Crocodile Camp Safari Experience
Angela's safari highlight of her month-long Kenya holiday was a visit to Crocodile Camp. She shared the details with me telephonically...
| Safari Locations: |
Kenya: Tsavo National Park |
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Company Used: |
African Safari Club |
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Duration: |
One month, 2004 |
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Traveller Details: |
Angela Bowen, UK
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We were in Kenya for a month and went on several safaris, but the one that we enjoyed the most was a place - I think it was part of Tsavo East - called the Crocodile Camp.
The safari itself wasn't a month, it was a month's holiday in Kenya and we went on several safaris. We were staying in a hotel and we did several trips and that was one of the trips. It was only 1 night away and 2 days at Crocodile Camp and then we did another one where we went looking at the elephants ... that was Tsavo again.
It was organised by the African Safari Club, I think it was called.
Was it a pre-designed itinerary or tailor-made for you?
It was pre-designed.
Did you book them once you got to Kenya or did you do some research beforehand?
We booked when we actually got to Kenya.
Was there anything you didn't like about them?
We weren't very impressed with African Safari Club as a holiday company. The hotels were their own hotels and we weren't impressed with those.
But we were impressed with the actual Crocodile Camp safari itself.
The guides you went with - would you say you were satisfied with them?
Yes, they were very knowledgeable. They showed us lots of wildlife.
How big was the group you travelled with?
It was very small; there were about 8 of us.
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The food, the staff - we found out that the staff hadn't been paid for several months, I think - they were very disgruntled as I can imagine I would be if I was in their place. Things weren't running very smoothly when we were there and that was about 3 years ago [2004 - Ed.]
And on the safari itself?
The Crocodile Camp tented camp was very adequate. It was a tent that was set up in a camp and all the amenities were layed on for us. We had our own bathroom that was part of the back of the tent and we had electricity so it was more luxurious than we expected.
It was a permanent tent, with a kind of built-on piece at the back.
The breakfast was fruit and breads I think, teas, coffee and juices. There was some cold meat as well, and eggs. There was enough for anybody that was hungry.
We had a buffet style lunch which was fine.
And we had an evening meal which we weren't thrilled about but it was adequate.
Yes, it was very hot. We were there just before the rains started.
It was a great thrill at the Crocodile Camp because we have never seen anything so close and although they were very dangerous we were in a very safe place quite high up looking over a wall down onto the river bank.
A guy was banging a tin tray calling the crocodiles at night. I think the night that we were there we must have seen easily a dozen but they said that there were a lot in that river at Crocodile Camp and they weren't actually feeding, they'd already given them bones. The crocodiles just decided who wanted to come in for titbits so there were quite a lot about.
Well, everything was very exciting. The crocodiles at Crocodile Camp I remember very well but also it was a great thrill on one of the drives where we were spotting elephants. At first we thought we wouldn't see any and then we saw the elephants with the red dust on them and once we started spotting them, we spotted hundreds.
That was very exciting because everywhere we looked, we seemed to see more.
Were you satisfied with the amount of wildlife that you saw there?
Yes, I think so. I mean, we would have liked to see lions which everybody wanted to see and we didn't see lions. But it wasn't - it was only a minor disappointment.
We saw lots of other animals, the majority of what you would like to see. The one thing that we didn't was lions but we understood that you can't sort of count on these things. It would have been nice to see them but we understood that it wasn't possible, it wasn't for us to see.
But we saw lots of things like hyena and cheetah which was unusual to see and we were more than happy.
Yes, but not on safari or at Crocodile Camp. The hotel that we stayed at was near a village and we went there several times and we met with Maasai and the local people.
We slept well, we got up and had breakfast and were eager to get away on the first drive of the day.
We were in Jeeps with 6 of us together … it was very exciting to see who was going to spot the first things. We took lots of photographs, we were quite exhausted by the time it was time to return for lunch, but although we were tired we didn't want to go back because we thought we were missing things.
We had a very leisurely lunch time with a rest and out again for an afternoon drive. We had reports coming in on the radio when they spotted cheetah with some cubs and we went to see them. There were lots of Jeeps and safari buses in the area all heard the same report and we were all very excited and we took cheetah pictures.
We were just excited about everything we saw really.
Then back for an evening meal and a good talk with everybody at Crocodile Camp or wherever we stayed then, the guy who came round sat with us and told us stories, which we were very sceptical about but they were quite frightening and we enjoyed them!
Then went to bed, exhausted!
No. I mean, as I say we understood that there were no guarantees when you go out what you're going to see. I only say it was a disappointment because that's the only thing I can think of that would have been nice if we had seen them.
No, I was more than happy with it all.
Just to enjoy it, just to relax and really take in the beauty of it all. That's what we did and we were more than happy with it all.
Did you take any anti-malaria medication?
Yes, we started taking malaria tablets before we left the UK. I had no side effects or problems.
Were you bothered by the mosquitoes or other insects at all?
No... I'm very susceptible usually if anyone's going to get bitten it would be me. But I did have sun cream with the deterrent in it. Didn't really get any problems at all… maybe one or two bites but nothing to be worried about.
What was the most useful item in your luggage?
Safari hats, definitely! And I think the sun block, especially if you've got one with an insect repellent in it, it was very handy. To me, they were the most important things.
And safari binoculars.
We had two cameras, my husband's and mine.
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Oh, well… 10! I thought it was excellent.
I thought it was a wonderful experience and something that everybody that's got the chance to go should do.
So you'd recommend people to go with Africa Safari Club even though you had hassles with the hotel side of it?
I've seen them advertised and I would imagine that they must have sorted things out because they're still advertising holidays. I wouldn't have any qualms if it was possible for me to go again, I would.
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