September 12
This morning we still had no water. We left the faucet on
just in case it came on before it was time to leave. Tom & Cathy had water
at 7:00, So they got showers. I guess since we were in the last tent, (furthest
from the main camp) it took longer for the water to get there or it broke again. We got ready and
as we were dressing to leave, the manager came to tell us the water was on. By
that time, we were dressed and ready to leave, but there was no time to use it.
The camp was lovely, the food was very good, and the staff was
warm and friendly. The wildlife sightings and the boat activities were amazing.
While we do understand that things go wrong (not having water except for the
first afternoon during our stay) we do feel that they could have handled the
situation better. (management) Keeping us informed and providing heated water
to bathe and wash our hair. The guide told us it was the 2nd or 3rd
time Big Kwara had broken water pipes. They never apologized for the issue and
seemed to prefer to just not talk about it. To keep it in perspective these
remote camps often only get deliveries (food & other necessities) once a
week. I felt bad for the staff as they kept the public toilets flushed and
ready for us upon our game drive returns and the same with the ones in the
tents. It obviously created a lot of extra work for them. It was “hit and miss”
on people that had use of water before it broke again. Perhaps, we were the
only ones that didn’t have any water during our entire stay, other than the
first afternoon.
KB & TS took us to the airport and waited until we were
safely on the plane. It was about an hour flight, we flew 10 minutes and made a
pickup from another camp and then flew another 50 minutes to San Camp in the Makgadikgadi
Pans. Once we landed, we were greeted by our guide Slots. The airport is
nearest to Jack’s Camp, which is their premier camp, and San Camp was another
45-minute drive, which was essentially a game drive until we got to our camp.
I chose this camp over Jack’s Camp and Camp Kalahari because it looked a bit romantic like a scene from “Lawrence of Arabia”, with the Bedouin-style white tents. All three camps have the same activities where there is access to the Meerkats, Quads in season and the visit with the Zu/’hoasi Bushmen. If you stay enough nights (3 minimum) they offer a sleep out under the stars.
The camp consists of six large canvas tents on slightly elevated wooden platforms with ensuite showers and flush toilets. The camp is set on the edge of the Ntwetwe Pan, which covers an area about the size of Northern Ireland, and has spectacular views that stretch all the way to the horizon.
On the drive to the camp, we instantly liked our guide, Slots. He was personable and funny and we started seeing wildlife. He pointed out an ostrich in the distance, and we said we hadn’t seen any at the other camps and he said, “let’s get a closer look” and drove off slowly towards it so we could see it better. Next, we drove past a Secretary Bird and a couple of different Bustards. We stopped to watch the Ground Squirrels frolicking. From reading reviews, I wasn’t expecting to see much in the way of “big game” here. The seasonal zebra and wildebeest migration passes through from November to March, and most people said otherwise expect to only see things like brown hyena, aardvark and aardwolf and maybe an elephant or a lion. We did see some wildebeest and zebra on the drive to the camp.
The first glimpse of the camp from a distance was awesome! It
seemed to be the only thing in the middle of “nothing”. We were greeted with
warm towels and introductions. They brought us to the dining room where they
were getting ready to serve lunch. There was a large group that was leaving
that day, and they had a private area set up for them, so it was just the 4 of
us, Slots and the manager. OMG, the food was amazing. Here the chef told us the
menu for the meal and once we made our choices the food was prepared. She also
took the order for the evening meal so she could prepare just what was ordered.
(no buffets here)
We were shown where the afternoon high tea was served and
told shoes needed to be removed before entering that area. We were given our
drinking water containers (we got them from the last 3 camps as well) Slots
always had them filled and in the jeep before each game drive. Since they share
the same sights with the other 2 camps, they organize it so each group has each
to themselves. They showed us the bar and refrigerator to get cold drinks at
any time. There were cookies out at all times if you wanted a snack.
Next, we were shown to our tents, and we had a break until
the afternoon game drive. OMG, the tent was awesome! Just beautiful. Since we
hadn’t showered in days, we couldn’t wait to take one after we got settled in. The
shower was welcome, but the shower head blew as I was turning it on and it shot
sideways into my eye and all over the floor. I reported it and said we could
deal with it if they couldn’t fix it. (they did replace it before our next
shower and it was slightly better, at least I could pull the shower curtain
around, so it didn’t flood that side of the bathroom)
High tea was also “over the top”. Cucumber sandwiches, a cake
of the day, scones with jam & clotted cream, and much more. The scones were
so yummy. We chatted with the other couple from Atlanta. They were very nice.
We then left for the afternoon game drive. There was another
couple that arrived and we were told they would also be in our jeep, however, Prince,
another guide didn’t have any clients, and he said he’d take them out. On
drives, like the other camps, they each take off in different directions and if
something exciting is seen they share the location.
We came across some zebra and wildebeest and then in the
distance we see what looks like a white elephant. Since they live in salt pans in
a desert environment, they coat their skin in wet, pale-colored clay and
calcite sand from the ground to keep themselves cool. Slots also said they rub against
the termite mounds, and it turns them that light grey almost white color. We watched
him butting his head on the palm trees to shake the palm nuts out of them. We
then saw a pride of lions in the same area. There were 9 lions including 6 cubs.
A call came that the apex male lion “Blondie” and his mate “Big
Head”, were sighted and we drove to check that out. Slots told us that Blondie
used to be timid and about his eventual rise to being an apex male with the assistance of Big
Head, his mate. There was an almost grown cub with them.
We continued the game drive until Slots said it was time to
go meet “Jack”. The "Jack"
referenced in the region's lore is the late Jack Bousfield, a legendary 1960s
pioneer and crocodile hunter who founded the original rustic camp site, Jack’s
Camp. What went to what seemed like a vast nothingness in the middle of nowhere
was classic canvas-and-crystal drinks chests and cut crystal glasses and anything
you could imagine drinking laid out. Obviously, the staff came out and got this
all set up for our arrival and disappeared before we arrived. They had some champagne,
so we had some of that along with our regular drinks. (wine or diet cokes) We
toasted to the beautiful sunset and this fabulous experience.
Prince and the other couple joined us around the campfire and
Slots and Prince told us stories and showed us a map of the area.
Back at camp the six of us had dinner together and Slots & Prince joined us. After the great dinner with a starter of butternut soup and double chocolate pudding for dessert (I had an incredibly good steak cooked perfectly medium rare) we had some stargazing, and time for some silly shots. These guides knew how to entertain!
We were asked if we wanted coffee, tea or hot chocolate
delivered to the tent in the morning at 6:00 and we had a 6:30 game drive.
Tomorrow, we will visit the Meerkats in the morning and visit the San People tribe in the afternoon.
Online photo album with 1 video: https://photos.app.goo.gl/NWo93MU7MCYgDzoB9
