Reviews of Camp Kalahari
(94%) From 13 travellersThey do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa.
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fantastic desert experience
Really enjoyed our two nights here, crammed alot in. Well run by Jonothan and Kate.
The time spend with the meerkats was fantatstic as was the Bushman experience. I had thought it might all be a bit touristy but it really is not and infact is so informative.
Being on the Pans was incredible, like nowhere else. Literally miles of nothingness!!
Camp Kalahari - KB and Tops were Tops!
Our first camp. Amazing experience with lots of 'surprises'. Great hosts. KB - manager. Tops - guide. Meerkats fantastic and great attention to detail shown by host and staff. The best hot water bottles of our trip. Stayed hot all night! Would love to know what make they are..
We loved the quadbike/saltpan day/night 'experience!!' too and have spoken about that more than anything else. Of all the camps, this is the one we would come back to - even though it was the least luxy. Thanks KB.
Re location - would also like to try Jacks or San as there was a bit more driving involved being based at CK.
Great africa experience
Super camp, environment and people.
Well managed en great atmosphere.
Would have liked to stay longer than 2 nights.
Will recommend this one!
could be better
Tent was very comfortable. Outside bathroom attracted bees to the water in the tap. Made it difficult to clean teeth, wash etc in safety as they attacked us. Need a sink/tap cover to prevent this as using a towel as a cover worked. Need to advise other guests of this measure.
Food was good.
Manager was Jo at the time. Enthusiastic person but very loud and liked to be centre of attn. Needs to be more discreet to avoid irritation. Hearing her stories more than once at dinner, at 20 decibels, was somewhat wearing. Normal front of house man was on compassionate leave.
Meerkats totally awesome! This was why we went here and they did not dissapoint. We went twice so very lucky.
Quad bikes good fun but made us feel guilty about pollution and noise etc. This is a desert not Brands Hatch.
Safari very disappointing. Never been to any lodge before that put 10 people in a car. Very squashed and impersonal. Felt like a herd os sheep. Unacceptable for the price. Also, few animals to be seen.
Furniture in the lounge area very uncomfortable. Looks nice but try sitting on it! Sticks do not make make for a good back rest!
Expert Africa comments
Reading about their whole trip, these travellers arrived with very high expectations of Botswana, but returned very disappointed and were sorry that they found aspects of Camp Kalahari which they didnt like.
When we passed all of their comments to the camp manager, Jo, she replied (regarding the bees) that Tent 5 is used often, and when these guests mentioned the bees to me, I sent a member of staff to check during tea. They didnt see any then, and we havent had any other comments from others in camp, about the bees.
Jo commented that she did speak more than usual, as the Italian family were asking a lot of questions and she apologized that at the time she had the flu, which may explain if I was too loud as my ears and nose were fully blocked.
Were glad that these travellers enjoyed the meerkats so much even if they were disappointed by the safari. We always try hard to explain that game is scarce in and around the Makgadikgadi Pans; we include this in our literature, and on our website. Were sorry if we failed to emphasise this enough to these travellers.
Finally, theres a very good point here about the relatively basic furniture and the full vehicle; Camp Kalahari is the lower-budget choice when compared with Jacks Camp and San Camp and these are some of the reasons why its less costly.
Unpretentious camp, full Kalahari experience
After 6 days in the bush we thought we had seen it all (ha ha!) but, while undoubtedly somewhat formulaic, the 3 kalahari camps (Jacks, San and Kalahari) do offer a truly unique set of experiences to end up you Botswana tour.
Our 4 sessions included a bush-drive and sundowners on the pan, breakfast with the amazing meerkat family followed by a visit to the 3500-year old Chapman's beobab, an evening stroll with the wonderful bushmen (who dug up scorpions, made fire with sticks and played a remarkable game of scissors/paper/stone) and what would have been a final mornnig quad-bike ride if it had not been hijacked by the sighting of a glorious pair of kalahari lions.
As always, the guide is all-imprtant, and we couldn't have wished for anyone more knowledgeable than Aoyoshi (who introduced us to all the magic of the desert while still finding time to track down the elusive lions which had the vehicles from Jacks scurrying up behind). The new pool when it is finished will round off this camp which seems like a fantastic value for money alternative to the rather snootier Jacks and San.
Camp Kalahari review
The Pans are a marked change from the north and the Delta in most ways possible. The landscape is bare, dry and arid and the Pans themselves reminded me of the lunar surface. Game is less easy to spot and the animals are much smaller and harder to spot. I was privileged however to spend a great deal time with a rare brown hyena cub.
The baobabs are incredible and fairly easy to climb! Walking with the meerkats was probably my highlight here and two of them even climbed up onto my knees! I was also lucky enough to see the first rains come with fantastic lightening displays.
The camp is a comfortable camp and nce again the hospitality was top notch. The only down side was that I was the only guest for the last night which felt a little odd having been in the company of 5 other travellers for most of my trip.
Meerkat experience
Situated in a lovely spot. The camp is well hidden in the trees and only the presence of a water tank gives its position away. The staff were very friendly and helpful. They made us feel at home and worked hard at getting the different groups to socialise.
The communal area was comfortable and cool. This encouraged people to relax there and not to hide away in their tents.
Our guide was very good and knew where to find the more unusual animals. The experience with the meerkats was extraordinary and just one of several good surprises. The food was adequate, but quite ordinary.
camp kalahari
we were the only 2 guests on day 1 & only a further 2 were there for day 2
if meerkats are the reason to go then this is a must with 2 virtually habituated troops giving some fantastic interactions
brown hyena are no longer resident & other game at this time was thin on the ground (although we did spot a caracal)
biggest bug bear is the incessant mosquitoes which were ravenous and numerous(cover up)
the staff were friendly & not overbearing with acouple of nice surprises. accomdation is adequate
Amazing Camp Kalahari
Camp Kalahari is a much more "old fashioned" camp with oil lamps in the tents and outside bathrooms, I found this rather romantic and very "Out of Africa". It is currently being expanded and has been much improved by the new owners Jack's Camp so it would be good to see how things are in 6-12 months.
The setting in the pans is magical and you truly feel in another world. It was a fabulous contract to the Delta camps and having it last was for me the right order.
I enjoyed the activities, especially a morning spent with a colony of meercats and an outing with five bushmen.
Once again food and service were excellent but perhaps not as friendly as at the other two, there was less of a house party feel, but that may just be because I was the only guest.
Meerkat Heaven
We are unable to comment as we were informed there were lions at this camp so we stayed at Jacks Camp.
The weather was terrible - windy & cold but we still had a terrific time. I did not expect the meerkat experience to be so enchanting and our guide Shabba? was really very informative and a pleasure to be with.
The game, as we expected was not all around us but to see this type of habitat with the meerkats makes this, for us an essential add on to any trip to Botswana.
We have always believed that acting responsibly is the only way to approach tourism and we're one of
the few companies to hold AITO's original coveted 5-star status for responsible tourism. It's a lead
that others are now following.
