Reviews of Camp Kalahari

"What an amazing place. When we flew in we thought we were in the middle of nowhere. We were made to feel extremely welcome. The horse riding, meekhat visit, quad bikes, san visit, salt pans and camp out were all real highlights of our trip..

Our guide, Micheal, was a great personality and made us all feel at home. Nothing was too much trouble.

Although there was not the extent of game as in Chobe we did really enjoy this experience and would definitely recommend it.
It was also very nice to have a lunchtime siesta and rest in the middle of the day - only mad dogs and Englishmen...........

The food was exceptional" See all these reviews: 9n in Botswana; 3n in Zimbabwe

"Mr. Bones - our guide, the MC and overall host was truly amazing. Although the camp was a bit worn, Bones made this stay memorable.

Staff were very attentive and ensured we were extremely well treated. Our activities - ATV drives in the salt pan, guided tours, the Bushmen Walk, meerkat bonding - each held surprises that were amazing.

Overall an experience we would not have wanted to miss." See all these reviews: 9n in Botswana; 2n in Zambia; 1n in South Africa

"Camp Kalahari reminded me of Hemingway's Botswana and I was very pleased that I decided to stay there. The food was to my liking and the staff were friendly and helpful.

The herds of zebra and wildebeste outnumbered all other animals but on our evening drive in the moonlight we saw spring hares, cape hares, black backed jackals, an owl, an aardvark and a steenbok which everyone found very satisfying. On one daytime drive we saw a couple of ostriches in the distance but this was the only time I saw them during the whole time I was in Botswana. During the night there was a huge outcry as a lion tried to get into the horses' enclosure....who can blame him for thinking it would be a quick and easy meal.

The early morning visit to the meerkat burrows was charming and I believe I am right in saying everyone enjoyed it. We arrived as they began emerging from their burrows and when one sat on my knee I decided it smelt of marmite! A staff member has been appointed to stay around the meerkats' territory all day and every day so that they are used to 'us humans' and do not consider us a threat.

I did not join the Bush Walk but was surprised at the number of Bush people that arrived for the walk which included men, women, children and babies. I also did not participate in the quad bike drive because I had no time left, however afterwards I wished that I had." See all these reviews: 13n in Botswana

"We loved this camp and found the staff all very friendly, efficient, caring and knowledgeable. Ossy, our young guide, was excellent and we learnt a great deal from him about the animals and birds in the area. Highlights included seeing brown hyena, walking with the meerkats and visiting the National Park, where we saw part of the second largest migration of zebra and wildebeest, and a lioness with her cub and a freshly killed zebra. Particularly magical was sitting far out into the salt pan watching the sunset, before returning to Ossy and our vehicle, where he told his about the evolution of the delta and the pan. We also enjoyed the opportunity to meet the bushmen, and to learn something about their traditional way of life

Food was excellent, service was impeccable and we enjoyed the singing and dancing of the staff, in which we participated enthusiastically if not necessarily proficiently! The rooms were well appointed and comfortable.

We enjoyed the opportunity to see some animals with which we were not familiar, e.g. springhares, porcupine and to start our extensive list of bird sightings. The night drives with the spotlight showed us that nocturnal animals were plentiful in this area" See all these reviews: 12n in Botswana; 3n in Zambia

"I did several habituated Meerkat Mobs, some night viewing, and brown Hyena cubs." See all these reviews: 12n in Botswana; 1n in South Africa

"I was a little concerned about the quad biking. Why would I want to quad bike I asked myself? My fears were completely unfounded. It is the only way to get into the centre of the salt pans. Without this you wouldn't for example see the pans themselves or have the opportunity to look for arrowheads used by ancient man. There are literally dozens of these lying barely covered in the pans. There has been reference to the lack of helmets. Helmets are provided for all guests.
The guide was a specialist zoologist with extraordinary knowledge. Nothing was too much trouble for him to explain. he was simply one of the best guides I have come across anywhere in the world.
Our encounter with bushmen was a fabulous experience. It was all so natural and not a "Disney type" staged outing
The Lodge was very well managed and hosted" See all these reviews: 9n in Botswana

"Visiting the Meerkats was fascinating, all that I had hoped for.

Visiting the group of Bushmen was just an ok experience." See all these reviews: 12n in Botswana

"Love this camp. The new tented camps on stilts were awesome. However was the best of all the locations.

All the activities are fun and Bart was a superb guide.

Loved our visits with he meerkats again and Bart's knowledge of the area." See all these reviews: 11n in Botswana

"The staff at the camp was great, especially our guide Bones. The food was very good. Enjoyed the ATV quad ride and Bones made an effort to heighten the experience with our "flying on the Pans." We especially enjoyed the Meerkats which were a wonderful experience.

While we had been warned in advance about the "surprise" night on the Pans by Expert Africa, I still think the camp should tell people in advance. I wear contact lenses and because there was no advisement on which night this surprise would occur, I could not plan. Same holds true as I, and others we were traveling with, take medication and we had no time to prepare to take it with us. For us these reasons and the cold, we opted not to participate. For others who don't have these issues, I think it would be a great experience." See all these reviews: 9n in Botswana; 2n in Zimbabwe

"We spent two nights at Camp Kalahari as part of a self drive holiday. We were met at Plant Baobab and driven to camp. Initially everything was fine.

The camp itself is spacious, with reasonably well equipped family tents and a nicely laid out central area where everyone eats together. The location is fabulous, some distance from the main road or any other habitation. The surrounding area has a varied desert landscape, vegetation and wildlife, creating plenty of opportunities for interesting and informative walks or drives.

The daily format is simple, groups of up to eight or nine per vehicle with a guide undertake activities together. We asked about the itinerary on arrival and were pleased enough to be told that we would do a few drives and go-karting on the second day. Before the karting our enquiry about crash helmets was deflected with a request to bring a cloth to wrap around our heads to help keep our hair clean! Safety goggles to keep the dust out of our eyes? No luck there either. If we wanted to go karting it was clearly at our own risk.

We were given a time to meet, but left 30 minutes late. The guide stopped repeatedly, dismissed requests to get us to the karts and we eventually started karting an hour late. No big deal except that it was now clear that we would be driving at night and return later than originally understood. We arrived at the end of the karting route with about a minute to prepare to watch the sun go down. We then spent 30 minutes contemplating the vastness of the desert - great except that it was cold. On the way back we stopped to visit an "archaeological team" - which was actually the bar from camp reconstructed in the desert. After another round of misleading information we found that we were eating in the open. Also great if its summer but we had gone karting with the expectation that we would be back at camp to prepare for dinner, change, sort out warmer clothing etc, not spend the evening in the cold. Then yet another round of misinformation about 'fossil beds' which as a geologist I was intrigued by, apart from the fact that it was dark, which turned out to be a set of beds constructed in the open with the expectation what we would sleep out overnight. This 'surprise' was welcomed by some but not all. Even though this appears to be a routine, the camp staff did not have a simple process to make clear this offer was a choice and to help confirm who wanted to do what and then get other people back to camp. More time in the cold. Two of us returned arriving at camp about 2 hours after our holiday bed time. Again, not an issue for some but we were travelling the next day and a good nights sleep would have helped.

It is clear that some people enjoy the 'surprise' element of camping at Kalahari. Personally I do not go on holiday to be lied to, to be misled, and ultimately to be left in a situation that might endanger life. One of our family who stayed overnight has a nut allergy. The camp was aware of this, but at breakfast the team in the desert could not confirm whether or not the food contained nuts.

The last morning demonstrated the limitations of the managements capabilities. We had discussed and confirmed a departure time, twice. On our return to the camp we were then told that the vehicle that was taking us to Planet Baobab had no fuel and so had gone to Jack's camp to refuel. This camp had a year's notice of our booking and had driven us around for two days in a vehicle that had 1/4 of a tank before realising that they could not perform the contract. We left over an hour later than intially agreed. We arrived too late to do anything at our next stop. Lucky we were not catching a plane that day.

Overall, great location, interesting place but one of the worst experiences I have had on holiday." See all these reviews: 8n in Botswana; 3n in Namibia; 2n in Zimbabwe