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| Our camp site at Lake Nakuru National Park, Kenya |
On
a recent 16-day tour with Intrepid Travel, I spent 11 nights camping.
Well, okay, it was supposed to be 11 nights, but my dad and I upgraded
for four of those to get a much-needed break from setting up, then dismantling a tent every morning at 6 a.m. I was preparing myself to rough it most of the time, anticipating a shower maybe every two or three days. But that was hardly the case. Here's a look at some of the campgrounds we stayed.
Lake Nakuru National Park, Kenya
Camping
with the animals. The only facility at this campsite is an outhouse
with a bunch of creepy crawlies in it, which I could not get myself to
use due to my arachnopohobia. But this was fine with me since it was our
first night camping and I wanted to experience Kenya's wilderness. We
pitched our tents near a small waterfall, had a campfire and the whole
place to ourselves — except for a family of baboons. I slept with ear
plugs in since I'm a light sleeper, but was told by my travel companions
the next morning that you can hear howling hyenas in the distance
during the night.
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| The pool at Naiberi River Campsite outside Eldorett, Kenya |
Naiberi River Campsite and Resort, 16 km from Eldorett, Kenya
This
was quite a step up after spending a night at a campground with no
facilities. Located on a lush hill leading down to a creek in the
Ugandan countryside, there is a stylish pool, a fancy bar, upgrades
available and separate washroom facilities for men and women. The
showers have hot water with decent pressure. Even though there were
other groups camped here, it was quiet since the tenting area isn't
beside the closed in bar — a cave-like area with lounge pillows and a
couple fire pits. It's a very cool place to sit down and unwind after a
long day of travelling.
Red Chilli Hideaway, outskirts of Kampala Uganda
This
was our first introduction to other travellers since our tour began.
The place was busy and felt like a resort, complete with a restaurant,
grounds, bar, and pool. It felt like we were the peasants camped out by ourselves at
the bottom of the hill. The designated area for camping is just a wide
open space, but it's nice and peaceful. The facilities are clean and big, but there was no hot water in the
ladies washroom around the dinner hour. Wi-Fi is available here.
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| Kitandara Hippo Hill Camp, Uganda |
Chimpanzee Forest Guest House, near Kibale National Park, Uganda
Lovely
place. The grounds are well kept and landscaped with beautiful flowers.
It's surrounded by tea leaf fields draped over the rolling hills in
Uganda's picturesque countryside. The showers are unisex with no roof,
so there is no change room before you get into them. Take a waterproof
bag for your belongings because they will get a bit wet, especially if
it rains. The water is hot though, sometimes too hot. There is one
toilet for men and one toilet for women, and the sink to wash your hands
is outside, so don't expect any privacy if you want to look in the
mirror. The only downside is that the tenting area is basically beside
the open-air bar, so if you're with a bunch of rowdy travellers, the
night can get awfully noisy.
Kitandara Hippo Hill Camp, Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda
We
chose to upgrade to our own private cottage for $25 per person and it
was well worth it after sleeping in a two-man tent for five nights. It is quite spacious with a private
bathroom, shower/bathtub and actual walls to block out some of the outside sounds. The two large beds
in the room are under bug nets, but I didn't see any bugs. We were the
only ones there, so it was very quiet. You can also hear
hippos and other animals walking through the area during the night. There are basic showers and flush toilets for tenters.
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| Lake Bunyonyi, Uganda |
Lake Bunyonyi, Uganda
Upgraded
here again to a "fancy" tent that had two very comfortable beds, a
night table and a light. The sheltered tent is located on a platform
high above the lake, giving it a treehouse feel with a private little
balcony and power outlet to charge your electronics. The cost to upgrade
is $13 per person. Shower/washroom facilities are good, but small for the amount of people using them. This place has a resort-type feel, with beautiful grounds, a restaurant and a bar. The lake is heavenly, with canoe and jet ski rentals
if you want to explore. It's too bad we didn't get to spend more time
here since it was such a beautiful setting. The noise levels at night,
however, did get quite loud so don't come here expecting peace and
quiet, especially if you sleep in the tenting area, located right in
front of the bar. There is also Wi-Fi available.
Lake Mburo National Park, Uganda
It's
a return to the tent after spending three nights in a basic room in
Ruhengeri Rwanda. We set up our tent amongst several warthogs wandering
around, feeding in the flat area beside the lake where the hippos live.
There are basic showers and toilets, but we had no water so we weren't able to
use the facilities, which was fine with me since we were only spending
the night. It's a very peaceful place where you can have a campfire and get
up close with the animals. During the night, we could hear hippos
munching on the grass beside our tent — a really cool experience, but
also a bit unnerving since these animals are the size of a small car.
Adrift Riverbase, Jinga Uganda
This
place is located on the cliffs high above the Nile River, but there
does not appear to be a way to actually get down to the river - unless
you go bungee jumping. Great hot showers, but the washroom facilities
are unisex, which can be a bit awkward when it's busy. We upgraded here
to a safari tent for $15 per person since I wanted a real bed and it was
very comfortable. There is poor lighting inside the tent though, so I
had to use my headlamp to search for any belongings. The worst thing
about this place was the noise at night. You could hear a massive party
coming from the other side of the river, rowdy people at the bar on
site, and there was a huge party across the parking lot on the grounds
of the resort next door. Even with ear plugs in to drown out the thuds
of heavy bass, it still felt like I was at a night club. The music
lasted well into the early morning hours, providing a sleepless night.
This is not my idea of camping, but this place does have Wi-Fi.
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| Lake Mburo National Park, Uganda |