In the desert, rain is everything. When the drops start to fall, the transformation of the desert around Camp Kalahari is remarkable – the words chalk and cheese spring to mind! From November onwards, the cycle of life is stimulated, and algae blooms, crustaceans breed, and clouds of flamingo descend. Then comes the rumble of Africa’s second largest ungulate migration; epic herds of 30,000 zebra and wildebeest chased by black-maned lion, cheetah, wild dog and leopard. Dramatic to say the least.

In the dry season (May to October), normal, desert duties are resumed on the Makgadikgadi Pans. A haze settles above the salt, and the sun shimmers on the scorched, dry ground. And those photos of us racing across the landscape atop roaring quadbikes? This is the perfect time of year to try it out.

Seasonality

• Dry season: 01 April – 31 October
• Green season: 01 November – 31 March

Year Round

• Up-close encounters with our habituated meerkats.
• Join the Zu/’hoasi Bushmen on bush walks through the desert.
• Take game drives and night drives in custom built 4x4s to see the unique desert wildlife.
• Embark on an adventurous two-hour horseback safari (for all levels of riders; additional charge). Multi-day riding safaris are also available for experienced riders – please contact us for more information.

Dry Season (01 April – 31 October)

• Take an exhilarating quad bike across the salt-crusted pans (all pan activity is weather permitting).
• Lie out on the pans as the sun sets, and watch the planetarium of stars unfold.

Green Season (01 November – 31 March)

• Witness the second largest migration of zebra and wildebeest in Africa (and it’s also the last remaining one in Southern Africa).

Landscape

Camp Kalahari sits amongst the acacias and mokolwane palms of Brown Hyaena Island, on the edge of Botswana’s Makgadikgadi Salt Pans and adjacent to the Makgadikgadi-Nxai Pans National Park. So, what on earth does that mean, we hear you cry? It means that you’re surrounded by dry savannah and the semi-arid Kalahari Desert. The salt-baked, sun-scorched pans are clear of vegetation, quite simply because it can’t grow, but around them are glittering grasslands and profusions of enormous baobabs. It doesn’t get much more dramatic than that.

Wildlife

Brown Hyaena Island, the palm dotted island that Camp Kalahari calls home, took its name from (can you guess?), the brown hyaena. Bashful yet brilliant at foraging and scavenging, this is the third rarest large carnivore in Africa, and an animal that’s virtually impossible to see elsewhere on the continent. But that’s just the beginning of what you might see in the Makgadikgadi: look out for bat-eared foxes, aardvark and aardwolves scampering across the salt, elephant plodding through on their nomadic journey (our swimming pool is a welcome refreshment stop!), and dazzling numbers of zebra and wildebeest. And where there’s a zebra, a predator will never be far away, so keep an eye out for cheetah and lion, close on the hooves of the herds. Not to be forgotten are our cheeky, habituated meerkats, a constant source of amusement and a regular feature of a safari at Camp Kalahari.

In the 1960s, crocodile hunter Jack Bousfield crossed the mysterious Makgadikgadi, armed with a ragged map and not much else. Struck by the eerie emptiness of the pans, he rolled out his sleeping mat in a peaceful spot beneath the mokolwane palms of Brown Hyena Island, and drifted off to sleep. A few decades later, we built Camp Kalahari in this exact spot in homage to Jack. We wanted a camp that made every guest feel like an explorer, and so came the traditional design and style that evokes memories of old. What we didn’t want was a camp that dominated the landscape and instead, the buildings celebrate the rugged beauty of the surroundings.

While Jack was one of the first foreigners to cross the Makgadikgadi in a century, Zu’/Hoasi Bushmen called the area home long before. They are the true legends of the pans, and find opportunity in the queerest of places. For an insight into their incredible way of life, join the Bushmen on a morning walk or multi-day adventure – you might just come to appreciate this otherworldly landscape from a different perspective.