Kalahari & Makgadikgadi Pans Camps
The saltpans of the Makgadikgadi provide a striking contrast to the Okavango Delta. Spending a few days here and in the Kalahari grasslands will give you an appreciation for the diversity of Botswana wilderness. You’ll see the animals, birds and vegetation of the desert and have the opportunity to experience the San Bushmen, who’ve inhabited this area for over 30,000 years.
Jack's Camp
Jack's Camp was originally established in the 60s by Jack Bousfield, a legendary figure who lived there for many years preceding his unfortunate death in an aircraft accident in 1992. As homage to the vision of his father, his son, Ralph, along with his partner Catherine Raphaely established Jack's Camp which was refurbished at the beginning of 2003, using a traditional East African 1940s safari style. This striking locale and romantic design provide a most unique safari experience. The roomy tents are spread out from the main pavilion which has the distinction of being a national museum of Botswana and the gathering place for lavish and elegant meals. Each tent has en-suite bathroom, Persian rugs underfoot, beautiful furniture, outdoor shower and a veranda where guests can enjoy the Kalahari breezes and try to comprehend this rugged wilderness.
"This is one of the only places in the world where the silence is so complete you can hear the blood rushing through your ears."
Guests can explore remote archaeological sites, periodically discovering never-before-documented fossil beds of extinct giant zebra and hippo. During the dry season, guests travel the pans on 4-wheel-drive quad bikes. During the wet season (late November through early April) the landscape transforms. Clouds of flamingo and other migratory birds descend from the heavens to decorate the watery grasslands. Herds of zebra and wildebeest are drawn by the lush grass, and for several months, the desert is teeming with game and predators. Species unique to the area include the elusive brown hyena, aardvark, gemsbok and springbok. Guests are able to walk through the Kalahari with a gang of habituated, yet wild meerkats and spend a morning with a group of Zu/'hoasi Bushmen. The guides at Jack's are all personally selected and trained by Ralph Bousfield. They are an erudite breed, often graduate students who combine research with guiding. The opportunity to explore the intricacies and adaptations in the Kalahari with these experienced guides makes for a fascinating safari experience. These guides won “The Good Safari Guide” award for Best Guiding Team in 2009.
Ralph Bousfield is the last in a long line of family safari operators commencing with his great grandfather who took Princess Eugenie on safari to view her son's grave after the Zulu war. Five generations of safari experience have both inspired and informed a unique understanding and sensitivity for Africa and its people.
Members of his father's family trained the lions for the film "Born Free," ran the East African Game Department when it still controlled Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya, trapped and relocated the last of the Arabian oryx to Oman, have various species named after them, sited in the first safari camp in the Moremi and are even recorded in the Guiness Book of Animal Records for trapping 54,000 crocodiles.
San Camp
Jack's Camp and San Camp are unique in that they are the only permanent camps to offer a chance to explore and understand the Kalahari. San Camp offers a smaller and more rustic feel. An oasis is formed with six pale khaki canvas tents circa 1940, no running water nor electricity, but comfy four-poster beds, mosquito net canopies, cambric sheets, bucket showers, paraffin lamps and butlers. You're about as far away from that office of yours as you can get! Guests venture forth on on 4-wheel-drive quad bikes onto the Makgadikgadi pans. There is nothing out here. Absolutely nothing. No outcrops, no features, no grass, no trees, no sound but the crunch of your boots in the crust. Watch the sun set and then lie on your back to watch the stars come out. A morning spent with the Zu/'hoasi Bushmen will astonish you with their ancient knowledge of plants, animal behaviors and survival skills. You can hang out with a gang of habituated, but wild meerkats (Timon to "The Lion King" fans) and gaze with awe at the enormous baobab trees that have stood here for centuries. San Camp operates from April to October.
March, 2010 Update: San Camp has closed and will re-open in 2011.
Camp Kalahari
Camp Kalahari is the newest offering by the same folks who own Jack's and San Camps. Opened in May 2009, this camp feels like a return to the traditional safari style of the old explorers. Tucked away on Brown Hyena Island, guests can take in the stark beauty of the Kalahari region. There are six Meru-style tents featuring en-suite bathrooms with flush toilets. Mouth-watering Pan African menus are served in the beautiful dining room and there is a well-stocked library and sitting areas. Daily adventures can range from guided walks with Bushmen trackers and scenic nature drives to excursions to Green’s Baobab (one of the famous historical baobabs in the region) and the opportunity to interact with friendly meerkat. This is an ideal camp for families with children, and anyone who desires the experience of this area in a fresh and affordable way.
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