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OVERVIEW ON CAMP KALAHARI IN MAKGADIKGADI
Camp Kalahari is a return to the traditional safari style of the old explorers, and is the best way to experience the Makgadikgadi in a fresh and affordable way. It is the ideal camp for those who want fun, comfort, style and adventure. Camp Kalahari accepts children of all ages and makes for a fantastic family safari destination. In the style of Jack’s original camps, is a large and comfortable thatched library, lounge and dining area; here Guests can relax and enjoy the serenity and peace of this enchanting area. Camp Kalahari has ten Meru tents: Seven twin tents, two double tents and one family unit comprising two twin tents with an inter-leading bathroom. All tents have en suite outdoor bathrooms, flush loos and the hottest wettest showers in the Kalahari. The tent interiors are classic old safari style, replete with comfy beds, crunchy cotton sheets, stripy African blankets and hot water bottles in winter. Camp Kalahari’s chef is a talented chap, noted for his tasty soups and particularly for his “Pilli-Pilli Ho-Ho,” a lethal concoction of chillies marinated in sherry and gin. Smeared over one’s breakfast eggs, it’s just the thing to sharpen sleep dulled wits in preparation for whatever adventures await!
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Location Of Camp Kalahari
Camp Kalahari is nestled amongst the acacias and Mokolwane palms of Brown Hyaena Island, on the edge of the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans, adjacent to the Makgadikgadi-Nxai Pans National Park.
Safari Experience At Camp Kalahari
There are two distinctly different seasons in the Makgadikgadi: The dry season, lasting from mid April to the end of October and the wet season, lasting from the early November to mid April. When the rains arrive at the beginning of the wet season, the landscape is transformed. Water gathers on the saltpan. Algae bloom, crustaceans breed, and clouds of flamingo descend to feed on them. Then herds of zebra and wildebeest materialize, drawn by the lush grass, and for several months, the desert is teeming with game and predators. Guests visiting Camp Kalahari during the wet season can witness the last surviving migration of zebra and wildebeest in Southern Africa. Most people associate the migration with East Africa and don’t know about this, the second largest migration of African ungulates, with an estimated 30,000 animals, the majority being zebra, participating each year.
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Activities At Camp Kalahari
When the waters dry up, the birds and animals migrate and the extraordinary ecosystem of the Makgadikgadi becomes the main attraction. It is during the dry season that Guests can experience the vast Makgadikgadi Salt Pans on quad bikes. Get dressed up in dark glasses and Lawrence of Arabia headgear and race out on to the pan. Fat tyres skim over the surfaces where heavier vehicles would sink. The fact that you can travel across the pans at great speed and still arrive nowhere only underlines the pans immensity. There is nothing out here. Absolutely nothing.
The guides at Camp Kalahari team up with a small group of Zu/’hoasi Bushmen to guide our Guests on a morning’s walk, offering a window into the past, The Bushmen teach us how they have survived in this harshest of environments, using their vast and ancient knowledge of plants, animal behavior and survival skills.
Close by is the famous Chapman’s Baobab (Also known as the Seven Sisters) which is acknowledged to be the third largest tree in Africa, and was the campsite of early explorers like Livingstone and Selous when they pioneered the area. This gives you an opportunity to gain a fascinating insight into the history of the early explorers.
A safari to Camp Kalahari is also a complete desert experience focusing on species unique to the area such as aardvark, gemsbuck and springbuck. Guests generally see the rare and elusive brown hyena and are able to walk through the Kalahari with a gang of habituated but wild meerkats!
As the sun rises, these pixie-faced creatures emerge from their burrows and join you, sunning themselves with paws behind their backs, completely indifferent to your presence. A baby might sit on someone’s toe or a sentinel hop onto your head! As they all scurry off to forage, you follow. The meerkats dig up scorpions and pounce on beetles while your Guide maintains a running commentary on their social habits and survival strategies.
Activities focuses on
- Wildlife adapted to the desert e.g. meerkats, brown hyenas etc.
- Kalahari and Makgadikgadi geology, archaeology and anthropology.
- Experience the vast saltpans on quad bikes (seasonal only during the dry season).
- Cultural Walking safaris with San Bushman trackers.
- Game drives
Camp Kalahari Summary For Your Botswana Safaris In Africa
- Camp Kalahari located on the edge of the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans.
- 10 Meru tents with en suite bathrooms.
- Classic menus emphasizing fresh tastes and original cuisine
