guides at each stop- every day had surprises. And yes- Tauck provided us all with the scarves for day/night in the salt pans. Ours were multi-colored. At the end of the tour we left Cape Town and stayed a few nights in Franschhoek- went on private tours to wineries, spice gardens and more.Had some amazing dinners there before heading heading back to Cape Town for our trip home. I went on this trip with a friend, but am scheduled to go on the Morocco trip in October solo- can't wait!! I hope you have a fab time on your trip in Sept.
Hi Anniek
)
Glad to get all the info. very helpful. I'm doing the Elephant Cafe for lunch, also going on the speedboat
I have already some Spa treatments schedule.
I'm planning on taking the Malaria pills- just in case. I didn't have any problem with it first time.. but will check how was the rainy season , so I'll have a better idea what the water levels are at.
I'm doing this trip on my own, so I can manage my time better and have the freedom to move around at my speed and interest, which helps.. I like to get up early and off I go... to see as much as possible, I do every year something different
Take care , have a great weekend.
Mil