Kalahari & The Makgadikgadi Pans

Southeast of the Delta, the vast Makgadikgadi Pans possess an unearthly quality characterized by expansive stretches of shimmering salt pans that seem to stretch out into infinity.

Today, the almost mystical emptiness, silence, and shimmering mirages on the surface of the pans are a unique attraction in itself. Visit here in the dry season for a sense of remoteness and space, whilst in the rainy season, the parchment surface of the pans is transformed into a water wonderland as the pans fill up, attracting huge flocks of flamingo as well as herds of wildebeest and zebra.

There’s an impressive choice of extraordinary activities to be enjoyed, including quad biking, bushman walks, classic desert game drives, meerkat visits, and horse rides.

The Central Kalahari Game Reserve is the second-largest game reserve in the world. Nothing can prepare you for the sheer wonder of exploring this vast reserve with its wild, untouched beauty. The landscape is dominated by sand veld, acacias, and Kalahari apple-leaf, interspersed with grasslands and dotted with occasional sand dunes, pans, and fossil river valleys. The reserve is home to an impressive variety of desert adapted-wildlife, including oryx, cheetah, and springbok thrive in the beautiful, semi-arid sandy savannah.

Highlight: Jack's Camp

Jack’s Camp is a year-round destination, yet the two seasons couldn’t be more different. The dry season, from April to October, is the desert as you know it: a shimmering whiteness envelops the scorched landscape, like a mirage floating over the crusted salt, and you’ll spot nomadic herds in the distance as if an illusion. This is the time of year for whizzing across the pans on the back of a quad bike, sleeping under the stars, and enjoying the pans in their most iconic state.

Meerkat Experience

Jack's Camp is one of the best places in the world to photograph meerkats. The Camp employs a full-time "meerkat follower" whose job is to live with the meerkats, camping next to them every night, and keep them accustomed to a human presence. 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.