6 Days | 5 Nights - Camp Kalahari, Lost Island of Baobabs & Kubu Island
Botswana’s Makgadikgadi is one of the most intriguing places on earth, and it is here – with a group of like-minded women – that you will get to immerse yourself in nature and connect with your wild side.
This 6-day women-led safari expedition in the Kalahari Desert has everything to do with sharing wild safari experiences with old friends, whilst making new ones along the way. Together you’ll enjoy the freedom of the desert air blowing in your hair, belly-aching laughter, sundowners sipped on the salt-crusted flats, dinner under giant baobab delights and a blanket of stars to fall asleep under at night.
With your Natural Selection host, you’ll navigate the wilderness of the Makgadikgadi Pans, unearthing things great and small as you crack open the desert crust to discover real safari adventure.
You’ll spend your first two days at Camp Kalahari, an understated hideaway in the heart of the great Kalahari. Here, the magic is in the minimalism, both at the camp and in the desert landscape. You can forget the tourist crowds and over-stuffed 4x4s too; it’s just you, the wildlife, and a handful of local San Bushmen, waiting to share their secrets with you. Meerkats pop up from the desert dust, brown hyena hide in the grass, and you’ll see red hartebeest, springbok and gemsbok scurrying between them. Camp Kalahari is one of only three camps in a one million-acre private wildlife reserve, here you’ll discover the charms of the desert and the magic of the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans.
Open throttle, close your eyes & travel… 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 a heroic adventure crossing roughly 450 kilometres of salt crusted earth. In convoy, you will barrel across the vast lunar expanses of scorched white earth. As the day heats up, you will break the journey for a picnic lunch. Here on the pan you will lose contact with time, space and direction.
As the sun begins to drop, arrive at The Lost Island of Baobabs, where the support team has set up camp. Your bedrolls replete with hot water bottles and duvets have been arranged in your five gazillion star bedroom.
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. Settle in and enjoy your night relaxing and sleeping under the stars.
Set off once more across the Pans on the quad bikes, ending your desert adventure with a last night of comfort back at Camp Kalahari.
This safari starts and ends in Maun in Botswana. One of the best times to visit the Makgadikgadi Pans is during the dry season, which runs from May to October. During this time, the pans are dried up and you can easily access them for activities like, game viewing, and stargazing. During green season, which runs from November to March-June, witness the second largest migration of zebra and wildebeest in Africa (and it’s the last remaining one in Southern Africa).
2025: Price Per Person
Group of 2: From $10,036 (June & Sept) to $10,686 (1 July – 31 Aug)
Group of 4: From $9,402 (June & Sept) to $10,214 (1 July – 31 Aug)
Group of 6: From $8,460 (10 Jan-31 March) to $9,245 (1 July – 31 Aug)
Option to upgrade to San Camp or Jack’s Camp – Quotation on Request.
Child Policy: Please enquire with reservations.
Disabled Access: Please enquire with reservations.
Wi-Fi: Is available at Camp Kalahari
Excluded: Expenses of a personal nature, such as telephone expenses & shopping; premium brand drinks; tips and gratuities; additional activities; scheduled flights and related taxes; Visa fees where relevant; cancellation, baggage, medical, and evacuation insurance.
Be inspired by our other suggested safari packages below and remember, all our packages are totally flexible and can be adjusted to suit you. Â
