Happy Campers SA

 

Happy Campers BotsNam 2018 – Travel log Day 17 – 19
Place	Senyati Safari Camp, Kasane
Type of lodging	Camping
Ablutions	Yes, private
Water at site	Yes
Powered	Yes
Wi-Fi	Yes, between 18:00 and 20:00 at the bar area
Diesel top-up	R546-00 / 49,36lt
Kilometers travelled	Day 17: 290km		Day 18: None	Day 19: 56km

Ah!! Words cannot describe how much we enjoyed our stay at Senyati Safari Camp! Everything at this camp is just amazing but the big draw off course is their world famous water hole in front of their deck. There is a steady stream of animals that come to this water hole during the day and night and you can easily sit there the whole day and you might see anything from elephants to hyenas. This is why we came back to stay at Senyati again, we really enjoyed our first visit and we wanted to spend more time at the water hole.

Each camp site has got its own thatched ablution and kitchen facilities and you have electricity and water available at your camp site. The warm water gets delivered via the fire donkey system so it never runs out, as long as you keep stoking the fire. The camp sites itself is situated underneath huge trees so shade is no problem at Senyati. They’ve also got chalets available if you don’t want to camp out, and they have a laundry service, albeit a bit pricey.

During our last visit to Senyati, we made use of their services to book a boat trip on the Chobe River, and this time we booked a shuttle to take us to the Victoria Falls for a day outing. We’ve heard plenty about the bribes you have to pay when you go into Zimbabwe so we figured we’ll let someone else do the driving and we just sat back and enjoyed the outing. It was worth every penny we paid for this shuttle. We left on time that morning, and he took us right up to the entrance at the Vic Falls. Later that afternoon the driver also took us to the Black Market, where you could buy curio for a third of the prices they charged at the Vic Falls curio shop.

A day outing to the Falls is actually quite a thing to experience. From when we stopped at the parking area, we were accosted by vendors trying to rent ponchos to you. We were warned about these in advance so we politely (and later, assertively) declined their offers, as we wore easy dry clothing and swimwear on the day. One thing is for sure, EVERYTHING gets wet at the Falls, so if you’re planning on taking your cameras or phones with you, make sure to stow it away in a Ziploc bag else it might end up destroyed by all the water in the air. You walk in what feels like fine rain for most of the sightseeing route which is actually amazing in the warm summer months. The surface is quite slippery so make sure that your shoes are non-slip.

We were blown away by the sheer magnitude of the Vic Falls. The size of the falls vary throughout the year and we were treated to some spectacular sights during our visit. The area were also well laid out with a lot of information sign posted along the way. Same goes for the town of Livingstone as well, Zimbabwe has got a terrible reputation due to their severe economic crisis but it’s clear that they depend on the tourists in this town so none of the hardships can be seen here. There are quite a few take away shops in town and some touristy type shops to visit. We were really impressed with Livingstone, that’s for sure.

If you’re keen on doing some adventure sports, there are quite a few operators doing business in and around the Vic Falls area. The world famous bridge between Zimbabwe and Zambia is called the Victoria Falls Bridge, and if you get a stamped paper from the Zim border control officers, you can walk across the bridge to Zambia. There are restaurants on both sides of the bridge so you can then say that you had lunch in Zambia during your day outing to Vic Falls. Again, both restaurants are a bit pricey to make sure to check the menu before you place your order.

We got back to Senyati fairly late in the afternoon so when you plan this day trip, set aside a full day for it, as there won’t be much time for anything else. Now, let’s see some of the wildlife pictures I took at the Senyati water hole…