Blog: Take a Holiday on your Camping Holiday

Take a Holiday from Your Camping Holiday

It sounds strange, not so. … to take time off from your time-off in the bush!

Well, consider that it will add immensely to your overall Overlanding and Camping Experience.

If you think about it carefully, Overlanding and Camping to remote places is indeed a complicated and daunting task not only to orchestrate, but to then execute it successfully and this is especially true when crossing borders.

The planning required, if you really want to have a magic time without “skipping a beat” nor forgetting to bring any item or choosing the right experience, are complicated and detailed:

• from initially planning and finalizing the dates for your trip, to then successfully reserving your campsites for those chosen dates, is a mission on its own in Africa
• then it’s the whole process of ensuring that your vehicle and/or trailer together with all the equipment that go with it are all fit and proper for the task, cleaned and all the niggles and issues from the previous trip have been sorted
• after that it’s the grocery and food supplies that have to be carefully planned for, sourced and packed to last you for the duration of your expedition as it is unlikely that your will find a high street supermarket nor a KFC at your remote location
• and finally, it’s the actual driving to get there, crossing borders with all the challengers that go with that especially in Africa, and the endless hours of being on the road

For us Overlanders and Campers, all of the above is fun, and we would argue that it’s all part of the experience and we are up to the challenge at any time because we love what we do. Well, that is most certainly true however, after your arrival to the destination, it does not end there as guess what? …. the same process actually repeats itself day after day and night after night as you explore the area and search for those elusive lions! Eventually, the incessant packing and unpacking, making and breaking camp over and over again under strict timelines, and the hours and hours of game driving take their toll, and it then becomes increasingly more about your packing, cooking and cleaning skills instead of enjoying and experiencing the wild.

Solution?

When doing your reservation, take an extra day just to chill around at one of your campsites – one day and all day long. Wake up when you want, eat when you want, potter around the campsite or scrounge around in or on your vehicle and trailer all you want, take a daytime nap whenever you please. No driving, just exploring the actual campsite itself and mainly, just sit or “hammock” around chit chatting about what happened yesterday and what will happen tomorrow – gather bush intelligence from the other explorers and ponder over your paper maps, diaries and your digital photos and videos but importantly, enjoy the sounds and sites of the campsite.

So, take a holiday on your camping holiday!

Harry Nicolaides

Wannabe Wild Camper