Yes, a Safari Tent. Honestly. No crossed fingers behind my back.
I’m pretty near allergic to camping; in fact, the last time I was under tarpaulin was when I failed to get to grips with the Barbecue cover in a strong breeze.
But, believe me, the Safari Tent is a thing of beauty. It’s on a wooden decking platform, with sealed and spacious rooms rounded off with an ever-so-reassuring, heavy duty all-over canopy.
It has a built in covered balcony with raffia chairs and sofa, two bedrooms and a living/dining area inside the “tent”, complete with a dining table for five people. Yes, really.
Expecting a Primus stove, a cool box and refillable water bottles? Wrong again. The tent has a three door wooden kitchen unit with a two ring halogen cooker, a sink unit and hot and cold running water.
The double bed is dead comfy and the second bedroom has a clever three single bed setup that will keep the kids happy. It’s a boon not to have to take bedding. In fact, you only need towels. And you can park next to the Safari Tent.
We had a fantastic stay at the Southlands, Isle of Wight, site. The site is situated at Newchurch, not far from Newport and very close to the lovely beaches at Ryde, Seaview, Sandown, Shanklin and Ventnor.
The Park was expertly run, clean and very peaceful. The toilet and washroom block was one minute away from our Safari Tent and very clean morning, noon and night.
The Isle of Wight really is a super venue to try Experience Freedom’s Safari Tent offer. The pace of local life is dramatically different from that across the Solent, at the other end of Fishbourne’s Wightlink Ferry terminal at Portsmouth Harbour. Roads are quiet and even the widest stretch, between the Needles Head and Ryde, is just a 24-mile, hour or so trip.
There are brilliant beaches, lovely towns, traditional and modern attractions, farm shops and pubs. One, the lovely Potter’s Arms, is just a 15 minute walk from the site.
For campers, life without wheels below them may be a bit of a quantum leap though. I’d say, go on- give it a try. Our fellow Safari Tent explorers (there are four Tents positioned in a central section of the site) all gave positive feedback. All thought the facilities were robust, snug and comfortable.
From our perspective, Southland’s Safari Tent offered the chance to improve well-being, inhale the Isle of Wight air and get closer to nature for a few days.
It really was a much needed chance to…Experience Freedom.
