Roving Bushtops Mobile Safari Tent
Roving Bushtops Mobile Safari Tents – our latest innovation!
Having established Mara Bushtops and Serengeti Bushtops in Kenya and Tanzania, we wanted our third camp to be right in the heart of the Serengeti, so that our visitors could be as close to the annual migration as possible.
Soon we were given the amazing news: we’d been granted a prime site at Seronera, within easy reach of the migration from November to April, and with stunning wildlife all year round.
Then came the interesting part. We were told that the camp had to be 100% mobile, with no permanent features. Never ones to shy away from a challenge, we started to consider how we would develop a mobile camp that would maintain the distinctive elements that underpin our reputation: exceptional luxury in the heart of the bush.
Developing the Mobile Safari Tents
We wanted our third camp to set even higher standards. The challenge was on.
It soon became clear that nothing that already existed was going to work. For example, we wanted wooden decks around each tent, but how do you do that if the whole thing has to be mobile? So we started playing with the idea of a tent in a container, with the outer walls folding down to create a surrounding deck. The key was to turn theory into mechanical reality whilst maintaining the quality that is the Bushtops trademark.
After extensive research we put together a team talented enough to make the concept work, drawing on their experience of creating everything from electric vehicles to ships. We’ve used ground-breaking technologies, advanced engineering plus architectural and design innovations to create a truly pioneering, light, practical product, with interiors carefully designed to match the look of a super yacht.
Swiss design has been matched by fabrication from Canada, the USA, Italy, Portugal, India, England and Belgium with fixtures and finishes coming from 16 countries all over the world.
Producing our Rovers
Production has moved to Cape Town and we’re now in the final construction stages of our mobile safari tents, which we call Rovers. Next stop: assembly and shipping to Tanzania.
We still have hurdles to overcome, but excitement in the Bushtops Camp is running high and we simply can’t wait to see the Rovers arrive in Tanzania. In the meantime our team in Tanzania and Kenya has been busy preparing the million and one other things that go into opening a camp, ranging from building the staff camp to establishing the kitchen, laundry, vehicles, menus and getting stuck into staff training …the list goes on.
But it’s great to know we’re creating something to be proud of and we’re really looking forward to welcoming you to our new camp when it opens later this year.
