Jack’s Camp

Be spoilt for choice with the best in comfort food, and as you dine enjoy overlooking the awe-inspiring landscapes of the Kalahari. Sit back and relax in the iconic, nomadic Persian tea tent.

Enjoy sweet treats in the Persian tea tent.

Get up close and personal with our habituated meerkats.

At first sight, the lunar-like salt pans appear devoid of life, but in the hands of the of the knowledgeable camp guides the story of the Makgadikgadi begins to unfold. Take game drives and night drives in custom built 4x4s to spot the unique desert wildlife that inhabits the pans, like the elusive brown hyena or Kalahari lion. Enjoy game drives in the Makgadikgadi National Park during longer stays.

Spend time looking at the fascinating Natural History Cabinets, dripping with artifacts from this ancient landscape as well as telling stories from around the world. Relax in the new larger mess tent, enjoying the well-stocked drinks chest and antique pool table. Or soak up the sun at the swimming pool pavilion, the only one of its kind in Africa.

Discover the secrets of the pans with the Zu/’hoasi Bushmen on a fascinating bush walk.

Enjoy a visit to the site of the historic Chapman’s Baobab. Once one of the three largest trees in Africa and a national monument of Botswana, Chapman’s Baobab was visited by many a tourist and was originally even used as a landmark for travellers.

Embark on an adventurous horseback safari (for all levels of riders; additional charge applies, but one two-hour safari is included if staying for three nights or longer). Multi-day riding safaris are also available for experienced riders – more information on request

The dry season is the desert as you know it: a shimmering whiteness envelops the scorched landscape, like a mirage floating over the crusted salt, and you’ll spot nomadic herds in the distance, as if an illusion. Take an exhilarating quad bike across the salt-crusted pans. Lie out on the pans just before night fall and watch the planetarium of stars unfold above you. Hunt for stone tools in the crusty salt flats of the enormous Sowa Pan.

Witness the second largest migration of zebra and wildebeest in Africa (and it’s also the last remaining one in Southern Africa). When the rains start to fall in November, the Makgadikgadi Pans are transformed. It’s a time of plenty (even in the desert), and the salt flats are turned into watery grasslands, almost unrecognizable from the previous months. A layer of emerald-green grass stretches out in every direction, pink clouds of flamingo and flocks of migratory birds arrive to nest, and Africa’s second largest mammal migration of wildebeest and our black and white striped friends floods the plains.