You’ll never forget your first sighting of San Camp. After an hour long flight in a nimble Cessna, as you approach the Makgadikgadi Pans National Park you will catch a glimpse of an arresting sight – a line of white tents, billowing in the breeze, each sheltered by a cluster of desert palms.
On the edge of the 6, 200 square miles that make up the shimmering Makgadikgadi Salt Pan, the impossibly romantic, utterly remote San Camp, waits to welcome you.
Completely rebuilt in 2011, San Camp is a semi-permanent camp, with bucket showers, four poster beds and mosquito nets, that is set up every dry season, from 16th April to 15th October. However, despite its transience, San Camp meets the comfort level of the discerning traveller.
For the duration of your stay, you will experience luxurious glamping at a Bedouin-style oasis and sleep with nothing between you and a pristine wilderness than white canvas.
Once settled, any time you peep through the flap of your desert hideaway, you will see an otherworldly emptiness for miles and miles. No outcrops, no grass, no trees; not a single feature interrupts your eye.
While your eyes adjust to views stretching to the horizon in every direction, your ears will notice a thick silence that wraps around you like a soft, fluffy blanket.
What wildlife can you expect to see at San Camp? If you want to tick off the big five and go through the motions of an African safari, then San Camp is possibly not the right place for you. If seeing big game is your priority, it’s best to go to one of our other big 5 Safari Lodges.
The main allure of this hidden getaway is, most definitely, the mesmerising landscape, the enveloping silence and the awe-inspiring sense of space.
However, you the emptiness is partly an illusion as this forbidding landscape is home for a bevy of fascinating creatures who have cleverly adapted to the arid conditions. You are likely to witness herds of wildebeest, ostriches, bull elephants and dazzles of zebras. Possibly you will spot brown hyenas and bat-eared foxes, and, if you are very lucky, you might catch a glimpse of a shy aardvark.
Bird watching in this barren landscape is utterly amazing. The salt pans and the blue skies are like a blank canvas to photograph rare and unusual birds in flight.
A bush hideaway full of adventure
Wondering how you will spend your time on this perfect safari? San Camp has some fabulous activities that truly set it apart.
First, the Meerkat Adventure is a must. Here, you’ll get the rare chance to interact with playful meerkats, part of the Kalahari’s ongoing Habituation Programme. These curious creatures, made famous by Timon in The Lion King, will happily snuggle up to you on chilly mornings or perch on your head as they survey the desert around them.
Four generations of Zu/’hoasi Bushmen are hosted at Jack’s Camp and you will be invited to join a walking safari with a group of them to gain insight into their ancient, threatened culture. You will witness the traditional survival skills that have sustained them for generations, such as lighting fire with wood and foraging for medicinal plants.
And when you are back at your safari accommodation, fabulous food, prepared from wonderful fresh ingredients, complements your bush experience. The evening meal, served family-style in an open-air dining area and accompanied by white linen and crystal glasses, is a three-course feast, during which you can eagerly swap stories with fellow travellers,
Afternoon tea is served in a light and airy central tent with Eastern Style rugs, dark Mahogany furniture and cabinets crammed with fascinating archaeological and anthropological finds.
At night, paraffin lamps add to the allure of your off the grid romantic getaway. In the absence of light pollution, millions of stars sparkle in the night sky. You feel straight ‘out of Africa’ and before you leave, you’ll already long to return, time and time again, to this special camp.
Edited by Dawn Kennedy