UASJC

Jack’s Camp Makgadikgadi

While on a trapping expedition in the Makgadikgadi Pans during the 60's, Jack Bousfield stumbled upon a site that so captured his imagination that he set up camp under an acacia with the unshakeable expectation that others would feel the same...

The choice of such a striking locale, owed much to his original taste for the savage beauty of a forgotten Africa where he lived until his tragic death in an aircraft accident in 1992.

As a homage to the vision of his father, Ralph, his son, and his partner Catherine established Uncharted Africa Safari Co starting with Jack’s Camp which was refurbished at the beginning of 2003 - in a traditional East African 1940's safari style.

Ten green roomy and stylish canvas tents with en-suite bathrooms and indoor and outdoor showers (for those who want to feel the Kalahari breeze on their skin) have been fashioned in classical style and are set into a palm grove creating an oasis of civilization in what can be the harshest of stark environments…

Persian rugs underfoot and cool cotton sheets form a striking contrast with the rugged wilderness viewed from the comfort of one’s own verandah.

During the wet season the landscape transforms. Clouds of flamingo and other migratory birds descend from the heavens to decorate the watery grasslands.

Herds of zebra and wildebeest materialise, drawn by the lush grass, and for several months, the desert is teeming with game and predators.

The guides at Jack's Camp are an erudite breed. Often graduate students who combine research with guiding, they team up with a small group of Zu/’hoasi Bushmen to guide our Guests on a morning’s walks and game drives. The response from those who have been there is always the same: first your question is echoed, 'Jack's Camp?' followed by a reflective pause/ 'It's different.'

And there they leave it, the difficulty of describing it hanging in the air like a half-built bridge.'

The Makgadikgadi is not without drama and, here, the emphasis is on observing the intricacies of a truly unique ecosystem.

Arrive at Jack’s Camp, surely one of the most romantic camps on earth…

The camp is pitched on a low grassland knoll amongst an oasis of dignified desert palms and Kalahari acacia. After the rains, when the sea of grass is still high and feathery, the camp is all but invisible until seconds before your arrival!

The camp's hub is a romantic canvas pavillion of low spires and finials, with a fluttering valance beneath its eaves and could be the site for a medieval jousting tourney, were it not a deciduous green. Three poles support the main chamber where everyone meets for meals at a long communal dining table.

Ten green roomy and stylish canvas tents with en-suite bathrooms, indoor and outdoor showers (for those who want to feel the Kalahari breeze on their skin) have been fashioned in classical 1940’s style creating an oasis of civilization in what can be the harshest of stark environments…

Persian rugs underfoot, cool cotton sheets and mahogany and brass campaign-style kit from the family safari stores form a striking contrast with the rugged wilderness viewed from the comfort of one’s own verandah.

After to tea, drive into the grasslands and the beautiful evening light. Stop to watch the sun set and listen to an explanation of how the Makgadikgadi pans, the remnants of the world’s largest ever superlake, were formed.

Return to camp for a lavish dinner in the elegant mess tent, a designated national museum of Botswana.

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