This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. Learn more

Skip to main content

Talk to an expert 1-800-242-2434 Lines now closed

User menu
Tau Pan Camp
Tau Pan Camp
Tau Pan Camp
Tau Pan Camp
Tau Pan Camp
Tau Pan Camp
Tau Pan Camp

Reviews of Tau Pan Camp

Wildlife sightings and reviews

92 independent comments and wildlife information from our travellers who have visited Tau Pan Camp and kindly agreed to share their thoughts. They do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa

Wildlife sightings by our travellers
Starting in Aug-2018, 27 of our travellers have recorded their wildlife sightings at Tau Pan Camp.
Lion

85% success

Leopard

30% success

Cheetah

32% success

Wild dog

5% success

Oryx

96% success

Wildebeest

96% success

Giraffe

85% success

Elephant

33% success

Zebra

27% success

Eland

23% success

Brown Hyena

17% success

Meerkat

5% success

Pangolin

5% success

Aardvark

0% success

Showing 11-20 of 92
Duration
Arrival date
Mr & Ms B
Florida, US

"Tau Pan Camp review"

3 nights Arrived 31 Mar 2022
"This was our fourth trip to Botswana altogether, but our first visit to this area, and we were really surprised by the landscapes and the sightings. One reason to come here was that this camp, as well as the next one on our trip, belongs to Kwando Safaris, a company that we have learned to appreciate through repeated visits to the Kwara Concession in the Okavango Delta. To summarize, this camp really lived up to our expectations. Another pleasant surprise was that we saw AT again, who in 2016 during our first visit worked was our tracker and in the meantime moved up to be camp manager here.

As for the wildlife, this camp did not provide great variety. Other than herds of oryx, wildebeest, and springbok there were no other herbivores to be seen. On the other hand, this camp really excelled in its lion encounters. We ran into the Tau Pan pride (2 adult females and 6 juvenile lions) several times, twice they came drinking at the waterhole right in front of the camp, and this opportunity made a dream of mine come true, which was to photograph several lions, lined up like ducks, drinking a waterhole.

On another occasion, the same pride performed quite a show when they were agitated by a poisonous snake right next to our vehicle. I could not believe that such powerful predators could so easily be scared by an apparently much less potent animal. However, these lions showed the utmost respect for this little reptile and wandered off to “their” waterhole (see above). Other than that, we came across two male lions who were feasting over a buffalo kill, and black-backed jackals fearlessly tried to join the party.

The camp, the service and food quality leave nothing to be desired, as is expected of Kwando Safaris. We are certain to return here again at some point." See all these reviews: 19n in Namibia; 15n in Botswana
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Good
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Good
Sightings Report

Lion

6 sightings

Oryx

3 sightings

Wildebeest

3 sightings

Mr & Mrs SA
Norfolk

"Tau Pan Camp review"

3 nights Arrived 28 Mar 2022
"Tau Pan really is a "find". Located on the top of a vast sand dune the nine[?] wood individual apartments offered a panoramic view of the plains,,,, dreamy! The apartment lacked for nothing, including internal and external showers and charging points for him and her (well almost).

The main area was large as was the bar though we did point out that the chairs on the deck were not being used much since we "could not get down into them or out of them" being north of 70yrs old, though that did not stop us jumping into the Landcruisers.

There was almost too many staff here so service was great. As for the drives, heaven. Just us two and a driver and a spotter. This is what you pay your money for and boy did we get value for money. No point in listing what we saw and followed, it was total.

This Camp is an example of the Botswana wild life policy working in full. Top quality, top people, top wild life and restricted development allowing top prices to be charged to protect the environment and wild life." See all these reviews: 12n in Botswana; 1n in South Africa
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Mr & Mrs L
Surrey

"Tau Pan Camp review"

2 nights Arrived 23 Nov 2021
"We especially enjoyed the remoteness of Tau Pan and its position on a small ridge giving wonderful expansive views at sunrise and sunset. The dry heat of the day eased into cooler evenings and nights for sleeping.

Our guide and tracker were well informed and keen to show us what we wanted to see, not just the big 5. There is a lot happening in the desert if you look!

For an adrenalin rush, an adult cheetah and her 2 sub adult young stalking, chasing and killing a baby springbok was an amazing sight!" See all these reviews: 7n in Botswana; 1n in South Africa
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Good
Facilities:
Good
Sightings Report

Cheetah

3 sightings

Elephant

1 sighting

Giraffe

1 sighting

Lion

2 sightings

Oryx

4 sightings

Wildebeest

3 sightings

Gibblewhites
Newark

"Tau Pan Camp review"

2 nights Arrived 18 Nov 2021
"Another lovely camp. Warmly greeted by Hilda and Bonnie (again sanitiser) followed by welcome drink. The view from the camp is wonderful, overlooking a waterhole - an oasis in quite a dry location.

The rooms are lovely with all facilities - hint - choose room 9 - this is the one the lions sleep outside!

The food is delicious and again nothing is too much trouble - we were sad to leave." See all these reviews: 10n in Botswana; 2n in Zimbabwe
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Sightings Report

Eland

2 sightings

Giraffe

3 sightings

Lion

3 sightings

Oryx

3 sightings

Mr F
Amsterdam

"Tau Pan Camp review"

3 nights Arrived 17 May 2021
"A hidden gem in a very impressive environment. Honest and kind people making us feel at home. Good guiding and food.

Not the most impressive in terms of wildlife sightings but a great sense of disconnection in such a remote part of Botswana, the Kalahari is truly overwhelming. Lucky though to see the rare brown hyena on two occasions and the day trip to Deception Valley gave a real sense of the vastness of the area.

The family style dinners with the guide and camp manager felt really intimate, a vast contrast with our previous camp (Jack’s)." See all these reviews: 13n in Botswana
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Good
Facilities:
Good
Sightings Report

Brown Hyena

2 sightings

Giraffe

2 sightings

Oryx

4 sightings

Wildebeest

2 sightings

Mrs M.
Amsterdam

"Tau Pan Camp review"

3 nights Arrived 17 May 2021
"As soon as I stepped into Tau Pan Camp it felt like this is what I expect from a safari camp. Open, airy, a camp fire. Small and with an intimate atmosphere.
Our driver was Alex and the tracker P.K. Again very knowledgeable and easy-going.
The Kalahari is overwhelmingly beautiful. Because of the late rains it was very green and the grass still high, so that made it more difficult to spot the big predators. But birdlife was immense." See all these reviews: 13n in Botswana
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Sightings Report

Brown Hyena

2 sightings

Giraffe

2 sightings

Oryx

1 sighting

Wildebeest

1 sighting

Mr & Mrs V
Harlow

"Tau Pan Camp review"

4 nights Arrived 15 Jan 2020
"We started our trip at Tau Pan as we particularly wanted to see the Kalahari during the rainy 'green' season and were not disappointed. Everything was green and in flower. All the game was fit, well fed and fat and many of the birds were in breeding plumage - just what we wanted.

In particular the place was alive with insects - especially butterflies and grasshoppers. Don't be put off - there were no mosquitoes nor many 'biting' flies of any sort. Game was spread out as there was water everywhere but nevertheless we saw all the Kalahari specialities we had hoped for, gemsbok, springbok, lion, cheetah and some surprises such as African wild cat.

Camp was comfortable, the staff friendly and attentive and the guiding excellent - they had been told by Expert Africa that we were interested in birdlife and Vasco our main guide was an excellent and skillfull spotter." See all these reviews: 9n in Botswana
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Sightings Report

Cheetah

4 sightings

Eland

1 sighting

Giraffe

3 sightings

Leopard

1 sighting

Lion

4 sightings

Oryx

10 sightings

Wildebeest

10 sightings

Zebra

3 sightings

Mr K-Prof V
Michigan

"Nice Visit at Tau Pan Camp"

3 nights Arrived 8 Jan 2020
"The camp facilities and staff are excellent. Service was friendly and good.

The camp was very crowded when we were there and the communal dining experience with 20 strangers is not optimum for a relaxed holiday.

Our guide Vasco and tracker Zimbo were very good and well-informed about birds and animals and plants. The rainy season was an interesting time to visit - animals are dispersed and harder to find but there were plenty of Oryx and Wildebeest and many displaying birds." See all these reviews: 6n in Botswana; 1n in Namibia
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Good
Facilities:
Good
Sightings Report

Cheetah

1 sighting

Oryx

10 sightings

Wildebeest

10 sightings

Ms A
Calgary

"Beautiful start in the desert"

3 nights Arrived 26 Nov 2019
"Tau Pan is perfect for starting the adventure. It is a lower game-dense area than most, so you have to temper your expectations. We were looking to ease into safari life, while absorbing a 9 hour time difference, and we found the sunsets, the sunrises, the stargazing, the people and the service to be amazingly helpful.

We also found more animals than we were expecting. A lone male lion on our first game drive, and the rest of the Tau Pan pride was located each day as well. Really appreciated our guide/tracking team of PK and Jakes. Jakes stopped at everything we wanted to see. He also automatically placed the vehicle in the right light, and correct angle for a photographer. We found the most insects of our entire trip here (surprisingly), so do not skimp on the repellant.

Because of the dry conditions/age of the flooring, there were many spots for insects/spiders to enter the chalets. Simple mosquito netting might solve this, if they wanted to make a slight improvement. Dinners were wonderful, cheerful evenings with stories and wine flowing. We loved our Bushman walk, and found it to be fun and informative.

The lions roared in camp 2 out of the 3 nights. And the resident lone bull elephant walked behind our chalet these same 2 nights as well. (making quite a bit of noise as he munched on bushes during his trek to the water hole). The last morning, I wanted to take pictures of his tracks, and discovered a leopard print on top of the elephant print. OP (the camp manager) was nearly always present, and when she wasn't, Florence (her 2IC) was. All the staff went out of their way to make sure you wanted for nothing.

It was an amazing start to the adventure." See all these reviews: 9n in Botswana
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Sightings Report

Elephant

1 sighting

Giraffe

8 sightings

Lion

10 sightings

Oryx

8 sightings

Wildebeest

5 sightings

Mrs K.
Nice

"brown with a touch of green"

3 nights Arrived 12 Nov 2019
"definitely our favorite camp. an amazing view from our chalet, down to a water hole and beyond. when we arrived, the rains had just begun and you could instantly see a change in the environment. this experience was more about the environment and the little things rather than big game. we identified 40 species of birds...most of our previous guides did not emphasize that aspect. vasco was a font of knowledge. a leopard tortoise, 2 deadly snakes, and a double rainbow made this a completely different experience.

the camp itself was delightful, well equipped and great food and service. but it was the all day trip to a distant pan and an interpretative walk with a bushman/san guide which were the most memorable experiences. cannot say enough good things about this fabulous camp which rounded out our experiences in botswana. unfortunately this camp was seemingly not as popular as those in the delta. however, for us and those with whom we shared the experience, it was the best." See all these reviews: 11n in Botswana
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Sightings Report

Cheetah

1 sighting

Elephant

1 sighting

Giraffe

3 sightings

Lion

3 sightings

Oryx

3 sightings

Wildebeest

3 sightings

Showing 11-20 of 92
96%
92 reviews of Tau Pan Camp by travellers since August 2007
Overall rating by our travellers
75
14
3
0
0
Filter by month

Holiday styles & special interests in Botswana

From birdwatching breaks to walking holidays, find great ideas for your trip in Botswana.


Birdwatching

Birdwatching

Diverse habitats, discreet hides and superb guiding.

Cultural experiences

Cultural experiences

Get an insight into Africa's cultures and history.

Family holidays

Family holidays

Hand-picked camps for an incredible family safari.

Honeymoons

Honeymoons

Romantic safaris and castaway island retreats.

Luxury

Luxury

First-class service, scenic vistas and unparalleled comfort await you during these carefully selected luxury holidays. 

Photography holidays

Photography holidays

Great holidays to suit the keen photographer.

Private villas & houses

Private villas & houses

Enjoy Africa with just your friends & family

Riding holidays

Riding holidays

Explore Africa's wilderness on horseback.

Solo Travel

Solo Travel

Trip ideas ideally suited for a solo traveller.

Walking

Walking

Explore Africa's most scenic trails on foot.

Walking safaris

Walking safaris

Explore Africa's untouched wildernesses on foot.

Wellbeing

Wellbeing

Wellness escapes in stunning locations

Wildlife safaris

Wildlife safaris

These trips include hard-hitting game and fascinatingly elusive species alike, as well as superb guiding and a variety of diverse ecosystems.

Other lodges in Central Kalahari Game Reserve

Alternative places to stay in this same area.


Kalahari Arms Hotel

Kalahari Arms Hotel

Kalahari Arms Hotel, in the town of Ghanzi, is a practical overnight stop for travellers crossing the Kalahari to or from Namibia.


75% (23 reviews)
Kalahari Plains Camp

Kalahari Plains Camp

Kalahari Plains Camp, situated in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, is a traditional tented camp offering some of Botswana's best summer (Dec–Mar) game viewing, and an introduction to authentic Bushman culture.


91% (16 reviews)
Edo's Camp

Edo's Camp

Edo's Camp is a small camp with only four spacious tents overlooking a permanent waterhole. Surrounded by 20,000 hectares of private game conservancy you can expect to see white rhino, springbok, oryx and eland here.


93% (8 reviews)
Deception Valley Lodge

Deception Valley Lodge

A private reserve on the border of the CKGR, Deception Valley Lodge offers more flexible activities than within the reserve and a particularly good Bushman experience.


96% (5 reviews)
Dinaka

Dinaka

The newest addition to Ker and Downey Botswana’s portfolio, Dinaka is based on a private game reserve on the northern boundary of the CKGR.


100% (4 reviews)
Gham Dhao Lodge

Gham Dhao Lodge

Gham Dhao Lodge is one of a number of lodges located on the northern boundary of the CKGR, offering a year-round Kalahari experience.


No reviews yet

Login to Expert Africa

Sign in with password

Sign in with email link


New to Expert Africa? Create an account

Forgotten your details?

It's free & quick to set up

  • Save your wish-list
  • Send us an enquiry
  • Pay online for your trip
  • Subscribe to our newsletter
  • Give us feedback on your trip
  • Full site benefits of the site

Need some help? Talk to our team

Newsletter background

Stay in the know with Expert Africa

Join our newsletter. Get the latest on new camps and lodges, insights from our team, uplifting conservation stories and more...

A few more details and you're subscribed

Thanks!

Almost there! We've sent you an email to confirm your subscription. Just click on the link and you'll soon be receiving our newsletter in your inbox.

In the meantime, take a look at our previous Bush Telegraph newsletters.
Africa