If the idea of staying in a tented camp in wild Africa enthrals you - you've come to the right place! Why? Because we're about to maximise the excitement by sharing the magic of Pungwe's authentic, immersive wilderness experiences under canvas...

It's the small hours of the morning... You're sleeping in a gloriously comfortable king-size bed, snuggled beneath a duvet dressed in crisp cotton linen, with an ethereal mosquito net encompassing everything and creating an air of the exotic. Somewhere in the distance a hyena's haunting call echoes across the Manyeleti savannah and you wake, alert almost immediately. The hyena calls again, closer this time, and somewhere behind you a lion roars. 

You wonder briefly what's going on and suddenly the realisation dawns on you - you're separated from the African wilderness only by canvas, allowing you to hear everything, from the faintest chirp of a cricket to the low rumbles of a passing elephant. Long-forgotten primal responses to the world around you kick in, heightening all of your senses and your ears seem to tingle with the act of actually listening.

You perceive the world in the way you were supposed to, aeons ago when staying in a tent would have been a luxury. Not that it isn't luxurious now, with lots of space and a positively capacious en-suite bathroom with flushing toilet and running water. In fact, it's more like a small, tented villa and about as far removed as it's possible to get from one of those flimsy, sneeze and they're gone, two-man dome tents you used on camping trips as a child.

Something moves in the undergrowth close by, rustling leaves and audibly snuffling as it goes. You slide out of bed, grabbing a torch, as you sidle up to a mesh tent window and shine a light through it into the enveloping darkness, revealing an unperturbed civet going about its business. You're at once amazed and unimpressed because in your mind it was 10 times bigger than that and should have been a leopard, at least.

Getting back into bed you check the time and discover there's a couple more hours to go until you have to get up for the morning game drive. Sleep beckons once more. As do dreams of Africa...

The alarm wakes you much more roughly than the hyena did, dragging you kicking and screaming from your slumber to tell you that dawn is imminent, so get a move on. There's a chill in the air, which is always coldest just before sunrise, as you hop across the cool tiled floor to the bathroom, emerging feeling somewhat more human and ready to face the day. 

There's a verbal "knock knock" at the door as Nandrick the maintenance magician gives you the Pungwe version of an alarm call. By now he's gotten the fire going and the legendary iron kettle is perched over the flames and on the boil, ready for the first cup of coffee of a brand-new day. You pull on your clothes and grab your camera bag before heading out into the soft light of daybreak and the welcoming warmth of the campfire where Nandrick is now waiting with hot water and ground coffee, ready to perform alchemy, the result of which arrives moments later in a steaming mug.

Another day at Pungwe has begun, and as you take your first sip of liquid gold you reflect on how you survived your first night under canvas, marvelling at the experience and how much you LOVED every minute of it. All of which makes you wonder why you were so worried about it during planning your safari when the question of a tented camp experience first came up.

Heading out into the wilderness of the Manyeleti on a morning drive, with everyone around you chattering about their nighttime experiences, you feel somewhat changed... Grown, somehow. Different. In a really great way. You feel more connected to nature, more in tune with your surroundings. More real. Less afraid. In fact, you feel stronger and able to deal with anything life throws at you. You're out there sleeping with the lions and hyenas and hey, it's absolutely cool. Exceptionally cool, actually. And in retrospect the best night's sleep you've had in ages. 

As the wilderness before you opens up and the sun pokes its head over the horizon, you suddenly feel small as you realise that your fears were unfounded and that tents are the only way to "do" a safari, because canvas walls don't separate you from the spirit of Africa, instead they immerse you more fully in everything that makes the African wilderness so incredible and transformative. 

By now you're hooked. Pungwe has worked its spell, and you are looking forward to the coming night in your tent, and every night after that. And planning your next trip.