One of the reasons for choosing the Gaida Camp is that it has a tented camp deep in the wildlife reserve, easily the most southern location of any of the camp operators. Because of its location things are somewhat more basic than the main camp but the rewards are well worth a night's visit. The journey in itself is an adventure - where possible they will take you to the camp in jeeps, but often this option is impossible due to the height of the river, so you have to canoe the river for a few hours then walk in - walks of this kind are done in the centre of the day so reducing the risk of animal encounters as this is when they are least active. The walk in takes about an hour and a half.
When I said that facilities were basic - you are still not roughing it. The tents are large, safari style affairs, with two proper beds in each, and a shower room attached to each. Again the candle/paraffin lamp trick is used for lighting. The bar is in a rather small building (shack?) but the dining area is purposely built just like the main camp.
The camp is built on a small island with little creeks on all sides, again a deliberate choice to keep you clear of unwanted animal encounters, but it doesn’t guarantee anything - just a week before our arrival a bear was found sleeping in one of the tents. The creeks themselves are a fine place to go after dark as it’s the only place to get views of the stars and on our visit the forest on each bank was alive with fireflies and the noises of the jungle - truly magical.
Food again was included in the package, but as not many people use the tented camp it's worth checking what will be on the menu - the food gets transported from the main camp either by jeep or elephant every few days so there's a good chance of being able to influence the menu; there's always a vegetarian option but a talk with the staff can often produce impressive results.
The only activities available at the tented camp are walking safaris so make sure you have decent footwear as the paths can be muddy and long trousers are a distinct advantage - don’t wear bright vivid colours!
To return from the tented camp then for us this started with a walk out of the forest to meet up with ox drawn carts, driven (is that the right word?) by some local kids down to the river where instead of canoes we mounted elephants who waded through the river then took us through the jungle back to the main camp. Wicked!