Stay In A Fancy Safari Tent In Africa

I have never been so in love with a lodging experience than my experience at the Okavango Delta.  I have never loved a lodging experience so much that I cried when I left.

The Main Area of Moremi Crossing

I do love to occasionally splurge when traveling, but I never spend more than $200 a night for a place to stay.  Thankfully, my stay at Moremi Crossing was part of my tour package, and after my visit I would have paid the $535 USD a night to stay there.  It was that fabulous!  Have you seen all-inclusive packages for beach towns like Cabo and Cancun, well this is the African version of that.  To get to Moremi Crossing was not an easy task, we took a small flight over the Okavango Delta landing on a tiny air strip in the middle of nowhere.  Afterwards we had to take a small boat to Moremi Crossing.  As we approached the lodge we heard singing and saw these lovely people that I called my friends by the end of my stay.....

  Warm welcome from the Moremi Crossing staff

As soon as we arrived we were handed a complimentary drink and then given a safety briefing.    We even had to sign a paper stating that it was not their responsibility if we were killed while staying at the lodge.   Yep, I signed it, you only live once right?  We were allowed to walk to our tents by ourselves during the day, but were told to take extra precaution as wild animals could be walking around next to us.  Once the sun set we were not allowed to walk around by ourselves, and needed an armed guard to walk us back to our tents. 

 Elephants in the background

It didn't really phase me that we were smack dab in the middle of the wilderness until I saw a few elephants bathing nearby.  I just sat down, and listened to my iPod while watching wild life.  It really was one of those moments that you could never photograph or video tape. 

 Moremi Crossing Dining Area

I didn't really have high expectations of the food.  We had limited electricity, and it's not like they had access to UPS and FedEx that could deliver food daily.  The food was top notch, and the dining set up was one I would expect in high end restaurants back home.   We had spent weeks having lunch at the truck and eating ham and cheese sandwiches.  Not only did we have to help prepare our food, we also took turns with dish duty.  So it was a complete luxury to be served and spoiled, and the best part was we didn't have to wash any dishes!!  I ironically felt civilized when I was hundreds of miles from true civilization.  As I was eating I looked up and noticed we had friends....

 My Friends Watching Me Eat

Bats!  Yes Bats!  Except these bats were not blood suckers.  I was told they were fruit bats, or maybe they said that just to make me feel better.  After lunch it was time to go to our tents!  My tent was at the far end of the central area, and roughly a 5 minute walk away. As we were walking to our tents we encountered some wild baboons and warthogs.  Baboons can be quite dangerous because they are fearless of humans, and they are extremely nosy and like to break into tents. 

My Safari Tent

Then I saw my tent, which would be my humble abode for the next two nights and three days.  I was given a key, and shown the limited lighting in the tent.  There was a real toilet, outdoor showers,  and running water (Hot Water! Score!).  Here is a little tour of my tent.....

Why Hello There...Welcome to my Tent

Two of my friends were in the neighboring tent, and one had brought his guitar so I could hear him playing his guitar in the distance.  After playing his guitar I decided to video tape one minute of silence in the Okavango Delta.  I should have done this at night because the animal noises in the middle of the night were far more interesting....


Taking an outdoor shower was not as scary as I thought.  A few days prior I had taken an outdoor shower that was filled with spiders and nasty little insects.  Even though I had two lizard friends watching me shower, it was one of the best showers I had ever taken.  When I take a good shower I sometimes unconsciously sing.  Later that day the guys from the neighboring tent told me, "Did you enjoy your shower?  We heard you singing!"  Proof that it truly was that good!

 My two lizard friends in my outdoor shower

Moremi Crossing had a slew of planned activities for us, including two walking safaris, a boat ride along the Delta, and two mokoro rides.  One of my favorite things bedsides going on these activities was just hanging out in my tent, and sitting on the front porch enjoying the scenery.

 Listening to my iPod on the front porch of my tent

It was far more thrilling as soon as the sun set.  Besides enjoying meals with new friends, we also got to watch performances by the employees.  The people that work at Moremi Crossing were so amazing, and when I left I even exchanged emails with a few of the employees.  They leave their families for months at a time to make an earnest living.  Knowing this, I made sure I tipped them well as they were so deserving.

Dinner at Moremi Crossing

 The Ladies of Moremi Crossing

The nights back at my tent were quite interesting.  In the middle of the night I could hear hippos playing right outside my tent, and elephants crossing just a few feet away.  The second evening at Moremi Crossing we had an elephant raid.  The elephants decided to rock a few peoples tents early in the morning, and two of my friends were unable to leave their tent because elephants had decided to hang out while they got ready in the morning.

I'd love to go back one of these days...and I'd love to go back just to see the beautiful morning sunrises....get ready to be jealous....

Okavango Delta Sunrise

Date Accomplished:  September 22nd 2010