CAMP KALAHARI – MAKGADIKGADI PANS

Camp Kalahari is a small tented camp set on the edge of Botswana’s Makgadikgadi Salt Pans in the heart of the Kalahari.  The camp is set amongst the waving palms and acacia trees of Brown Hyena Island the 12 Meru tents are perfect for families, groups and couples and are an ideal base for discovering the desert and the magical Makgadikgadi Salt Pans.

If you’re looking for adventure this is the perfect camp – enjoy quad bike adventures across the salt pans, walks with the Zu’/hoasi bushmen to discover the creatures that manage to survive in the harsh desert environment and spend time with the habituated meerkat family.

LOCATION

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

CAMP

Camp Kalahari is laidback and understated with just 12 Meru-style canvas tents filled with fresh textiles, Moroccan kilims and four-posters with ensuite bthrooms. Shower alfresco in the open-air – there’s plenty of hot and cold water available throughout the day. If you’re travelling with your family choose one of the interconnecting family tents with a bathroom linking the space for children and adults – it’s ideal for families and groups of friends (shown below).

The common areas include a central library and a living and dining area, festooned with an eclectic mix of original African furniture and colonial antiques. Meals are refreshingly simple and wonderfully tasty and served family-style at the long table.

There’s also a swimming pool – perfect for a refreshing dip on a hot afternoon.

The camp keeps the use of electricity to a minimum – there are electrical lights in the bedrooms but when night falls most of the camp is lit by twinkling paraffin lanterns. Camera batteries and other appliances can be charged in the main area or in the safari vehicles when required.

• 12 tents: 6 twins, 4 doubles, 2 family
• Ensuite bathrooms with indoor showers
• Swimming pool
• Wi-Fi available: Yes
• Hairdryers: No
• Battery charging facilities: In the mess tent
• Complimentary laundry service
• Child policy: We welcome all ages
• Disabled access: Please enquire with reservations

ACTIVITIES

Camp Kalahari sits amongst the acacias and mokolwane palms of Brown Hyaena Island on the edge of Botswana’s Makgadikgadi Salt Pans and adjacent to the Makgadikgadi-Nxai Pans National Park. This means that you’re surrounded by dry savannah and the semi-arid Kalahari Desert. The salt-baked, sun-scorched pans are clear of vegetation quite simply because it can’t grow but around them are glittering grasslands and profusions of enormous baobabs. It really is quite dramatic.

Brown Hyaena Island – the palm dotted island that Camp Kalahari is located – took its name from the brown hyaena. Bashful yet brilliant at foraging and scavenging this is the third rarest large carnivore in Africa.  You can also look out for bat-eared foxes, aardvark and aardwolves, elephant and dazzling numbers of zebra and wildebeest.  And where there’s a zebra, a predator will never be far away, so it’s possible to see cheetah and lion.  And of course, the habituated meerkats – a constant source of amusement and a regular feature of a safari at Camp Kalahari.

Game Drives – game drives allow you to experience unique desert wildlife such as brown hyena, bat eared foxes and if you’re lucky enough, lion & elephant

Walking with Meerkats at Camp Kalahari – get up close and personal with families of habituated meerkats. Head out from camp at sunrise so that you are ready to tail 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!

Camp Kalahari Bushmen Walk – spend time walking and interacting with 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.

GIVING BACK

ELEPHANTS FOR AFRICA

In support of large mammal migration initiatives, we proudly funded a collaring project in collaboration with Elephants for Africa (EFA) that involved the tagging of 10 bull elephants in the Makgadikgadi Pans National Park. This collaring endeavor is pivotal for tracking elephant movements across both human and wild landscapes. Each collar is equipped with accelerometers that will document the elephants’ movements related to feeding and other behaviors. After two years, EFA aims to build a comprehensive database that will assist in assessing areas of ecological importance to elephants, locations they are likely to come into conflict with people and the areas they use to migrate to and from the Makgadikgadi Pans National Park. Additionally, our support extends to financing the uncollaring of the elephants to retrieve accelerometer data, as well as their subsequent recollaring. Given the drying of the Boteti River and the reconstruction of the western park boundary fence, EFA will be able to analyse both pre- and post-environmental changes, offering vital insights into the effects of these significant ecological shifts.

CAMP KALAHARI IS OPEN ALL YEAR ROUND. 

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.