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Jack's Camp

Our rating

9/10

Price guide

Highlights

- Incredible location
- Good facilities
- Unique game
- Family Friendly

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Overview

A traditional 1940s East African safari-styled living space situated on the verge of the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans, the vestige of one of the largest super-lakes to have ever existed, Jack’s Camp is a high quality trip back to a colonial age defined by comfort, astounding views, and intimacy in which guests can become immersed in the indigenous cultures of Botswana’s ancient bushmen.

Jack’s Camp comes as close to offering the complete wilderness experience as luxury will allow. It is made up of ten spacious canvas tents set among a mokolwane palm grove. Each tent has an en-suite bathroom, is decorated with Persian rugs, and has cool and crunchy cotton bedsheets. There are also indoor and outdoor showers. All of these look out onto the immense plains of the Salt Pans. The Camp’s living quarters strike the perfect balance between a rugged desert aesthetic and a reflective relaxing atmosphere. An elegant green mess tent contains a museum and library to consolidate the first-hand education guests can obtain outside. During the day, the Camp also has a pavilion pool that offers spectacular views of the dry plains. At night, guests can lay out under the clear and starry skies in complete silence.

Activities at Jack’s Camp are suitable for all. Its guides are often graduates who combine guiding with research and work with San trackers from the Zu/’hoasi bushmen tribe. The San are one of 14 known extant ancestral population clusters from which all known modern humans descend. You have the chance to watch San children learn hunting skills and immerse yourself in a rich indigenous culture. The guides lead morning walks to explore fossil beds of extinct giant zebra and hippo and game drives. Do not expect to see big 5 game, but instead to learn about unique local animals during your exploration of the 6,200 square miles of Salt Pans.

During wet season, the plains become a luscious bed of green on which flamingos descend to adorn the wildernesses, and 35-75,000 zebra and wildebeest migrate to run free across the flat expanse. During dry season, you can experience the Makgadikgadi plains on quad bikes. You can see animals unique to the area, such as aardvark, gemsbuck, and springbuck, and have a fantastic chance of spotting the third rarest carnivore in the world, the brown hyena, and the Kalahari Lion. Above all these game-spotting opportunities is the fun to be had by interacting with gangs of wild but habituated meerkats at Meerkat Manor. It is said that if a meerkat cannot be found to be standing on the ground, they can be seen casually perched on top of your giggling child’s head.

Jack's Camp is part of the renowned Unchartered Africa portfolio of remote camps along with Camp Kalahari and San Camp. Like its sister camps, Jack's Camp is very accommodating towards families. Children of all ages are welcome although families with under8s 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. There are no family tents, a family of three can share one tent with a bed roll for the child, whilst a family of four will have to split across two tents with one parent in each tent.

Suggested Itineraries for Jack's Camp

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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