Travel Plan

Archive for June, 2009

A Look At The Variety Of Tented Camps While On Vacation In Kenya

If you are looking for a delightful and adventurous way to spend your vacations in Kenya it would be fun to choose tented camping sites which are pitched on specific grounds with nice scenic views of grasslands and mountaneous ranges. You will watch game streaming around watering holes at night as you enjoy Lavish dinner and entertainment. There are several tented campsites scattered all over the game reserves and parks along rivers cliffs hills and mountain tops. These tented camps have good beds bathrooms and shower blocks while others are so luxurious they will offer furniture hot showers and Beds rivilling only a five star hotel. I wish to list here the various places you can enjoy the comfort of tented camps. My list may not be exhaustive but it can serve as a guide to those who would wish to live in tented camps while on vacation in Kenya.

The Amboseli National Park has tented camps and cottages where you can have uninterrupted view of Mt. Kilimanjaro. The wildlife are kept off by a fence running around the camp site making it safe to watch game and walk around in the night. These tented camps are a complete contrast to the more luxurious cottages at the Amboseli Lodge Tortilis Camp Amboseli Serena Lodge and the Ol Tukai Lodge Where you will be treated to well kept gardens wonderful views of Mt. Kilimanjaro Swimming pools and enough amenities making your stay very comfortable and spiritually rewarding. But of course if you are traveling on a budget you could try the Namanga River Hotel Campi ya Kazi or the Nyati Safari camp all with nice tented camps erected under acacia trees giving you the advantage of the nice scenic view of Mt. Kilimanjaro.

The Tsavo National Park offers a wide range of wild life and birds within the dense vegetation swamps remarkable rolling hills volcanic caves and huge rocks. Here you will find tented camps with basic amenities like running water bathrooms mosquito nets bedding and toilet facilities. Unlike in the Amboseli one will have to make arrangement for lunch and dinner at nearby lodges and hotels. However a few of them have luxurious tented camps but are a bit more costly to rent. There are good places where you can arrange for tented camps like the Severin Safari Camp in Mombasa the Voyager Safari Camp at the Zimani Gate the Finch Hatton’s Safari Camp lacated on the western side of the Tsavo National Park and the Satao Camp on the banks of the Voi River

This list would not be complete without reference to the Kenyan coastal town of Mombasa. This town is home to the Simba Hills National park where you can watch elephants antelopes and zebras grazing on the grasslands the sandy beaches of Malindi the Watamu marine National Park and the age old Lamu town. You are sure to be treated to the best tented camps at the Makurumuji Tented Camping site at the Simba hills National Park the Shompole Camping site on Lake Magadi which offers a Jacuzzi to keep you cool From the warm breezes.

One thing about tented camping sites is the amount of backpacking one has to carry which is a little cumbersome but this should not undermine the benefits that accrue from tented camping sites. You will definitely be able to save lots of money that you can invest in many ways like either in eating at a five star or shopping for yourself antique Masai Lingerie traditional artifacts and the like. It should also be important to appreciate the fact that life at tented camping sites teaches you and makes you selfdependent. Its very interesting to see men and women who do not do any household work at all cleaning plates while in camping sites.

About the writer:  Lucy Maruhi is a tour operator and has been organizing and reporting on Vacation Travel and Tours for years. For more information on Tented Camps Kenya visit her site at Tented Camps Kenya

Affordable Camping Equipment – How To Get A Good Bargain

Thinking of going camping and want to turn your camping adventure into a proper camping holiday? You will find a camping holiday exciting and a lot of fun for you your friends your partner or with your family the choice is up to you.

Camping is proving popular because it is an affordable activity and can save on a lot of expenditure required for hotels and extras. Just because camping is affordable doesn’t mean that you will not spend as much or more than you had planned to as it easy enough to go over the top when you are away on holiday. When buying camping equipment you will need to set yourself a budget so that can keep costs down. You will be looking at camping supplies which are affordable and not out of your price range so do read on.

When you are equipping yourself with camping supplies such as an outdoor cooker lanterns or tents you may think about going to a car boot sale or a garage sale. Look in your local papers or for any signs of a nearby sale where you could pick up a bargain. The classified advertisements will list items with contact details of the seller and a price. You may find a place that regularly sells camping equipment.

Sales are normally listed in a newspaper so it is worth looking the classified sections for dates and where the sale is taking place. Often sellers may only have a few items to sell so will just list them in a newspaper rather than holding a garage sale. You will able to see which sellers have camping equipment for sale what they have listed and how much they are going for. You can find quality items at a fraction of the prices for new equipment so that they are more affordable.

There also online auction sites which you can look at and it is easy to browse through the selection available. You will often see photos of the item for sale so that you have a better idea of what you are getting. You can buy equipment that is new or used at much cheaper affordable prices of the same quality. It is always nice to be able to see an item before you think about buying it.

Whether you are thinking of going to car boot or garage sale looking at classified sections of a newspaper or using online auction websites these methods are all useful for picking up camping equipment within your price range. Most of the equipment that you will find will probably be used so you are buying secondhand so if you prefer to buy new camping equipment you will need to look elsewhere. Department stores are one of the many places which offer many things to buy including outdoor camping equipment. It is worth checking out the sales for a bargain or something at a reduced price. That way you can buy something new and save at the same time. There are usually displays so you can see what the equipment looks like when grouped with other things and to give you some ideas. It should be easy to find lanterns sleeping bags tents and many more items. Whilst you are in the department you may even want to stock up on food drinks and snacks that you will need for your next camping trip. It is useful if you can find everything at one stop.

There are also special camping stores and sport stores which will stock the necessary items that you will need for camping. Always watch out for the sales so that you can buy things long before your next planned trip. Sales are always advertised on television in newspapers or on the internet online. A lot of the stores that you visit have websites which you should check out too you can sometimes save on online prices compared to instore. Just do a standard search on the internet and you should find a selection to look at.

So these are all methods that you can use to find camping equipment that is affordable. Getting cheaper equipment can be done if you want to save some money or you could just go ahead and buy something that you like if you see it. The benefits of saving money are so you don’t have to worry about whether you are spending too much money and making sure that you have enough to enjoy yourself. Saving a little extra is always good as it may come in handy later.

About the writer:  Abhishek is an avid Camping enthusiast and he has got some great Camping Secrets up his sleeves! Download his FREE 84 Pages Ebook “How To Have An Unforgettable Camping Vacation!” from his website http://www.CampingGuru.com/768/index.htm . Only limited Free Copies available.

5 Basic Survival Skills

There are 5 basic survival skills that every person should know. Without these basic skills chances of survival are diminished greatly leaving survival to a matter of luck rather than knowledge. What are those five basic survival skills?

Well first of all you must understand the top three threats to your survival. Once you understand those then you will better understand just how important a few basic survival skills will be to your survival. The three threats to survival are: exposure dehydration and starvation. Extreme cold can kill you in three minutes lack of water will kill you in three days and lack of food will kill you in three weeks.

The 5 basic survival skills are:

1. Know how to build a shelter

2. Know how to start a fire

3. Know how to find water or to distill water from the sun

4. Know how to set snares and traps

5. Know how to butcher

With those basic skills you can protect yourself from the weather avoid dying from thirst and starvation. The great thing about these skills is that you dont have to take expensive survival courses. In fact much of the information that you need can be learned online and practiced in your own backyard.

Shelter A shelter can be as simple as leaning three or four thick tree branches against each other at a point like a teepee. Use a bit of vine to tie the top points together. Then on three sides starting at the bottom begin laying other branches leaves grasses building up toward the top; each top layer overlapping the layer just below it. This is a basic grass/branch teepee and can actually be large enough for several people.

Fire Next learn to build a fire using not only matches but an eyeglass lens a magnifying glass or just two sticks. Learn how to use a flint and steel fire starter. There are a variety of ways to build a fire that are easy to learn. If you dont have matches you must know how to use a bit of dry tender and two sticks to start a fire for warmth and cooking.

Water With a bit of plastic sheeting or a large trash bag you can use nature to collect water from the sun. Dig a 3 x 3 x 2 deep pit. Place a cup or cooking pot in the bottom of the hole. Then loosely cover the top of the pit with the plastic sheet. Use rocks to secure the edges of the plastic to the ground around the edges of the top of the pit. Place a small pebble in the center of the plastic causing a dip in the plastic towards the cup or pot in the bottom of the pit. Heat will cause moisture to condense on the underside of the plastic. It will roll down towards the center depression caused by the pebble on the top side of the plastic and drip into the gathering pot.

Traps A bit of string or wire can be fashioned into a loop and laid across a rabbit trail. By anchoring it to a trip wire that will loosen with a bit of a pull the loop will close around the animals neck ensuring you have a bit of meat for supper. For larger game and with the help of another person you can balance a large rock on a sturdy tree limb and create a deadfall trap.

Butchering Once the trap has produced dinner you still need to know how to undress the animal. The basic thing is to cut the throat and hang the animal head down to drain the blood out. Next pierce the fur at the neck and being careful not to pierce the abdomen split the fur from neck to anus. Cut around the feet cut off the head and pull off the hide or fur. Next carefully pierce the skin over the abdomen without cutting into the stomach and remove all the guts.

These are the 5 basic survival skills needed by every person for survival. Even if you dont find yourself in the woods trying to survive these skills can be used anywhere. The materials for building a shelter might change but the basic skills will ensure that you are warm with water and food. No one can make you learn these skills but an investment of your time in practice will ensure that you have the 5 basic survival skills that you and your family need.

About the writer:  C.L. Hendricks is a “jillofalltrades” and an expert in some. She writes on a variety of subjects for several websites including InvitingSmiles and Survival Homestead to name a few.