Early morning in Karongwe camp, the bush is slowly waking up. The birds welcome the new day with their beautiful calls, the stunning sunrise paints everything in a golden light.
Even though it isn’t easy to crawl out of our cozy beds, it’s time to get up and spend another adventurous, instructive, and wonderful day out in the reserve.
After months of bad luck, including a fire burning down a big part of the camp and the camp being flooded during the huge amount of summer rains, the camp has been rebuilt with a lot of sweat and passion over the last few months.
The first group to arrive at the newly built Karongwe Camp
We are the first group that is lucky enough to spend a part of our one-year course in Karongwe. The camp spreads along the riverbed of the Korong-we river. The big Meru-style tents are situated on the eastern side of the camp. A lot of space, our own porch with two comfortable chairs, and the nice view make camping quite convenient.
The camp layout
The western side of the camp is the communal area which includes three new buildings with thatched roofs. In the small but well-equipped kitchen, chef Olivia and her crew prepare our delicious meals three times a day. Following the simplistic pathway, you find a building consisting of the office, toilets, and a library/computer room which is still in progress. The biggest building is our lecture hall right next to the office. A lot of space, electricity most times of the day, and the cupboards with a big variety of different new books create a pleasant learning environment. If you prefer studying outside you find shady spots under all the beautiful Tamboti trees that predominantly grow in camp while being surrounded by the resident Nyal
The dining area
When it’s time to eat, the area around the campfire welcomes you to chat and socialize on the outside tables. Sometimes you even get the chance to observe one of Karongwe’s big buffalo bulls known as ‘dagga boys’ feeding close to the tables while you’re enjoying your meal. If you feel like working out after all the delicious food you can train at the newly built outdoor gym area and have an outdoor shower under the amazing African sun afterward.
The Karongwe experience
Overall EcoTraining has managed to rebuild a beautiful camp that gives students the opportunity to focus on their intense studies and enjoy some comfort at the same time in the middle of the South African bush.
Meet the team at Karongwe
Meet the team at EcoTraining’s Karongwe camp. The dedicated team has been working hard the last couple of months as the Karongwe camp went through great changes. Once again Karongwe is looking grand and is ready to welcome its new students.
For those interested to browse through some more EcoTraining camps please view here: https://www.ecotraining.co.za/camps/
