Desert adventure and extraordinary style on the Makgadikgadi Pans
Jack’s Camp is not an Okavango safari transplanted into the Kalahari. It is an entirely different Botswana experience, set beside the immense Makgadikgadi salt pans in a landscape where horizon, sky and seasonal change become as important as traditional big-game viewing.
The camp is famous for its theatrical campaign-style interiors, but the real reason to travel here is the desert itself and the unusual range of experiences available within it.
The camp
Jack’s Camp occupies a private reserve of roughly one million acres on the edge of the Makgadikgadi Pans. The main areas combine Persian rugs, textiles, natural-history collections and old-world safari references with the comfort expected from one of Botswana’s best-known camps.
A Persian tea tent, library and pool pavilion provide places to retreat during the hotter hours, while wellness treatments can also be arranged.
Accommodation
There are nine enormous guest tents, each approximately 270 sq m.
The interiors are deliberately lavish, with rich fabrics, carved furniture, rugs and cabinets of curiosities. Outside, each tent opens onto a large private deck with its own plunge pool and views towards the Makgadikgadi landscape.
Over-bed cooling systems provide welcome comfort in the desert climate.
A different kind of safari
Game drives explore the desert and grassland ecosystems surrounding camp, but Jack’s is at its best when guests embrace experiences that simply aren’t available at a conventional Delta lodge.
Habituated meerkat encounters can provide extraordinarily close observation of these highly social animals, while guided cultural experiences offer insight into the knowledge and traditions of the Zu/’hoasi Bushmen.
When conditions allow, guided quad-bike journeys head onto the salt pans themselves, where the scale and emptiness of the landscape become the attraction. Scenic helicopter flights and horse riding can also be arranged, with some experiences carrying an additional charge.
The seasons transform the experience
The Makgadikgadi changes dramatically through the year.
During the dry season the pans can become stark expanses of salt and dust, ideal for exploring their extraordinary geology and sense of space.
After the rains, usually from around November onwards, the landscape can transform into grassland and temporary wetlands. Migratory birds arrive and zebra and wildebeest move through the wider ecosystem as part of one of Africa’s major mammal migrations.
This means the right time to visit depends heavily on what you want to experience rather than there being one universally ‘best’ season.
Good to know
Jack’s Camp should not be chosen as a substitute for the Okavango Delta. It works brilliantly because it contrasts with it.
For many travellers, pairing several nights here with a Delta camp produces a far more interesting Botswana itinerary than staying exclusively in similar wetland environments.
Highlights
- Iconic location beside the Makgadikgadi Pans
- Nine exceptionally spacious 270 sq m tents
- Private plunge pool for every tent
- Meerkat encounters
- Zu/’hoasi Bushman experiences
- Game drives
- Seasonal guided quad biking on the pans
- Scenic helicopter flights available
- Pool pavilion, library and Persian tea tent
- Dramatically different wet and dry season experiences
Why we like it
Jack’s Camp gives a Botswana itinerary contrast. The salt pans, desert wildlife, meerkats and seasonal migration are completely different from the waterways of the Okavango, while the camp itself has enough personality to be memorable in its own right.
Speak to Private Hideaway Escapes about pairing Jack’s Camp with the Okavango Delta for a broader Botswana journey.