Kings Pool Camp – Wilderness Safari’s – 2 nights

We were collected at the airstrip by Alex. We waited another 10 minutes for another flight to come in, and an English couple joined the three of us. As it was already past 3:30 pm, and the Camp was a good 45 minute drive away, Alex suggested that we go on a game drive. We all had no problem with that, and we were off. We saw elephant by the river. On the other side is Namibia.

We got to the camp at around 7:00 pm. The welcome was warm, but not like the other camps. Kings Pool is a Premier Camp. We had a seat in the lounge area. The whole common area is under a huge slopped roof. In the middle is a double sided bar that would fit in well in any major capital city. In front of the bar in the open is a fire deck with a large fixed circular seat around it. To the left of the bar is a dining area, and to the right in the open is a small infinity edged pool. Being in the bush, the whole place felt intimidating. Maybe the Premier Camps attract a particular clientele that likes the uber bling and luxury in the bush???

We were given a quick briefing on the camp, and shown to our tent (number 2). Tents 1-5 are to the left of the bar, and 6-10 on the right. To access them, you walk on raised walkways. At one point, the raised walkway sloped down to ground level, and it was open on either side, to create a walkthrough for hippo (very cool). We passed tent 5, 4 and 3. Near each tent (actually these are not tents, but rooms), they have left of some of the railing to allow elephants to cross (the walkway is at least a meter of the ground).

The door to the room is huge. It swings out, and when you enter, the first thing I saw was the huge size of the room, and the high ceiling. In front were twin beds (the mattresses were very springy and felt old. The pillows were hard and not comfortable to sleep on) swathed in mosquito netting. Behind the bed was a long buffet type table (excellent to leave your cameras, hats, etc.). To the left, adjacent to the door was a writing desk and chair. Beyond that was the bathroom with a twin vanity (Charlotte Rhys toiletries), and a huge double shower (yes two rain shower heads). To the right of the entrance was a cupboard, and a door leading to a toilet with a view. In front of the bed was a lounge area with a leather sofa chair and footstool, as well as a sofa and coffee table. To the left was another writing desk and chair. To the left of the bed, and in front of the bathroom was a deck with a plunge pool, two sun beds, and beyond that was a day bed mattress, and an outdoor shower. The whole place was huge, and plush. Most of the walls were huge windows, and there were 4 doors leading out to the deck from the room and bathroom. I felt we were not shown the bedroom amenities properly, as we had to look for the toilet, and also figure out the laundry basket rules. The views from the room, bathroom and deck were stunning. Overlooking a river and the other side was Namibia.

Electricity was available 24 hours, but there was one tiny plug to charge anything. What I had been advised was to carry my own power board for the safari, which was not needed in the Classic Camps, but in a Premier Camp???

At Kings Pool and we learnt also at other Premier Camps, the guest like a later start then the Classic Camps. Wake up was at 6:00 or 6:30 am, so game drives did not begin till around 7:00 or 7:30 am. Continental breakfast also included eggs and cold meats. The really cool thing at breakfast was the long bench type table where everyone sat facing the river. The juice was fresh, as were the bakery items (buttery, flaky croissants).

Dinner was on a communal table, with a set starter that was served, and then a choice of plated main course, and set desert. Food was not exceptional. Brunch had a choice of buffet salads, cheese, cold meats and desert, with a choice of a plated hot course. It was a nice touch, but not ‘premier’.

The vehicles had three rows of seats with only two seats on each row, that were separated by a large storage bin with a lid in the middle. This was a great place to keep camera bags, jumpers, etc. The game drives in this area were like Vumbara. On our last game drive, as we had a short one, as we were flying out, we were given another guide, as all the other guests wanted to go and see the Savuti channel flow. We decided to leave camp by 6:30 am. In the concession are three camps, and each clearly have their own areas for game drives. On the final morning, we heard on the radio that one of the other camps were following a pride of lion headed in our direction. We came across their vehicles, and a young male and female lion, who were very near around 30 giraffe. The other vehicles got bored and left. All of a sudden the two cats ran off, and we followed. We heard a loud bray and grunt. We came across 3 young males and 2 females, who had just started bringing down a stallion zebra. One of the females jumped on the back, and they started to kill the zebra. We called the other vehicles who took time to get back. Wilderness have a policy where a maximum of three vehicles can be at any one sighting. We saw the best bit, and left graciously to allow other vehicles in, but the kill was over.

One afternoon, I was snoozing on the day bed, when a large bull elephant came grazing. I was woken slowly, and when I looked, the elephant was less then 15 cm on the other side of the woven wooden wall. It is the closest I have been to an elephant. He was not at all fazed by us being there. It was an awesome experience. He had also crossed over the raised walkway where there was no railing.

One of the reasons we stayed at Kings Pool was to experience a Premier Camp. Was it worth it? I would say no. The safari experience was not as raw as the Classic Camps. The place felt colder, more modern, and guests dressed for dinner. The Classic Camps were fun, and much more laid back. The Premier Camps are for some guests, clearly not us. The experience was in no way terrible, but just not what we would want in the bush. Wilderness have clearly made a product that sells to a certain clientele, or market segment, and I would commend them for that.

After two relaxing nights, we left for the airstrip. We had seen lion, a leopard, elephant, ostrich, kudu, impala, tsessebe, bat eared fox, warthog, zebra, and lots of other animals and so many birds. We saw a kill and had a close encounter with an elephant.