Create your own safari experience
January 2, 2017
With the glow of candle light on canvas and the mesmerising hum of the African bushveld as your evening lullaby, the tented safari camp has become the new way to truly experience the raw, untouched beauty of the African landscape.

Scattered throughout Africa, you will find safari tent camps of all sizes and levels of luxury, tailored to suit your budget. The great news is this: an authentic safari tent experience doesn’t have to cost you a fortune.

Simple and chic safari tent set ups, which include all standard hotel amenities, where you will pay a reasonable R400 – R500 per night can be found throughout the country, while a slightly heftier price tag will buy you an experience at some of the country’s finest safari tent set ups, including Hamiltons Tented Camp in the heart of the Kruger National Park, Chapungu Luxury Tented Camp in Thornybush and Tanda Tula in the Timbavati Private Nature Reserve, delivering an exceptional safari tent holiday.

DIY Tenting

For a safari tent experience of your own making, there are a number of canvas safari tents and hoards of ‘glamping’ accessories available on the market today to create your own tented camp experience.

With ranges of simple 4-sleeper dome canvas tents, to portable canvas roof-top tents which can be mounted to the top of your vehicle, to gazebos and trailer tents, your safari tent options go from roughing it to glorious glamping. Consider also the luxury safari tents which can sleep up to 10 people at a time, and your experience as a safari tent owner can be every bit as luxurious as any 5-star set-up.

Accessorise and maximise!

Your adventure would of course not be complete without some much-needed accessories to make everything a little more comfortable and, not to mention, stylish!

Channel old-world safari charm with woven seagrass or colourfully textured mats for the interior of your tent or the dining area of your tent extension. Authentic gas lanterns or solar-powered Consol jars (all the rage at the moment!), dotted around the perimeter of your camping area and at your dining table will add a dreamy sense of warmth and light to your set up.

Cotton bedding and mosquito nets are a must in the warm summer months, while comfortable, portable bean bags are the new way to sit back and unwind with a good book. If car space is not limiting, you could also add a feminine touch and some character to make your campsite that extra bit luxurious with gorgeous colourful scatter cushions!

If you are the serious camping type and take pride in your overall camping set up and experience, then pop in to Darkie Designs where you will find the perfect accessories for you to achieve unmatched safari chic!

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By Kyra Harper August 15, 2023
Back in March of 2020, Bianca and Jana were dusting off their Fez’s and grabbing the pashminas out of storage in preparation to Rock the Casbah! However, as we all know and vividly remember - with March, came the eventual Covid shutdown, and instead of frolicking down the Moroccan streets, we all shut ourselves inside and watched the days tick by… 3 Years later, and now we can finally say - with conviction - that they’re going to Morocco at the start of September! This blog, filled with excitement and curiosity about all the weird and wonderful curios they might find, and endless sourcing they’ll do, stays as a reminder that sometimes plans change, things go awry and there’s not much you can do about it other than persevere - and that we did! So, here’s Bianca and Jana’s innermost thoughts about the trip, 3 years before it came to fruition, enjoy :) We've got our passports out and Jana has already picked out what she's going to wear each day… Come March [September] we'll be heading north with Air France to the Kingdom of Morocco, bright eyed and bushy tailed as we make our base in the ancient city of Marrakesh (also known as Marrakech to the French, but we're not French, so we'll go with the English version until all that fuss about Brexit is sorted out) - This turned into a year long negotiations trade, and now us outsiders would pay nearly double what we used to if we visit the UK - thankfully our flight is direct!! We'll be looking for inspiration and will be investigating what's there that we could possibly bring back to The Hoed. We can't wait to experience the atmosphere and afro-arabic influences of this amazing place as we visit the celebrated souks and off-the-beaten track artists and craftsmen that make Marrakesh so special. We're desperate to see the beautifully hand-crafted furniture, textiles, fabrics, rugs, carpets, objets d'art, accessories, lighting… anything that catches our eye and could possibly be brought back south. Berber mats and rugs are definitely on our list, as are the kind of furnishings you might find in a gorgeous Bedouin tent. If you think about it, the Bedouin refined the art of "glamping" into an artform - fabulous carpets on the ground, soft, billowing fabrics hung here and there, plump cushions spread on the ground, intricate leatherwork and carved wood, patinated metal… Total Glamping vibes! We just love all of it and will be tracking as much of it down as we can. We'll also have an eye or three out for wonderful ceramics and glassware and wonderful lamps that give off soft, filtered light.  For us it's about workmanship, so we'll hopefully be finding the people who make furniture and ceramics using techniques that have been passed down over countless generations meaning that everything we look at will have its own, and its own special story. Our mission is to share those stories with you and, if it's feasible, bring some of that special workmanship home to the Rainbow Nation. We're most definitely inspired and are sure this is going to be a truly special trip! Counting the sleeps till then! Less than a month to go now - we will be keeping the updates going on our social channels as well as another few blog posts to explain in detail our wild adventures - Stay tuned!
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