Jack’s Camp and San Camp in pictures
The tea tent at San Camp is furnished with antique furniture and rugs
The white canvas of San Camp blends effortlessly with the salt pan
Holden Frith
As the summer rains approach, zebra and wildebeest migrate to the pans
... and the predators soon follow them
Permanent water holes have attracted a growing population of lions in recent years
Lions and leopard have also benefited from a reduction in cattle ranching on the Makgadikgadi plains
They hunt in the early morning and late evening, avoiding the heat of the middle of the day
A rare sighting of a hyena, waiting for the lions to finish with their zebra
The kill also attracts vultures and jackals
As the temperature climbs, one of the lions retreats to the shade of a bush
This wildebeest has resorted to a mud bath to keep cool
Ostriches are among the permanent, non-migratory residents of the salt pans
... as are meerkats, which live in burrows. This pup is on one of its first trips above ground
Sentry meerkats sometimes climb onto visitors to get a better view of the surrounding area
Guests at San Camp and Jack’s Camp are invited to visit a community of San people, the Kalahari’s indigenous population
Here, one of them demonstrates how blood would be sucked out of a wound if a hunter cut himself with a poisoned arrow
One of the San men displays a scorpion he has dug out from its burrow
Carefully grasping its claws and tail, he cleans it in his mouth to give us a better view
The San are expert fire-builders, and can get a flame using their wooden tools in just a couple of minutes
Their ancestors have been using the same tools for tens of thousands of years
Sunset is a bewitching time at San Camp and Jack’s Camp
At sunrise, the early birds come out in search of insects
... and the human visitors have an early rise too, getting up for the morning game drive
At San Camp, the canvas tents look out over the salt pans
... and inside, they're decorated with elegant four-poster beds
At Jack’s Camp, the furnishings recall grand expeditions of the 1940s
High tea at Jack’s Camp is a meal unto itself
... and a necessary one, before a trip out on the salt pan
After the first part of the journey, we switch to quad bikes
Holden Frith
A new study suggests humans originated from once-fertile Lake Makgadikgadi, now a salt flat in Botswana
It's one of the strangest and most beautiful places on earth
