Jack's Camp | Makgadikgadi Salt Pans
Set in a palm-dotted oasis in Botswana’s Makgadikgadi, Jack’s Camp is one of Africa’s most iconic safari experiences. This legendary camp blends 1940s explorer style with the surreal beauty of the Kalahari’s vast salt pans, creating a setting that feels timeless and extraordinary.
Founded in honour of safari pioneer Jack Bousfield, the camp celebrates the spirit of exploration. Nine canvas tents are richly styled with Persian rugs, mahogany campaign furniture and colourful textiles, evoking the golden age of safari while offering modern comfort. At the centre of camp, the famous Persian tea tent, pool pavilion, curio shop and Natural History Museum add to the sense of discovery, filled with artefacts and stories that reflect the history and natural wonders of the Makgadikgadi.
With exceptional guiding and desert experiences – from walking with habituated meerkats as they emerge at sunrise to quad biking across the salt pans in the dry season – Jack’s Camp offers a safari that is fascinating and unforgettable. Game drives reveal the surprising wildlife of this desert landscape, while time spent with the San bushmen provides insight into one of the oldest cultures on earth. Few places capture the romance, curiosity and adventure of safari quite like Jack’s Camp.
- Images
- Video
- Rooms
- Units
- Facilities
- Activities and Services
The 2 double tents are made up of 1 x extra length king sized bed which includes an overhead cooling system. As you walk into your 135sqm tent, you will be greeted by a beautiful lounge area, which leads out to your own private plunge pool. All tents include private indoor & outdoor showers, charging points and all tents offer 24 hour solar-powered electricity
Max: 2 adults
Children of all ages welcome
All 7 twin tents are made up of 2 x extra length queen sized beds which include an overhead cooling system. As you walk into your 135sqm tent, you will be greeted by a beautiful lounge area, which leads out to your own private plunge pool. All tents include private indoor & outdoor showers, charging points and all tents offer 24 hour solar-powered electricity
Max: 2 adults
Children of all ages welcome
Jack's Private Camp
Jack’s Private Camp has two bedrooms, each with their own en-suite bathroom, private veranda and day bed. One room will have an extra length king size bed (double) and the other, two extra length king size beds (to use as twin or double), with over bed cooling systems and mosquito nets. The en-suite bathrooms each have two indoor showers, a brass bathtub and an outside shower. Between the bedrooms is a shared living space, with a kitchen, dining area and lounge - leading out onto a private deck with a large swimming pool, overlooking the Makgadikgadi Pans.
The interior design pays homage to the property’s much loved 1940s campaign style. The tent is cool and spacious and adorned with a classic East African safari feel. Persian and North African rugs, brass fittings, luxuriant textiles and Natural History mahogany cabinet.
A personal chef and butler service, plus a guide and private vehicle are included in the rate and add to this exclusive experience.
Property Facilities
Accept Credit Cards, Battery Charging Facilities, Communal Dining, Eco Friendly, Indoor Pool, Internet Access (Complimentary), Laundry Service, Library, Pool, Spa, Vegetarian
Room Facilities
Air Conditioning, Balcony / Deck, Complimentary Wi-Fi, Electrical Outlets, En Suite Bathroom, Fridge, Hairdryer, Laundry Service (Complimentary), Lounge Area, Lounge, Mini Bar, Mosquito Nets, Outside Shower, Plunge Pool, Private Lounge / Sitting Area, Pure Cotton Linen, Safe, Shower, Stretcher Beds
Available Services
Credit Card Facilities, Laundry Service (Complimentary), Private Vehicle (Available)
Activities on Site
Bird Watching, Cycling, Game Drives, Game Viewing, Helicopter Scenic Flights, High Tea, Horse Riding, Horse-back Safaris, Massages, Night Drives, Quad Biking, Safaris, Sleep Outs
Activities Nearby
Cultural Tours, Helicopter Scenic Flights, Horse Riding
Take game drives and night drives in custom built 4x4s to spot the unique desert wildlife that inhabit the pans, like the elusive brown hyena or Kalahari lion. Your experienced safari guide will help you discover a desert landscape, pulsating with life. Complete with bush picnics, morning coffees and chilled drinks.
Get up close and personal with our families of meerkats. Leaving camp as the sun begins to rise you will accompany these inquisitive members of the mongoose family as they set off in search of their breakfast. Walk amongst them (you're not allowed to touch or feed them) and if you take a seat you might be lucky enough to be mistaken for a termite mound, where you'll be used as a look out point for predators.
Discover the secrets of the pans with the Zu/’hoasi Bushmen on a fascinating bush walk. See this ancient desert landscape through their eyes. These skilled hunter gatherers will show you how to survive, using their extraordinary tracking skills to uncover a smorgasbord of culinary delights... from bulbs, to scorpions, to berries. Spending time with them is a very rare privilege.
Saddle up to explore this wild, unspoilt area in the same way many of the earliest explorers, hunters
and missionaries did – on horseback! You’ll embark on an adventurous outride (for all level riders). This is an exhilarating way to spot wildlife, cantering along the crusty salt flats and following the animal highways that bring life to the Makgadikgadi Pans.
*Please note that this activity is at an additional cost.
This is pure desert adventure! Take an exhilarating quad bike across the salt-crusted pans (all pan activity is weather permitting and dependent on the dryness of the pans). You’ll feel total freedom as you trek across this vast and ancient landscape, discovering so much about the remnants of this once super lake.
Seasonal: April - October
A visit to the Fallen Baobab - one of the three largest and oldest trees in Africa and reputedly the campsite of Livingstone and Selous.
Witness the second largest migration in Africa. A stonking spectacle of black and white stripes
as approximately 30,000 zebra and wildebeest migrate across the Makgadikgadi Pans, followed closely by stalking predators, waiting for the rich pickings of tired hooves. This is a wildlife explosion and an experience not to be missed!
This really is an unforgettable experience. Enjoy a helicopter flight over the Makgadikgadi Pans, doors off (or on), to take in the vastness of this desert landscape. You’ll go in search of the zebra and flamingo migrations (if timed correctly), get dropped on an island of baobabs for lunch, do a bit of sunset sky surfing as you follow the palm tree linings and tell all your friends about it all when you get home.
Grab a fat bike and peddle around the Makgadikgadi Pans. This is a really fun activity for the whole family, and an ideal way to get some exercise. These bikes can easily cruise over the desert terrain, taking you along 4x4 tracks and around the crusty salt flats. Keep a look out for sightings of wildlife, while breathing in the beautiful scenery, alongside the desert silence.
If you are in need of some serious time out, then one of our spa treatments is your perfect escape. Our professional therapist will put you in seventh heaven. Book a back massage overlooking the Makgadikgadi Pans or enjoy a relaxing spa treatment from the privacy of your tent. Whichever you decide, you’ll walk away feeling refreshed and rejuvenated.
The Makgadikgadi Salt Pans are one of the most important breeding sites in southern Africa for
the lesser and greater flamingos. These flying flame birds, arrive in their millions during seasons of good rain, when millions of small shrimp and other crustaceans crack through the salty pan crust to spawn. The result, a pink extravaganza in the heat of the desert. You can also heli to Sua Pan to view the flamingos in Mar - Apr (scenic helicopter flight must be booked at an additional cost).
Your Stay
3 Nights
Fully Inclusive - Bed, All Meals, Fees and Activities
All Local Brands (Spirits, Wine and Beers) Included
Fast Facts
Lodge
Spoken Languages: English
No. Rooms: 9
Special Interests: Adventure, Birding, Cycling, History & Culture, Indigenous Culture / Art, Leisure, Nature, Relaxation, Star Gazing, Wildlife
Wilderness Mombo | Okavango Delta
Wilderness Mombo, 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 suites 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; as well as 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 Wilderness Mombo’s famous traditional dinners are hosted in the nearby boma. Wilderness Mombo shares a Safari Boutique, spa, gym and lap pool with Wilderness Little Mombo. Large concentrations of plains game often occur in front of camp, and you may see a variety of animals without even leaving the deck.
INSIDER'S TIP: Arguably the best big game viewing in all of Africa with a bountiful hunting ground for large prides of lions and leopards.
- Images
- Video
- Rooms
- Facilities
- Activities and Services
- The good we do
Each spacious canvas suite is a private oasis. The suites comprise an indoor lounge area, separate bedroom and bathroom, indoor and outdoor showers, elegant copper bathtub, and an outdoor private sala with a double day bed, sunken couch, private plunge pool, and wrap-around deck – a total immersion in the bush.
Wilderness has been privileged to witness three generations of Wilderness Mombo, undoubtedly one of Africa’s foremost wildlife and ecotourism destinations.
A spacious family suite with a private pool invites guests to bring the family and create lasting memories. A double bed and a set of twin beds accommodate a family of four easily, with plenty of extra room for privacy and peace.
Property Facilities
Bar, Library, Pool
Room Facilities
Electrical Outlets, Fan, Internet Access (Complimentary), Laundry Service (Complimentary), Lounge Area, Mini Bar, Mosquito Nets, Outside Shower, Plunge Pool, Safe, Sala, Tea / Coffee, Verandah
Available Services
Credit Card Facilities, Private Vehicle (Available)
Activities on Site
Bird Watching, Game Drives, Massages
Activities Nearby
Cultural Tours, Helicopter Scenic Flights
Day and night game drives are offered in open 4x4 vehicles, accommodating a maximum of four per vehicle, thus allowing each guest a 'window' seat. Seeing the high concentrations of plains game and predators – including the big cats – is the order of the day at Wilderness Mombo.
Our guides are the vital link between you and the intricacies of the natural world. They love sharing their knowledge, and do so with passion and humour, making your whole journey seamless and interpretive from start to finish.
Experience a delicious, freshly-made brunch enjoyed out in the bush after an action-packed game drive. Wilderness Mombo's cuisine has always remained relevant to its surroundings, using locally-sourced ingredients prepared with great care and respect, offering guests an authentic yet refreshing and stylish gourmet experience deep in the remote Okavango Delta.
Spend time at our hides, for exceptional bird and animal viewing. Ideal for keen photographers who have the patience to sit quietly and wait for wildlife to wander down to the waterhole. Most productive for game viewing in the drier months for an up close and personal perspective.
Welcome to The Sanctuary at Wilderness Mombo, where the soul of the wild meets the art of wellbeing.
To keep up with your daily fitness routine, exercise within unbeatable bush views from our gym or pool overlooking the picturesque floodplain.
Take a tour behind the scenes to see how our operational teams maintain a light footprint, offering guests the ultimate in sustainable luxury whilst remaining rooted in an authentic bush-camp offering.
For decades, Wilderness Mombo has set the benchmark for wildlife viewing in Botswana. Its nutrient-rich floodplains, abundant prey species, and extraordinary predator densities create some of the most consistent and rewarding game viewing on the continent.
Now, for the first time, guests can experience Mombo's extraordinary wildlife-rich landscapes from both land and water.
With the introduction of boating around Chief's Island, guests can explore the waterways that help shape Mombo's extraordinary wildlife story. Departing from Kubu Jetty, the experience takes place aboard a dedicated six-seater boat with a covered canvas canopy, offering a relaxed, on-the-water take on the afternoon safari, with snacks and refreshments included.
This water-level perspective of this iconic landscape, adds another dimension to a safari that has long been regarded as one of Africa's finest.
* Water levels permitting.
Whether by vehicle or by water, the game viewing remains exceptional: Chief's Island's private traversing area continues to concentrate some of the highest predator and prey densities in the reserve, while the reconnected channels put guests just as close to the action from mokoro or boat.
Exceptional flood levels, driven by strong local rainfall and the seasonal influx of water from Angola's highlands, have revitalised the channels and floodplains surrounding Chief's Island, creating ideal conditions for mokoro excursions.
Led by experienced guides in traditional-style dugout canoes, these serene excursions offer an intimate exploration of the Okavandgo Delta's newly inundated waterways. Gliding silently through the channels, guests can immerse themselves in the sights and sounds of this extraordinary ecosystem while gaining a deeper appreciation for its seasonal rhythms and rich biodiversity.
Together with boating around Chief's Island, mokoro excursions add a new dimension to the Mombo safari experience, showcasing the Delta's beauty and abundance from a unique water-level perspective.
* Water levels permitting.
.
Our Mission
.
Your Stay
3 Nights
Fully Inclusive - Bed, All Meals, Fees and Activities
All Local Brands (Spirits, Wine and Beers) Included
Fast Facts
Lodge
No. Rooms: 8
Special Interests: Birding, Nature, Wildlife
Wilderness DumaTau | Linyanti Concession
Wilderness DumaTau’s extensive lagoon frontage ensures that each ultra-spacious 142 m2 guest suite has uninterrupted views over Osprey Lagoon, and the movements of the mega-herds of elephants the Linyanti is so famous for.
All seven twin tented suites and one family unit have a private plunge pool and an inviting lounge, and feature a spacious bathroom with indoor and outdoor showers. The main dining and lounge areas boast unimpeded wide-angle vistas overlooking the wildlife-rich lagoon, while the centrally located Osprey Retreat wellness centre and gym – shared with Wilderness Little DumaTau – includes an inviting shaded deck, a lap pool, spa, a drinks and snack counter, and Safari Boutique. Wilderness DumaTau runs on 100% solar energy.
INSIDER'S TIP: The Linyanti is recognised as an IBA (Important Bird Area), so the hides and platforms in the area are ideal for bird watching and photographing wildlife.
- Images
- Video
- Rooms
- Facilities
- Activities and Services
- The good we do
Each guest suite has a comfortable and inviting indoor lounge, as well as spacious bathroom with indoor and outdoor showers.
The luxurious guest suites are raised off the ground to take full advantage of the outstanding riverfront views. A sliding gauze door in the back of the tent improves airflow through the suite, while the en-suite facilities include a sliding fabric wall that can be closed to ensure absolute privacy. An extended deck, with private plunge pool, and awnings create a relaxing shaded space to soak in the views and watch the wildlife moving past.
Located in the heart of the Linyanti Wildlife Reserve, the ultra-spacious family unit offers uninterrupted views over the water, a comfortable indoor lounge area, and a private plunge pool with outdoor sala. The family unit can accommodate four guests in two rooms, with each room having its own en-suite facilities.
Property Facilities
Bar, Library, Pool, Spa
Room Facilities
Electrical Outlets, Fan, Internet Access (Complimentary), Laundry Service (Complimentary), Mosquito Nets, Plunge Pool, Safe, Shower, Tea / Coffee, Verandah
Available Services
Credit Card Facilities, Private Vehicle (Available)
Activities on Site
Bird Watching, Boating, Catch-and-release Fishing, Game Drives, Night Drives, Walks (Guided)
Activities Nearby
Helicopter Scenic Flights
Explore the wilderness on twice daily game drives, and encounter the rich wildlife of the Linyanti. The open 4x4 vehicles allow us to host four guests at a time, with each guest having a ‘window’ seat, thereby offering a more exclusive experience and dedicated time with your passionate guide. Highlights include witnessing fascinating predator interactions, and large elephant herds. Plains game, and the amazing birdlife diversity, offer fantastic sightings as well.
Experience the thrill of a night drive using spotlights to find some of the most amazing, elusive nocturnal animals. These often include lesser bushbabies, spring hares, aardwolf, servals, large spotted genets and, if you are extremely lucky, the elusive pangolin.
Walking in the wild with skilled, armed guides are a wonderful way of being closer to nature. Observe the smaller creatures that you may miss when travelling by vehicle.
* Seasonal and subject to the availability of a qualified walking guide.
Explore the Linyanti River by barge, perfect for lunches, picnics, or sundowners. Glide past sleeping hippos, or find crocodiles sunning themselves on the banks of the lagoon. Water-based game viewing at its finest.
* Water levels permitting.
Boating is another idyllic form of water wildlife viewing in the remarkable Linyanti. Search for those elusive birds so prevalent in calm channel waters.
* Water levels permitting.
Fishing is on a catch and release basis, with camp providing a small stock of basic rods and reels, whereas all fly fishing equipment is to be supplied by guests if required.
* Note that fishing is seasonal as it is prohibited by Botswana law in January and February due to breeding purposes.
Birding is outstanding here, from Okavango specials to mopane woodland species. The Savuti Channel is famous for its high concentration of eagles and raptors. This paradise is internationally recognised as an IBA (Important Bird Area) so do keep your binoculars close at hand!
At the wellness centre, the fully qualified, in-house therapist team offer signature treatments using natural body care products, drawing on bespoke scents developed to capture the essence of soulful relaxation and restoration.
The range of treatments on offer complements the holistic health and wellness journey that is a Wilderness DumaTau safari – and ties guest activities back to the camp’s stated purpose. Time in the wilderness has always had the potential to revitalise the spirit, and at Wilderness DumaTau, this has been taken to the next level through meaningful layers of experiences.
This spa sanctuary is further enhanced by the reimagined menu, which draws on locally sourced ingredients to provide healthier meals that add to the wellness journey, and are in tune with both Botswana’s agricultural heritage, and the latest thinking on nutrition, authentic flavours and sustainable farming.
Nestled into the lush bush for privacy is The Osprey Retreat which includes a drinks and snack counter area, gym, and a Safari Boutique.
* All treatments at an additional cost.
The outdoor stargazing/floating fire deck will continue to be a highlight for guests as they are almost immersed in the wondrous Linyanti River. The perfect spot for a sundowner!
.
Our Mission
.
Your Stay
3 Nights
Fully Inclusive - Bed, All Meals, Fees and Activities
All Local Brands (Spirits, Wine and Beers) Included
Fast Facts
Lodge
No. Rooms: 8
Special Interests: Birding, Nature, Wildlife