Sherwood CC - Members - Best of Botswana

Zarafa Camp is an intimate, four room exquisite tented suite camp located on the130,000-hectare Selinda Reserve in northern Botswana, an area linking the Okavango Delta and the Chobe/Savute corridors. Its villa, the Dhow Suite at Zarafa, consist of two tented suites and private main area and operates entirely independently of main camp. Few camps rival the location of this little gem, Botswana’s first and only Relais & Chateaux property. Overlooking the crystal waters Zibadianja Lagoon, the source of the famous Savute Channel, every area of camp has a magnificent view. The lagoon is also the water source for a tremendous population of wildlife – dry season sightings boast buffalo and elephant by the hundreds. Zarafa Camp and The Dhow Suite at Zarafa are the brainchild of the founders of Great Plains Conservation, who pooled their collective experience on safari to create what they deemed to be the best and most environmentally innovative camp. Zarafa has succeeded in successfully in retaining a clearly African feel, while balancing that delicate relationship between personal and informal and romance and adventure. Zarafa Camp has no equal in terms of its environmental credentials and its careful appointments.

Mombo Camp, on Mombo Island just off the northern tip of Chief’s Island, is built under large shady trees and overlooks a wonderful floodplain teeming with wildlife.

Accommodation comprises eight spacious tents raised off the ground, all built to maximise the vistas over the plains. Each tent is elegantly furnished, complete with en-suite bathroom, a dressing area, indoor and outdoor showers and a bathtub that creates a sense of indulgence. The expanded deck includes a sala and plunge pool.

A large living and dining area looks out over that same view, while Mombo’s famous traditional dinners are hosted in the nearby boma. Mombo shares a boutique, spa, gym and lap pool with Little Mombo. Large concentrations of plains game often occur in front of camp; you may see a variety of animals without even leaving the veranda.

This is one of the most spectacular parts of the Okavango and Moremi, with arguably the best big game viewing in all of Africa with a bountiful hunting ground for large prides of lion and leopard.

Conservation Safari Company recommends Mombo for its amazing viewing and the best of the best lodges in Africa, for those that can afford it. Only game drives are offered in beautifully diverse habitats, with the possibility of seeing rhino!

Rates are fully inclusive of all safari activities, meals and drinks

Jack's Camp is spread out beneath a grove of mokolwane palm trees, with extensive views across Botswana's immense Makgadikgadi Salt Pans, dotted with patches of grassy savannah and photogenic palm islands. Arid for much of the year, the pans can be relatively devoid of wildlife, but be prepared for unusual surprises. Jack’s is one of Africa's costlier camps, and takes pride in its motto: 'Give them what they never knew they wanted.'

The Makgadikgadi Pans is dry for much of the year, and the larger animals are often scarce. During the wet season (November–April), however, the landscape transforms as the pans fill with rain, attracting clouds of flamingo and other migratory birds, while migrating herds of zebra and wildebeest wheel around the grasslands, followed closely by opportunistic predators.

Even in the dry winter months, the addition of pumped waterholes now attracts a good number of zebra and wildebeest (and accompanying lions etc), making game viewing a more year-round experience. This is in addition to the desert-adapted wildlife that is here year round, such as ostrich, springbok, steenbok and black-backed jackal, while by night you might come across brown hyena, aardwolf, porcupine, bat-eared fox, honey badger and scrub hare. Kalahari lion, cheetah and leopard also roam this area, and though they are elusive, they are spotted occasionally, especially lion.

Jack's Camp itself has been beautifully constructed in a very classical safari style, providing an inviting and quite romantic oasis in this harsh environment. The early settler décor throughout the camp features a mix of old mahogany furniture, Persian rugs, Moroccan and Ethiopian artefacts and natural objects such as ostrich eggs and feathers.

Large custom-made marquee tents built on low, raised wooden platforms house the main areas. The dining and lounge tent is adorned with a variety of photos, maps, diagrams and natural history objects, and houses an extensive library: an impressive collection that is registered as a national museum. A large table occupies the dining room, with comfy seating areas filling the remaining spaces.

Steps lead down to a firepit where guests can enjoy social evening drinks under the stars. A short stroll away there's another enormous open-sided tent which shelters the swimming pool, built into a wooden platform and surrounded by loungers. In the other direction, a circular Bedouin tent adorned with low-slung chairs and scatter cushions is used for informal afternoon tea.

Pathways lead to the ten tents at Jack's – the furthest about five minutes' walk from the main area. Each of these large, walk-in tents – three doubles and seven twins – is raised on a wooden platform with a private wooden deck offering expansive views. Constructed of khaki-green canvas with a patterned lining, the tent opens through a zipped door into the bedroom, where you’ll find a double or twin custom-made four-poster beds. There’s a seating area, too, along with a desk, chest of drawers, a few random natural history books and an open canvas shelving and hanging space.

A canvas and cloth partition separates the bedroom from the en-suite bathroom, where the washstand, with a copper basin and inlaid mirror, is made from an old writing desk, and a quirky flush toilet is fashioned into a wooden throne. Indoor and outside showers (the latter with a wooden screen for privacy) are complemented by plenty of toiletries.

There are no electric lights or plug points in the tents at Jack's, but paraffin and solar-powered lanterns provide ambient lighting after dark. A standing fan (which operates only during the day, when the generator is on) helps to keep the tent cool, and hot-water bottles warm the beds on cold winter nights.

Guided activities from Jack's Camp focus on the unusual aspects of this area. The guides are well-versed, and sometimes real experts, in aspects of this environment and aim to give you an understanding of its fascinating geology, archaeology and anthropology, as well as a chance to observe its scarce wildlife. You’ll be travelling in vehicles with up to six guests in three rows of three seats, so everyone is guaranteed a ‘window’ seat.

Nature drives in and around the Makgadikgadi Pans National Park sometimes include notable sites such as Chapman's Baobab. Although this ancient tree collapsed in January 2016, you can still see the enormous fallen trunk, which is split into three relatively even masses. These can be half or full days trips.

Spotlit night drives are enjoyed on the return to camp in the evenings, and there are also night drives after supper.

Informative nature walks, concentrating on the plants and smaller animals, are led by Bushmen trackers, with translation by your guide. While these two-hour walks give you an interesting glimpse into a dying culture, some may consider them a little superficial. That said, the San Bushmen we went out with were obviously having as much fun as we were, and we felt that the excursion was really well done.

Visits to a habituated meerkat colony offer visitors a very close encounter with these cute little foragers.

Visits to sites of archaeological interest include areas where Stone-Age implements can be found.

4WD quadbikes can be used during the dry season (May to October), to venture onto the saltpans without damaging its fragile crust.

In addition, and with considerable advance notice, there is the option between December and May of a full-day trip to try to see flamingoes, which often have a breeding colony in the nearby Sua Pan. That said, during good rains flamingos can been seen on the pan directly in front of camp – as they could during our visit in July 2017.

Given the range of activities at Jack's, we recommend that travellers come for at least three nights. This generally also gives enough time to experience the Bushmen trance dance one evening.

Do watch their short video and see what it is all about > https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=159&v=SjED-VL-PFA&feature=emb_logo

Conservation Safari Company recommends Jack's Camp as the premier lodge in the 'pans' of Botswana, unique animal life, amazing guides and a fabulous camp - set in a truly wild and remote place. It has a magical X factor that cant be described.

Rates are fully inclusive of safari activities, meals and drinks.