A simple safari experience, no frills, plenty of quirkiness
Meno a Kwena is a true luxury safari experience; you sleep under a real tent (not a tented room), there are bucket showers with hot water on demand, fresh bread is cooked in tin boxes over charcoal and you can gather around the camp fire in the evening with owner, professional guide and photographer David Dugmore.
The camp is very much David's home so expect all the quirky, personal touches and a very relaxed atmosphere which is in stark contrast to some of the Botswana lodges which can lack real character and authenticity.
Resting high on the banks of the dry Boteti River, you can watch animals gather at pools in the riverbed below and enjoy excellent birding on the doorstep. The camp has access to the Makgadigadi Pans and Nxai Pan National Parks, as well as the Central Kalahari Game Reserve for game drives and other activities and offers a well balanced experience between dramatic scenery, cultural interest and wildlife encounters. The largest wildebeest and zebra migrations move through the area and the once vast inland sea is now home to unexplained archaelogical sites and a plethora of unusual animal species. This is a great choice for those that want more than game from dawn to dusk and the personal aspect of the camp is what makes all the difference.
7 simple safari tents, bucket shower, bush loo
A simple safari experience, no frills, plenty of quirkiness
The Makgadikgadi and Nxai Pans form part of the Kalahari eco-system but are completely different from the Central Kalahari Game Reserve. The Makgadikgadi is a massive expanse of white that stretches to the horizon, so far in fact that you can see the curvature of the earth. Fossils of water creatures and the remnants of shells speak of its past as a great inland sea. The edges of the pans are trimmed with clumpy course grass and islands of palm trees. Nxai is a bit more of a grassy plain dotted with smaller pans and fossils beds. It is relatively little visited, even in comparison to Makgadikgadi which is still largely off the beaten track. Read more?
Safaris in Botswana offer dramatic extremes. One the one hand, the lush landscapes of the Okavango Delta and the Linyanti/Chobe River systems, on the other, the beautiful other-worldly expanse of the Makgadikgadi Pans and the Kalahari Desert. The variety of habitats makes for varied animal and birdlife as well as beautiful scenery. Strict controls mean that Botswana safari camps and lodges are generally small, and due to the tricky logistics of operating in a delta or a desert, a safari here is seldom cheap, and it's important to know where to go if you are looking for that authentic safari experience. Read more?
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Vanessa's 16 years in travel has seen her knowledge develop from sub-Saharan Africa into North Africa, Central and Southern America and the Galapagos. Consequently, she’s a veritable encyclopaedia of travel information and exceptionally cool, calm and collected in the face of the greatest planning demands.
At Natural High, we've had long experience putting together trips in Africa that really work. Whether it's intimate bushcamps in out of the way places, or a private lodge in one of Africa's top-billing wildlife areas, light mobile camping or remote island escapes, we know there is a lot to choose from. We're absolutely confident that we can recommend the right places for you.
