THE ADVENTURE STARTS HERE…

Arrive at San Camp – surely one of the most romantic camps in Africa. Imagine a smattering of billowing white tents, shaded by desert palms and surrounded by a thousand acres of shimmering, sparkling nothingness. San Camp offers a serene atmosphere and beautiful views of the endless Makgadikgadi Salt Pans.

A living desert and intriguing landscape, the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans form a large part of the Kalahari Basin and the shimmering, salt-baked setting is iconic in its beauty and size. You might think at first glance that not a soul could survive in the bizarre environment of the Makgadikgadi – but spend a few days here and you’ll uncover a myriad of wildlife.

Of all the Makgadikgadi Pans, we think Nwetwe is the most iconic. Meerkats pop up from the desert dust, brown hyaena hide in the grass, and you’ll see red hartebeest, springbok and gemsbok scurrying between them. But San Camp isn’t just about wildlife-watching – it’s about the atmosphere and the ethereal surroundings. Disappear into a remote world, where the 360-degree panoramas are so vast, you can see the curvature of the earth…

The camp houses a central dining area where everyone meets for meals at a long dining table, a drinks tent and library tent as well as interesting collections of bones, pottery, stone tools and beadwork in antique display cases. There is also an airy yoga pavilion, perfect for a spa treatment (at an additional cost) in between sipping cocktails, whilst lying around the refreshing pool on the comfy loungers staring out at the panoramic vista.

Seven classically styled white guest tents with en-suite bathrooms, Persian carpets underfoot, cool cotton sheets and mahogany and brass campaign-style kit form a striking contrast with the rugged wilderness viewed from the comfort of one’s own veranda. Enjoy a light, but delicious lunch and rest up in your tent through the early afternoon.

Join your hosts for afternoon tea before driving into the grasslands and the beautiful evening light. Stop to watch the sun set and listen to an explanation of how the Makgadikgadi Pans, the remnants of the world’s largest ever super-lake, were formed.

Return to camp for a lamp-lit dinner in the elegant mess tent. San Camp has a reputation for delicious and innovative cuisine – think fresh tomato tartlets, three-layer banana and caramel cake, and the best beef Wellington you’ve ever tried.

MEET THE COOL KATS OF THE KALAHARI…

Set off in the morning to visit some of the Kalahari’s most fascinating inhabitants, the meerkats. As a meerkat’s wake up time is weather dependent, breakfast might be enjoyed in camp on cooler and rainy days, or as a picnic on warmer, sunnier days.

Due to an ongoing habituation programme, it’s possible for guests to get up close and personal with these captivating creatures. On chilly mornings, you might well find a meerkat snuggling up to you for warmth, or in the absence of a termite mound or tree, using your head as a sentry lookout post… By spending quality time with these incredibly social, superbly adapted animals, you will be able to see how they interact with each other and their environment.

You also get the chance to see the desert through the eyes of a meerkat – which, despite the fact that it’s only a foot off the ground, is a pretty spectacular vantage point. This is definitely one of the most special and memorable game experiences you will encounter in Botswana.

Return to camp for a rest and refreshing lunch. After tea in the tea pavilion (you can’t leave without trying the mouthwatering array of sweet treats), you’ll head off to see some unique desert species. Enjoy a night game drive back to camp, and with the aid of a spot light, look for nocturnal desert inhabitants such as aardvark, bat eared foxes, aardwolves, porcupine, honey badgers and perhaps even a black maned Kalahari Lion. You’ll arrive at San Camp for a drink around the fire on the pans right in front of camp, followed by a delicious dinner.

OPEN THROTTLE, CLOSE YOUR EYES & TRAVEL… KNOWING THERE IS NOTHING TO CRASH INTO!

After an early breakfast, wrap a kikoi around your head in the style of Jack Bousfield and set off on the quad bikes across Ntwetwe Pan for The Lost Island of Baobabs, your campsite for the next two nights.

The journey to and from the heart of the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans is completely extraordinary. This is a heroic adventure crossing roughly 450KM of salt crusted earth. In convoy, you will barrel across the vast lunar expanses of scorched white earth. As the day heats up, in bas-relief of the parched earth, you will break the journey for a picnic lunch. Here you will lose contact with time, space and direction.

As the sun begins to drop, arrive at The Lost Island of Baobabs, where the staff has set up camp; a cauldron of piping hot water bubbles for the shower suspended from a tree. The dining table is set and the drinks tray stands waiting. Your bedrolls replete with hot water bottles and duvets have been arranged on the high places in a five gazillion star bedroom.

Enjoy a starlight silver service dinner and fall into bed, in total delight!

OH HAPPY DAY! THIS IS WHAT YOU’VE COME TO SEE…

DAY 4: Wake up to an early breakfast then head off for Kubu Island. This is what you have come to see. A granite extrusion island studded with baobabs, one of the most graphically beautiful spots in Botswana and rich with intriguing detail, such as walling, trade and Bushmen beads brought here to barter in pursuit of the salt that ices the surrounding pans.

Filigreed with baobab trees like fat, red ballet dancers bigger than buses, older than Christ. The place has been the holiest secret of the Kalahari Bushmen for longer than anyone knows, a place of power and ritual.

Not far away is an ancient defence fortification that was only discovered a couple of years ago. Clamber to the top for an awe-inspiring view of the enormous Sowa pan, and a picnic lunch amongst the boulders and baobabs of Kubu Island. This is an adventure of old.

Visit the extinct mouth of the Zambezi, which together with various other rivers, once flowed into the Pans. The remaining beach is covered with beautiful water-worn pebbles amongst which you can find semi-precious stones such as garnets and cornelians.

Kubu is close to what is probably the biggest greater and lesser flamingo breeding site in the world. 30 000 flamingo fledge here when water is good and although nests are abandoned during the dry season, the acres of strangely shaped mud mounds are an eerie and strangely compelling sight. Return to camp for one last night out under the stars. You’ll be in excellent company and in high spirits.

THE ADVENTURE CONTINUES BACK AT SAN CAMP…

DAY 5: Set off once more across the Pans on the quad bikes, ending your desert adventure with a night of comfort back at San Camp.

DAY 6: After breakfast, drive to join the San Bushmen on a bush walk. This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience and another highlight. They will show you the many insights into their traditional way of life and how they have adapted to life in this harsh desert environment.

Uncovering edible tubers, plants with medicine uses and how to dig up and hypnotise a scorpion! As you watch how they make a fire out of grass and twigs, you’ll sit listening to their trans like singing as they show you how they play bushman games around the fire.

Once back in camp it’s time for one more lunch; before you bid farewell to San Camp in preparation for your onward journey.