Part One of My Glamping Series: Out of Africa!

I decided to start my HotelChatter glamping series in the birthplace of the trend (and of humanity itself), Africa. That is where five-star safari camps have been springing up for nearly a century as big-game hunters and animal enthusiasts have flocked to the continent to witness its natural wonders.

I start with an "Out of Africa" luxury package in Kenya that commemorates the 25th anniversary of the film. Then it's off to a newly redone sister property in Tanzania, before poking around a luxury villa-lodge on a private South African game reserve.

We make two more stops in the south: one at the Mahale Greystoke Lodge on the shores of Tanzania's Lake Tanganyika, where guests enjoy the best of both worlds--watersports on the lake, and jungle hiking amongst the large wild chimpanzee populations that inhabit the nearby hills. The second stop is the Vamizi Lodge on Mozambique's Indian Ocean coast for some sea-breezed R&R, the freshest seafood in the world, and a more-than-modest amount of spa pampering.

Finally, I didn't want to forget that Africa has a vast, untamed north as well, and so the last stop on today's itinerary is in the Tunisian desert at a Bedouin oasis that has luxury tents, a hammam, and a plethora of desert exploration activities.

Sound fun? Read about these and more in Day One of my Glamping Series here: http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2010/3/22/193930/074/hotels/HotelChatter_s_Guide_to_Glamping_Out_of_Africa_Style