Reference:

An incredible opportunity to experience a dignified and sensitive Bushman Safari. In the past, it has not been possible to offer a genuine Bushmen experience due to the threat of exploitation. The Bushman themselves, in conjunction with Uncharted Africa Safari Company, offer a fascinating insight into their unique way of life, almost extinct.

Region:

Central Kalahari Area

Package Type:

Cultural Safaris

Day:

1

Itinerary:

Fly into Jacks Camp. Jack's Camp is a permanent camp, offering you the chance to explore the Makgadikgadi region of the Kalahari. Jacks Camp is fashioned in the traditional East African 40's safari style. Very comfortable and stylish, the classic styled tents with private bucket showers and flush loos, are set into a palm grove creating an oasis in a stark environment. After tea, drive through the verdant grasslands to the edge of the pans. Your guides will explain in depth on how the Makgadikgadi pans were formed. Enjoy watching the sun set over this harsh but beautiful landscape. Return to camp for a lavish dinner in the elegant mess tent.

Day:

2

Itinerary:

Today you will enjoy a full day in the Makgadikgadi National Park (weather permitting). While enjoying a delicious picnic lunch in the shade of a grove of trees, you might see the last surviving Zebra and Wildebeest migration in Southern Africa spread out on the plains before you. In the wet season, the Makgadigadi Pans fill with water which attracts huge flocks of Flamingos and other wading birds. Many of the Guides at Jacks Camp are fully qualified Zoologists/Geologists , often working on PhD research, focusing on species unique to the area such as Gemsbok, Brown Hyena and Springbok, as well as geology, archaeology and anthropology of the Kalahari and Makgadgadi Pans. Therefore they are able to give you detailed interesting facts of this desert and the adaptations of its inhabitants.

Day:

3

Itinerary:

This morning you will visit some of the Kalahari's meekats. Get up close and personal with these incredible creatures. On chilly mornings, you might well find a meerkat snuggling up to you for warmth, or even better still they might climb on your head to obtain a better vantage point. By spending quality time with these social, superbly adapted animals, you will be able to see how they interact with each other and their environment. Return to camp for a rest and lunch. After another delicious tea, you head off to see Africa’s most rarely seen carnivore – the brown hyaena. Due to a PhD research programme on the brown hyaena, the cubs are habituated and allow you to observe their social behaviour without disturbance. Return back to camp for dinner and drinks, recalling the events of an exciting day.

Day:

4

Itinerary:

After a picnic breakfast, you will visit a remote cattle post to learn about the traditional culture of the Botswana people. You will visit the famous Chapmans Baobab -also known as the Seven Sisters. This Baobab is is acknowledged to be the largest tree in Africa and was the campsite of early explorers like Livingstone. You depart camp for your next adventure with the Bushmen. Arrive by plane at midday and transfer to a remote campsite deep in the ancestral gathering lands of the Zu/’hoasi Bushmen. Settle into your traditional grass hut which boasts a proper bed and feather bedding. Enjoy a tasty lunch under the shade of a grass shelter and retire for a siesta. After tea, walk through the bush to the nearby Bushman village where you will be met in a traditional manner by the elders of the community. Around the fireplace tonight, listen to the history of the Bushmen people from their origins 30,000 years ago to the complex political challenges that are confronting them today. Enjoy a delicious dinner under the stars and retire for a peaceful sleep under the fragrant wild grass thatch.

Day:

5

Itinerary:

Today you will walk out into the bush with the men, women, children and your guides. The focus of the walk will be a gentle introduction to the Kalahari and Bushmen way of life. Your guide will point out the distinct ecological characteristics of this area and its animal and bird species. Discussions about the uses of plants and wildlife by your Bushmen guides provide the link between culture and wild environment that makes these very special safaris. You return to camp for lunch and a siesta and then you will return to the Bushman village. You will learn from the women how to prepare their bush foods using basic tools and fire. You’ll also see how they make beads and jewellery from ostrich eggs and seeds. As the sun sets the women can be requested to perform the melon dance around the camp fire. This free-spirited traditional dance represents the joyful celebration of a successful harvest. Return to camp for dinner and dream about the next day’s hunt.

Day:

6

Itinerary:

After breakfast today, meet the men to prepare for a traditional hunt. Walk into the bush and search for the poison grub bettle, gather suitable roots, leaves and branches for the manufacture of rope, bows and arrows. Return to camp for a lunch and siesta. After tea, you will return to the Bushmen village. Watch the men prepare bows, arrows and quivers. The young boys will demonstrate various traditional games that provide training for the hand-to eye co-ordination skills that will be necessary when on the hunt. Your evening is spent in excited anticipation of the next day’s hunt.

Day:

7

Itinerary:

Depart early for a day’s traditional hunting with the Bushmen. You will track, stalk and perhaps hunt down some wild animal using the traditional bows and arrows. You will enjoy a picnic along the way. Return to camp possibly bearing the results of a day’s hunt. The bushmen will show you how they prepare the meat to share and sample around the fire.

Day:

8

Itinerary:

Bid the Bushmen community farewell and drive by vehicle to the airstrip to meet up with your light aircraft transfer for your onward journey.

Notes/Other:

Please Note:Please Note: This itinerary is an example only, and can be tailor-made to suit your personal requirements. We can combine this proposed itinerary with other camps in Botswana. Accordingly, no price is indicated, as this will depend upon a number of factors, such as your routing and duration of stay