Fodor's Expert Review Phinda Walking Safari
,
Editor's Note: This location is no longer in operation.
This unusual experience is a delightful way to get close to the bush. Your home for three nights is a spacious safari tent (with bathroom) in the middle of a rare sand forest. Here crowned eagles may survey you as you take a postprandial nap in a hammock under giant fig trees, or a fishing owl may call as you swap safari stories under the stars. Each morning (depending on the consensus of the group) you amble through the forest or over the plains for four or five hours; then it's back to camp for a rest, then a presunset walk and night game drive. An armed security guard ranger makes sure you get home safely, and the camp chef keeps the calories coming. The walking safari is not offered in summer because of the heat.
PROS
- sleeping out in one of the world's rare sand forests is a privilege
- walking every day really brings you in very close with the wilderness
CONS
- food is fairly basic
- stay away if you're not a natural survivor and you need strong walls and hate bugs
