Mobile safaris, where guests move between camps, usually with the same guide escorting them throughout, are becoming more popular with tourists. It is a great way to experience the remote parts of Africa and its unexplored wilderness.

The Luxury Safari Company has mobile safari options in Kenya, Tanzania and Botswana. There are varying levels of mobile camps, however there is no ‘roughing it’ element with the company. Guests will have their own private guide.

The mobile safari offering from the Luxury Safari Company, in partnership with Golden Africa in Botswana, takes guests anywhere from the plains of the Maasai Mara to the lakes of northern Kenya, to the Okavango Delta and Moremi in the Kalahari, all the way to the stretches of Sossusvlei and the Namib. However, guests ultimately can decide the route of their choosing.

African Bush Camps offers guests a chance to enjoy Zimbabwe’s legendary Mana Pools on the banks of the Zambezi, with its Zambezi Expeditions, situated at the Namyepi/Nkupi camping site.

The mobile camp along the Zambezi River comprises 12 luxury beds, set up prior to guests’ arrival. Guests can canoe, fish and go for game drives along the flood plain in an open 4x4 Land Cruiser.

With six twin-bedded tents and en-suite facilities, giving the camp a ‘glamping’ feel, the camp is fitted with 12-volt lighting and charging facilities. There is also a mess tent with a dining and seating area.

Sanctuary Retreats runs the Sanctuary Serengeti Migration Camp, which moves through the Serengeti throughout the year in step with the Great Migration, bringing guests close up to the action as it happens.

The camp is in the Central Serengeti Kukubuka area from June to July, the North Serengeti Lamai site from August to November and the Serengeti South from December until March.

There are 10 luxury en-suite safari tents, each with an indoor bucket shower.

Anna Neville from Sanctuary Retreats, highlights the location of Sanctuary Serengeti Migration Camp for overseas operators booking mobile safaris, saying it offers guests a true wilderness experience, allowing them year-round viewing of the great migration as well as access to areas where permanent camps are not permitted.

She says: “Guests to the camp can still expect all the usual indulgences one has come to expect from Sanctuary Retreats, such as delicious dietary-sensitive food, expert guides and first-class service.”

Sanctuary Serengeti Migration Camp.

Wilderness Safaris launched Privately Guided Explorations last year, operating in Botswana, Zimbabwe and Namibia, all of which allow guests to travel between various camps. Explorations in Namibia include Diverse Namibia and the Desert Dune Safari.

Diverse Namibia incorporates the Kulala Adventurer Camp in Sossusvlei, Hansa Hotel in Swakopmund, where guests can enjoy the Atlantic coast on a catamaran dolphin and seal cruise, Damaraland Adventurer Camp in Damaraland, as well as Andersson’s Camp in the Ongava Game Reserve.

Guests are transported by vehicle to each of the camps, with travel time of between five and eight hours for each journey.

Explorations are led by highly skilled and qualified professional guides, with a passion for the regions.

The Desert Dune Safari takes place over nine to 10 days, and runs between May and mid-November.

The tour includes the Kulala Desert Lodge in the Kulala Wilderness Reserve, Hansa Hotel in Swakopmund, where guests arrive by air, Terrace Bay Lodge in the Skeleton Coast National Park, Hoanib Skeleton Coast Camp in the Palmwag Concession and Desert Rhino Camp in the same concession. On day 10, guests take a road transfer to the Doro Nawas Airstrip for their return flight to Windhoek.

During this tour, guests get to experience the Atlantic coast while on a boat cruise, as well as the imposing Sandwich Harbour dune fields by 4x4. The adventure is rounded off with a private seafood lunch before returning to Walvis Bay.

Simon Stobbs, Wilderness Safaris Business Unit Manager for North America says: “Namibia is the ideal destination for a mobile safari. There are a number of unique areas in the country that can be easily accessed by road or air; places such as Sossusvlei, Swakopmund, Damaraland and Etosha to name a few. Furthermore, the country lends itself to setting up mobile tented-camps in some of the more unexplored parts.”

Photo Credit: Wilderness Safaris. Diverse Namibia mobile safari.

Rhino Africa offers a luxury tented camping experience in Tanzania, perfect for those wanting to experience the Great Migration first-hand.

The Serengeti under Canvas camp follows the wildebeest migration, attempting to anticipate the animals’ movements when setting up the luxury mobile tented camps, allowing guests to follow the migration step-by-step.

Pangolin Photo Safaris offers a 10-day mobile safari in the Okavango Delta, Botswana.

Guests will travel between Savute in the Chobe National Park, Khwai River, the eastern most extremity of the Delta’s wetland system, Moremi Game Reserve, Nxai Pan, Makgadikgadi and Central Kalahari.

The day-to-day itinerary is flexible and dependent on the movement of the animals in the area.

Photo credit: Steven Stockhall.

Acacia Africa provides overland tours, which are mobile safaris but without the camping, with guests spending the night in lodges or tented camps. A purpose-built truck transports guests between the various destinations, ensuring that the road trip is comfortable.

However, guests still spend the night under canvas at Spitzkoppe in Namibia, the Serengeti and Ngorongoro excursion due to the remoteness of these locations.

Fedair is available for charters between various camps, cutting down travel time between lodges and various mobile camps.