Travel to Botswana, South Africa: San Camp Extension

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San Camp Extension

			DAYS: 4 GRADE: I-II define PRICE: $1950 per person HIGHLIGHTS: Kalahari Desert Makgadikgadi Pans ACCOMMODATIONS: Wilderness Camp MEALS: As noted  [B-Breakfast, L-Lunch,   D-Dinner] Prices, Departure Dates and Included Services Send to a Friend Print this Itinerary

Spend three nights in the boundless desert, with the romantic San Camp as your base for exploring the Makgadikgadi Pans. Meet some convival habituated meerkats and spend a morning walking with some of the Zu'hoasi people of the Western Kalahari. This desert extension is a perfect complement to a safari in the lush Okavango Delta.

DAY 1 :  SAN CAMP, KALAHARI DESERT

Fly on a light aircraft to the Makgadikgadi Pans. You will be warmly welcomed on arrival at the airstrip and transferred to San Camp. The camp's main area is a romantic white canvas pavilion, with open sides to make the most of every breeze in the the desert. Everyone meets for meals here at a long communal dining table, set amidst an interesting collection of bones, pottery, stone tools and beadwork from the area. Six roomy and stylish canvas tents with en suite bathrooms, featuring bucket showers and flushing loos are an oasis of comfort in a harsh environment.

After your arrival in camp, enjoy a delicious light lunch and rest up in your tent through the early afternoon. Late afternoon tea is served before a drive into the grasslands and the beautiful evening light. Stop to watch the sun set and learn how the Makgadikgadi Pans, the remnants of the worlds largest ever superlake, were formed. Overnight San Camp. [LD]   

	The beautiful white tents are set in palm grove 'islands' in the dry pans.

DAY 2 :  MAKGADIKGADI PANS, KALAHARI DESERT

Set off in the morning to visit some of the Kalaharis most gregarious meerkats. This group has been thoughtfully habituated to human presence as part of a study about these social creatures. On chilly mornings, you might well find a meerkat snuggling up to you for warmth or, in the absence of a termite mound or tree, using your head as a sentry lookout post. By spending quality time with these incredibly social, superbly adapted animals you get the chance to see the desert through the eyes of a meerkat which, despite the fact that its only a foot off the ground, is a pretty spectacular vantage point, and definitely one of the most special and memorable game experiences you will encounter in Botswana.

After a picnic breakfast, visit a remote cattle-post to learn about the traditional culture of the Batswana people. Close by is the famous Chapmans Baobab (Also known as the Seven Sisters) which is acknowledged to be one of the largest trees in Africa, and was the campsite of early explorers like Livingstone and Selous when they pioneered the area. Return to San Camp for a rest and refreshing lunch.

After tea, travel down to the pans where you will be given a brief safety talk before mounting your trusty quad bike. Head off across the 16,000 square kilometer pans and watch the sun set and the stars rise. This is one of the only places in the world where the silence is so complete you can hear the blood circulating through your ears. Overnight San Camp. [BLD]

Meerkat sentries will always pick the highest point (even you!) to keep a lookout for predators.

DAY 3 :  MAKGADIKGADI PANS, KALAHARI DESERT

Early in the morning, comb the edge of the extinct lake shore to find some of the many stone tools and fossils that litter the pan surface and learn of the origins of early man. Return to San Camp for a huge brunch, and an afternoons respite from the heat. After tea, head off to see one of Africas rarest carnivores the brown hyena. Due to a PhD research program on this cleverly adapted desert species, the cubs are habituated in the area and allow us to observe their social behavior without disturbance. Overnight San Camp. [BLD]

DAY 4 :  DEPART
Spend the morning walking with Zuhoasi Bushmen trackers. The owners of San Camp have pioneered and passionately supported cultural tourism in Botswana since 1993. It has long been their belief that it is a vitally important tool in terms of preserving this unique, but sadly fast-vanishing, culture. They have been working closely with the Zuhoasi people of the Western Kalahari for many years and are privileged to have a small group of these extraordinary men to guide guests on a mornings walking safari. Offering a window into the past, they teach you how they have survived in this harshest of environments, using their vast and ancient knowledge of plants, animal behavior and survival skills. After this remarkable experience, you return to camp lunch. Then you must bid farewell to the camp as you are transferred to airstrip for your departing flight. [BL]

Questions? Ask Our Program Directors.

. C o n t a c t Julia Nesbitt 1(800)345-4453