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Camp Kalahari

Our rating

8/10

Price guide

Highlights

- Family Friendly
- Authentic cultural experience
- Stunning wilderness
- Habituated meerkats

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Overview

As the simplest and lowest priced of the renowned Unchartered Africa portfolio, Camp Kalahari is a great option for those on a lower budget wanting to explore the vast salt pans in the dry season, or see the fantastic wildlife of the Zebra migration when the rains come.

In wet season, the surrounding plains teem with life. In dry season, they are seemingly deserted. It is this sense of living in vast nothingness that is Camp Kalahari’s attraction: its peacefulness and remoteness a temple of solitude, contemplation, and serenity.

Located on the edge of the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans, among the acacias of Hyena Island, Camp Kalahari offers an authentic safari experience in this area of Botswana as a great base for observing the dramatic migration of zebra and wildebeest that herd to the lush algae during wet season and for exploring the desert during dry season.

The plains become a luscious bed of green on which flamingos descend to feed and zebra and wildebeest run free. They are a superb attraction for game and predators during wet season. During dry season, you can experience the Makgadikgadi plains on quad bikes...all 6,200 square miles!

Animals unique to the Camp Kalahari area form the main focus of activities during dry season. You can see aardvark, gemsbuck, and springbuck, and have a fantastic chance of spotting the rare and elusive brown hyena. Better still is the ease with which you can interact with posses of wild but habituated meerkats. You are invited to follow the meerkats by your guides, who work alongside Zu/’hoasi Bushmen to provide a running commentary on the meerkats’ behaviour as well as the survival skills their ancestors needed to live out in the Makgadikgadi desert. Camp Kalahari is part of the renowned Unchartered Africa portfolio of remote camps along with Jack's Camp and San Camp. Like its sister camps, in addition to gazing at game, you are able to view the immense formations of stars and planets under the Kalahari’s famously clear night skies.

Camp Kalahari’s communal space is elegant, eclectic, and eccentric. A thatched library provides the perfect place to escape into the written history of the surrounding land, whilst the thatched pavilion gives you the chance to watch that history unfold before your eyes from the comfort of a cool pool. Flavours of African aesthetic permeate the living and dining areas and are mixed with colonial artefacts to give you a sense of living as an early explorer in unchartered terrain.

Ten Meru tents scatter the area around the camp. Filled with four poster beds, en-suite bathrooms, crunchy cotton sheets, rich textiles, and Moroccan kilims, your private quarters are comfortable and capacious.

For families, there is a family unit consisting of two adjoined tents. Children of all ages are welcome although families with under 8s will need to take a private vehicle and guide at extra cost. Children are able to do all the activities, such as quad-biking and visiting the Camp’s natural history museum. However, those under 12 years of age will have to share a quad bike with an adult driver whilst children 12 years and older are allowed to drive a quad bike but only at the Guide / Camp Manager discretion. Children using the swimming pool must be accompanied by an adult.

Suggested Itineraries for Camp Kalahari

What customers are saying after travelling with Tourdust

Average Rating

based on 530 reviews

(5.00/5)

  • Dear Lisa. On behalf of the three generations of the Rowland family. Thank you, so much, for organising our wonderful holiday to Botswana and the Victoria Falls. The trip of a lifetime. The week mobile camping in the bush, with our guide Nandos and his crew was a fantastic adventure. How they manage to cook such wonderful food on an open fire is amazing. The sites were constantly visited by monkeys and once by elephants. We were even lucky enough to see two packs of wild dogs, once with a kill. Waterberry Lodge on the Zambezi River is a wonderfully tranquil place. Ideal to relax after the adventures of our safari and visiting Victoria Falls. Very many thanks once again

    MissingGodfrey R reviewing Private Mobile Family Safari in Botswana on 25 September 2023

  • We had a great time - even with the flight between Governors and the coast being two flights and a car! We also experienced a power cut At Nairobi airport on the way home so 2+ hours late taking off. Governors. Wonderful people and dealt with the flight delay very well - taking us back and letting us know that we could stay there if the flight was delayed overnight. The game drives were excellent and our guide (Erick) obviously very experienced and managed to find all the key animals - no rhino in that part of the Masai Mara but everything else in abundance - never seen so many herbivores (many many elephants as well as all the others) as well as two prides of lions. Could not have asked for more. The ‘tent’ was excellent and comfortable and well serviced. The only ‘complaint’ would be that the food - especially dinner - could be improved (I think we got a bit bored of soup as a starter for every meal bar one) and the main courses were not at the same level as Kinondo Kwetu and while all were explained there was no choice offered. The breakfasts were just what was needed after an early game drive. Kinondo Kwetu. What a great location and the welcome when we arrived at just gone 11.00pm was better than you could have ever thought possible - they we’re disappointed that we did not at that time want the full dinner experience! The rooms we’re comfortable. The food was excellent but again no choice was offered - other than for allergy reasons (which we do not have). May be some choice would be nice. Having said that the food we did have was excellent as were the wines (albeit a short list!) and other drinks. There were (as you know) lots of facilities/sports options - but we spent our time relaxing which was exactly what we needed and there were lots of places to do that. Overall. We would go back to both places - perhaps a few more nights at Kinondo Kwetu next time but 3 nights at Governors was perfect for us. Thank you for organising and recommending both places. That you and your colleague for trying to find out about the plane (flat tyre) but communication by the flight company left a lot to be desired (Governors were furious that they were not told and had taken us to the airstrip). Phil

    MissingPhilip R reviewing Masai Mara Safari & Kenya Beach on 01 September 2023

  • It was certainly a holiday of a lifetime for us and we loved every minute!! The standard and location of each accommodation was excellent, as was the variety of each different accommodation type. Our schedule was perfect and we managed to achieve everything on our to-do task list. Your documents were also really helpful, as were the driving directions. We all thank you for making this such a wonderful holiday. Happy to leave a review publicly if you point me the right way. Best Steve

    MissingStephen H reviewing Classic Garden Route & Eastern Cape Safari on 01 September 2023

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