4x4 Camping

[Gromit]

[quote author=The Seeker link=topic=6455.msg35567#msg35567 date=1248186677]
SHEESH!

When we go camping, the worst thing we have to worry about would be the mosquitoes!!!

Tigers, lions, leopards, hyenas??? SCREW that &%$#!!!
[/quote]

No tigers but we get the mozzies and the rest. Beauty about the African bush - it's wild. Africa's not for sissies that's for sure.

But seeing these creatures up close in their natural habitat................priceless!

 

[The Seeker]

Animals that have the ability to eat me I prefer to see stuffed and mounted at best.....or on The Animal Planet channel on my TV.

 

[The Seeker]

I could just picture my Wife (the big city girl who's idea of roughing it is to go without a microwave oven) doing that...LOL!!!

When my kids were little, we used to go tent camping until one night she saw a large spider. After that, we had to buy a small pop-up type camping trailer so she wouldn't be on the ground.

 

[Gromit]

One consolation - we don't have grizzly's here! I'm not a big camping fanatic. My idea of camping previously was to stay in a Game Lodge and go out with rangers on a game drive. They have big rifles etc. Now I'm learning to rough it. Don't mind spiders and scorpions too much - I hate snakes and we get some mean ones here. Black mamba's, green mamba, puff adder, rinkhals (spitting cobra) - yuch!!

 

[Simmer]

Good Grief Gromit!!! I thought we had problems with snakes, cougs, black and griz bears. We have no problems with hiking and camping compared to you folks!! No thanks.

Dave

 

[DaveM]

Now that I think of it I really consider myself lucky in the respect that when I go out and work at some places I need to keep a lookout for any of the big five

 

[The Seeker]

I hope you use insect repellent when you go out in the African bush!

I watched a program where an American went on an African safari, got bitten by a mosquito which was carrying bot fly eggs. When he returned to the States, large bumps started showing up on his skin. After seeing a bunch of doctors, it turned-out that there were huge bot fly maggots living in his skin. The only way to get them out was to cover the bumps with Vaseline which cut-off their oxygen supply and forces them to the surface where they can be pulled out with tweezers.

 

[CarlS]

Like Avion, I have done my fair share of "camping" in the US Army. I also did a lot of camping with my kids. It was the only way we could afford to travel. That website will tell you nearly everything you need to know. In addition to the tent (and I would opt for the car top kind - much better in the rain, too), a portable shower and a portable toilet. That makes the end of the day a lot more pleasant.

 

[Gromit]

Stop! All of the campsites run by the SA National Parks are fenced and very safe but where we're going is really out in the 'bundu'. The only concession they've made in the Mapangubwe camps is ablution blocks, petrol/diesel pump a communal cooking area. There are beautiful lodges and luxury accommodation too but we're opting for the camping scene because of the wildlife.
We do take insect repellent but mostly our mozzies carry the danger of malaria. For some unknown reason, I don't get bitten but Farside and Liam get eaten alive - they douse themselves in repellent and still get bitten.
Mapangubwe has just been declared a world heritage site - there are ancient ruins there assumed to be built by the same peoples who build the Zimbabwe Ruins (no, it's not Mugabe). They've retrieved gold statuettes of rhino and other animals, found many remnants of 'rock art'. And ofcourse, the wild animals. Really guys, we could take you to some very safe but not less beautiful areas in SA.

 

[RAFIKI]

Hello Gromit

Just a note for you to remember.I see that Wallace has bought a disco 3 and the places you are going to visit do not have any Land Rover dealers nearby. Best you travel together with someone who owns a Land Cruiser .You might need a tow :ya2:

 

[Gromit]

Hey Rafiki - long time no see, no hear!! Just to put your mind at rest, yes, the other couple do have a Land Cruiser :y72: