SAN CAMP – MAKGADIKGADI PANS

San Camp is a luxurious seven-bedroom camp on the edge of the Nwetwe Pan in Botswana’s Makgadikgadi. The magic of the area is in the minimalism – both at the camp and in the mysterious desert landscape. It’s just you, the wildlife, and a handful of local San Bushmen, waiting to share their secrets with you.

The wildlife is desert adapted – meerkats, brown hyaena, bat eared foxes, jackal, lion, ostrich, red hartebeest, springbok and gemsbok to name a few. But San Camp isn’t just about wildlife watching – it’s about the atmosphere and the ethereal surroundings and where the 360-degree panoramas are so vast you can see the curvature of the earth.

Elegant and impossibly romantic, San Camp’s classic white tents offer 360 degree views over the sparkling salt pans. Take game drives and night drives to see the unique desert wildlife, spend time with the meerkats, join the Zu/’hoasi Bushmen on a bushwalk and travel across the salt-crusted earth by quad-bike.

LOCATION

San Camp is situated on the edge of the vast and mysterious Makgadikgadi Salt Pans in southern Botswana.

CAMP

San Camp has just 7 beautiful, billowing tents with enormous four-posters beds draped in crisp cotton and feather-soft blankets raised high above Persian rugs. Mahogany writing desks and leather armchairs contrast with the rugged surroundings and there’s a lazy day bed just outside which is perfect for an afternoon siesta on the decking.

Ensuite bathrooms have hot running water, showers and flush loos and there’s plenty of water in the elegant copper jugs and basins. The entire camp runs on solar-power and when darkness falls you will find lanterns scattered around to light the way.

At the main area the open-sided pavilions are bright and breezy and dinner is served in the mess tent accompanied by white linen and crystal glasses. San Camp serves delicious and innovative cuisine – think fresh tomato tartlets, three-layer banana and caramel cake and a superb Beef Wellington. Special diets can be catered for if notified in advance.

The camp has intriguing natural history cabinets and library with eclectic collections of old maps, fossils and artefacts and a yoga pavilion and a yoga and meditation pavilion with plunge pool.

ACTIVITIES

SanCamp sits at the edge of the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans – overlooking Nwetwe Pan – in the heart of the Kalahari Desert and adjoining the Makgadikgadi National Park. The pans were once a super lake covering most of Botswana and they shimmer seemingly never-ending all the way to the horizon interrupted only by scattering of desert palms and baobabs.

Wildlife you might see are meerkats, wildebeest and zebra, ostrich, lion and elephant on a game drive, bat eared foxes, jackal and brown hyena, one of the continent’s most rare and elusive mammals. Some of the birds you may see are Kori bustards and northern black korhaan, chestnut-backed finch larks and capped wheatears.

Game Drives – game drive into this unique environment to find its special desert wildlife that includes lion, plains game, brown hyena and bat-eared foxes.

Walking with Meerkats at San Camp – get up close and personal with families of habituated meerkats. Head out from camp at sunrise so that you are ready to follow these delightful omnivores as they set off in search of their breakfast. Walk amongst them (advised by your guide) and if you take a seat you might be lucky enough to have a closer encounter with one climbing up on your head for a better view of the area!

San Camp Bushmen Walk – spend time walking and and talking to a group of Zu/’hoasi Bushmen and gain insight into their ancient culture.

Horse Safaris – explore this wild, unspoilt area on horseback – an unforgettable experience!

Quad Biking – during the dry season go quad biking across the lunar expanse of the pans.

Fallen Baobab – visit the site of the Fallen Baobab – one of three of the largest and oldest trees in Africa.

Zebra and Wildebeest Migration – summer rainfall attracts the awe-inspiring spectacle of southern Africa’s last surviving zebra and wildebeest migration.

SAN CAMP IS CLOSED FROM THE 1ST NOVEMBER THROUGH TO THE 5TH APRIL EVERY YEAR.

THE LODGE WELCOMES FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN OF ALL AGES AND CHILDREN OF ALL AGES CAN JOIN THE BUSHMEN WALKS.

PLEASE NOTE THAT CHILDREN AGED 6 YEARS AND OLDER CAN JOIN THE QUAD BIKE EXPEDITIONS BUT CHILDREN UNDER 12 MAY NOT DRIVE THE BIKE.

CHILDREN AGED 8 YEARS AND OLDER MAY JOIN THE HORSE RIDING ACTIVITIES AND BEGINNERS ARE WELCOME.