Reviews of Camp Kalahari
Wildlife sightings and reviews
43 independent comments and wildlife information from our travellers who have visited Camp Kalahari 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, 6 of our travellers have recorded their wildlife sightings at Camp Kalahari.
Lion
67% success
Leopard
0% success
Cheetah
50% success
Wild dog
0% success
Elephant
100% success
Meerkat
100% success
Wildebeest
100% success
Zebra
83% success
Oryx
50% success
Aardvark
17% success
Brown Hyena
17% success
Pangolin
0% success
Spotted Hyena
0% success
safari lovers
UK
"fantastic desert experience"
2 nights Arrived 10 Oct 2012
"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!!" See all these reviews: 5n in Botswana; 2n in Zimbabwe
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!!" See all these reviews: 5n in Botswana; 2n in Zimbabwe
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Mr & Mrs J
Effingham
"Camp Kalahari - KB and Tops were Tops!"
3 nights Arrived 26 May 2012
"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." See all these reviews: 11n in Botswana; 3n in Zambia
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." See all these reviews: 11n in Botswana; 3n in Zambia
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location:
Good
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Good
G family
Netherlands
"Great africa experience"
2 nights Arrived 2 May 2012
"Super camp, environment and people.
Well managed en great atmosphere.
Would have liked to stay longer than 2 nights.
Will recommend this one!" See all these reviews: 8n in Botswana
Well managed en great atmosphere.
Would have liked to stay longer than 2 nights.
Will recommend this one!" See all these reviews: 8n in Botswana
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Mr & Mrs K
Bucks
"could be better"
3 nights Arrived 29 Apr 2012
"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!" See all these reviews: 10n in Botswana; 2n in Zambia
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!" See all these reviews: 10n in Botswana; 2n in Zambia
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Average
Location:
Excellent
Service:
Good
Activities:
Average
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Good
Facilities:
Average
Feedback Response
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.
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.
"Senior Africa Specialist"
The O Family
Farnham
"Unpretentious camp, full Kalahari experience"
2 nights Arrived 11 Apr 2011
"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." See all these reviews: 8n in Botswana; 2n in Zimbabwe
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." See all these reviews: 8n in Botswana; 2n in Zimbabwe
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Good
Ms L
Enfield
"Camp Kalahari review"
3 nights Arrived 26 Oct 2010
"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." See all these reviews: 3n in Botswana
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." See all these reviews: 3n in Botswana
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location:
Good
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Mr & Mrs A
Cumbria
"Meerkat experience"
3 nights Arrived 2 Sep 2010
"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." See all these reviews: 6n in Botswana
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." See all these reviews: 6n in Botswana
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Average
Facilities:
Good
Mr & Mrs P
Waterloovi
"camp kalahari"
2 nights Arrived 11 Apr 2010
"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" See all these reviews: 7n in Botswana; 3n in Zambia
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" See all these reviews: 7n in Botswana; 3n in Zambia
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good
Location:
Good
Service:
Good
Activities:
Good
Rooms:
Average
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Average
Ms H
Kensington
"Amazing Camp Kalahari"
3 nights Arrived 29 Nov 2009
"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." See all these reviews: 10n in Botswana
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." See all these reviews: 10n in Botswana
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location:
Excellent
Service:
Good
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Good
Facilities:
Good
Mr & Mrs W
Wiltshire
"Meerkat Heaven"
2 nights Arrived 29 Sep 2009
"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." See all these reviews: 13n in Botswana
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." See all these reviews: 13n in Botswana
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Holiday styles & special interests in Botswana
From birdwatching breaks to walking holidays, find great ideas for your trip in Botswana.
Other lodges in Kalahari's Salt Pans
Alternative places to stay in this same area.
Nxai Pan Camp
Offering good summer game viewing and visits to Baines Baobabs, the comfortable Nxai Pan Camp is currently the only permanent camp in Nxai Pan National Park.
Jack's Camp
Jack's Camp was the original camp in the Makgadikgadi area, and many still consider it the best. Come for a unique and memorable experience, but not for prolific game viewing.
San Camp
The simple but stylish San Camp lies in a stunning location beside the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans, where highlights are quadbiking, meerkats, and Bushmen walks.
Meno A Kwena
Meno A Kwena Tented Camp is an old-style safari camp, run by an experienced Botswana expert. Overlooking the bed of the Boteti River, it's a great place to relax and watch wildlife at the camp's waterhole.
Leroo La Tau
From the western bank of the Boteti River, Leroo La Tau overlooks the Makgadikgadi Pans National Park, where game concentrations are highest from July to October.
