Jacks Camp

Location

Jack’s Camp sits on the northern edge of the Ntwetwe Pan. The Makgadikgadi Pans, remnants of an enormous super-lake that once covered most of Southern Africa,– create a landscape so flat you can supposedly see the Earth’s curvature. The camp’s position on a slightly elevated palm island provides sweeping views across the salt flats, which transform dramatically between seasons: bone-white and shimmering in the dry months, flooded and teeming with flamingos during the rains. This southeastern reach of the greater Okavango ecosystem places you perfectly for combining desert and delta experiences.

The million-acre private concession hosts remarkable desert specialists rarely seen elsewhere. Brown hyena, with only 8,000 remaining worldwide, patrol these pans alongside other nocturnal hunters like aardwolf and bat-eared foxes. Black-maned Kalahari lions, distinctly larger and darker than their savannah cousins, follow the migration alongside cheetah and occasional leopard. Desert-adapted species thrive here year-round: gemsbok (oryx) with their lance-like horns, springbok bouncing across the flats, red hartebeest, and the occasional elephant wandering through. The habituated meerkat colonies have become stars in their own right, while aardvark sightings, though rare, reward patient observers. Birding reaches spectacular heights with over 400 species recorded, including kori bustards, northern black korhaan, and secretary birds, while the green season brings clouds of flamingos that turn the Sua Pan pink between January and April.

Few travellers realise that Southern Africa hosts a second great migration – 30,000 zebra and wildebeest undertaking a 1,000-kilometre round journey between the Okavango Delta and Makgadikgadi Pans, triggered entirely by rain. When November’s first storms break, these animals instinctively head south to the Makgadikgadi, somehow knowing that the barren salt pans they left in April have transformed into nutritious grasslands. From Jack’s Camp, you witness this spectacle unfold across a stage unlike anywhere else in Africa. Instead of watching river crossings from crowded viewpoints, you drive directly onto the vast pans where the horizon disappears and zebra surround your vehicle in every direction. Morning game drives in February might find you parked among thousands of animals – mothers nursing newborns while stallions fight viciously for mating rights, their screams carrying across the flat expanse. The sheer visibility here means watching a cheetah hunt from start to finish across two kilometres of open ground, or tracking a pride of lions as they systematically test the herds for weakness. By late afternoon, you might be the only vehicle watching 5,000 zebra stream past in golden light, their hoofbeats creating a drumroll that vibrates through your chest. The migration peaks during the green season (November to March), when afternoon thunderstorms create dramatic skies and the normally white pans reflect clouds like mirrors. This isn’t the Serengeti – it’s rawer, more remote, and you’ll likely have it entirely to yourself.

Operated by Natural Selection, a conservation-driven safari company using tourism to protect wilderness areas and empower local communities across Southern Africa. Natural Selection’s portfolio extends across Botswana, Namibia and South Africa. In the immediate Makgadikgadi region, sister properties include San Camp, an elegant seven-tent seasonal camp on the Ntwetwe Pan operating April to October and Camp Kalahari, a more affordable year-round base with 12 Meru-style tents perfect for families.

Rooms

Kalahari twist. The camp’s design philosophy marries 1940s campaign aesthetics with unexpected luxuries – where else would you find antique mahogany furniture and Persian kilims in the middle of a salt desert?

The seven twin tents each span 270 square metres, featuring two extra-length queen beds draped in mosquito netting that serves more romantic than practical purposes. Hand-carved headboards anchor rooms embellished with North African textiles, paraffin lamps, brass fittings, and Ralph Bousfield’s personally curated Natural History cabinets filled with fossils, arrowheads, and desert curiosities. Each tent includes a comfortable living area with sofa and daybed, while the expansive outdoor deck features a private plunge pool and swing beds overlooking the pans – essential for afternoon contemplation when temperatures soar.

The two double tents maintain identical proportions but centre around one extra-length king bed, creating more intimate spaces perfect for honeymooners who don’t mind that romance here means sharing sunrise with 30,000 migrating zebra rather than private dinners on the beach.

All tents feature overhead bed-cooling systems – a desert innovation that creates a microclimate of comfort without full air conditioning. En-suite bathrooms showcase both indoor and outdoor showers for those who prefer their ablutions under Kalahari stars. The combination of solar-powered 24-hour electricity and natural ventilation ensures year-round comfort despite temperature extremes that can range from near-freezing winter mornings to blazing summer afternoons.

Jack’s Private Camp sits 100 metres from the main camp, delivering an elevated level of exclusivity for families, groups of friends, or privately-guided small groups seeking complete flexibility. This two-bedroom villa reinterprets the Jack’s Camp aesthetic with even more space for spreading out. One bedroom features an extra-length king bed while the other offers two extra-length queen beds, both with overhead cooling systems, mosquito nets, wood-burning stoves, and fans. The en-suite bathrooms take indulgence further with two indoor showers, a brass bathtub, and an outdoor shower in each.

Between the bedrooms, a shared living space includes a fully equipped kitchen, dining area, and lounge that opens onto a private veranda with daybeds and a large swimming pool overlooking the Makgadikgadi Pans. You’ll discover your own small library, well-stocked drinks chest, and Jack’s Camp’s famous ‘Cabinet of Curiosities’ filled with natural history treasures. The experience comes with a dedicated chef who prepares meals to your schedule and preferences, a personal host, and exclusive use of a vehicle and guide. This means complete freedom – breakfast at noon, dinner under the stars on the pans, game drives timed to your family’s rhythm rather than camp schedules. Children of all ages can join every adventure without worrying about disturbing other guests, making this ideal for multi-generational travel where grandparents might prefer leisurely mornings while teenagers chase adrenaline on quad bikes.

Communal Areas

The heart of Jack’s Camp beats in its magnificent mess tent, a resplendent space where a vintage 1820s officer’s mess table seats 36 beneath canvas that could host a medieval jousting tourney were it not deciduous green. This museum-like atmosphere extends throughout, with Ralph Bousfield’s renowned Natural History Museum showcasing Stone Age tools, fossil beds, ancient arrowheads, taxidermy specimens, bones, and research materials that transform dining into education. Peter Beard photographs sit alongside original posters from French taxidermist Deyrolle, complemented by Bousfield family photos that chronicle decades of Kalahari exploration. The well-stocked drinks cabinet fuels safari tales while the antique pool table provides unexpected entertainment – because naturally, you need billiards in the desert.

The iconic nomadic Persian tea tent deserves its own postcard. Spherical, open-walled, and furnished with low-slung chairs and scatter cushions, it serves afternoon’s sweet treats while you contemplate 360-degree views of shimmering nothingness. This is where the camp’s eccentric character crystallises: part Bedouin encampment, part colonial expedition headquarters, entirely singular in its confident absurdity.

The swimming pool pavilion – allegedly Africa’s only tented pool structure – provides liquid respite from desert heat. A newly created sundeck borders the sparkling pool, while evenings gravitate toward the central firepit where stories flow as freely as the gin. The library houses an extensive collection of natural history books and field guides for those seeking context for their adventures. The shop brims with carefully curated treasures, from locally made crafts to expedition-worthy equipment and books you won’t find elsewhere.

A dedicated spa tent offers treatments using indigenous botanicals (additional cost applies), though many find the desert’s natural silence more therapeutic than any massage. Wi-Fi throughout camp maintains connection to the outside world, though the charging facilities in both mess tent and guest accommodations seem almost redundant once you’ve discovered that watching the pans change colour beats any screen time.

Activities

Jack’s Camp’s activity roster reads like a desert adventure manifesto, with offerings that shift dramatically between seasons. During the dry months (May to October), quad biking across the salt-crusted pans delivers pure adrenaline – racing across endless white expanses with nothing to crash into for hundreds of kilometres. These two-to-three hour excursions explore archaeological sites and fossil beds of this ancient super lake. Children six and older can join (though under-12s cannot drive), making this a family adventure unlike anywhere else on Earth.

Year-round, the camp’s famous habituated meerkat colony provides once-in-a-lifetime encounters. Rising early to reach their burrows, you’ll watch these charismatic creatures emerge, dig, play, and potentially use your head as the perfect lookout post – truly feeling like one of the gang during this four-hour experience that welcomes all ages.

Game drives and night drives in custom-built 4x4s search for desert specialists: the elusive brown hyena, bat-eared foxes, aardwolves, and black-maned Kalahari lions. Vehicles accommodate maximum seven guests with rooftop seats for 360-degree viewing. For stays of four nights or more, game drives to Makgadikgadi National Park can be arranged on request.

The Bushmen experience ranks among Botswana’s most authentic cultural interactions. The Zu’/hoasi guides demonstrate extraordinary tracking skills and survival knowledge passed down through generations – from identifying edible plants (including scorpions and berries) to finding water in this harsh landscape. This two-hour privilege welcomes all ages and provides rare insight into one of humanity’s oldest cultures.

Fat bike safaris offer family-friendly exploration (children six and up), pedalling along 4×4 tracks and crusty salt flats for an hour of exercise with potential wildlife sightings. Horse riding (additional cost applies) lets experienced and novice riders explore as early adventurers did, with two-hour outrides suitable for ages eight and up.

During the green season (November to March), witness the second-largest migration in Africa as 30,000 zebra and wildebeest arrive, closely followed by stalking predators. From November through March, the pans transform into one of Southern Africa’s most important flamingo breeding sites, with millions of lesser and greater flamingos creating a pink extravaganza when crustaceans spawn in the salty crust.

Helicopter flights (additional cost, ages 12+) provide unforgettable aerial perspectives – doors on or off – searching for migrations, getting dropped on baobab islands for lunch, or sunset sky-surfing along palm tree lines. The multi-day Kubu Island expedition (additional cost, ages 12+) combines quad biking with fly camping, sleeping under stars on this granite outcrop dotted with ancient baobabs – a place of power for the Bushmen.

Spa treatments can be arranged in your tent or overlooking the pans (additional cost applies), while the swimming pool pavilion provides desert refreshment for all ages year-round.