Jack's Camp

First night it was super hot in the room so I could not sleep properly, nobody even informed me that there is a cooling system in the bed. Only the following morning other guests told me they all had cooling system and when I asked your manager Vic said that the remote controls are broken and I didn`t get one. However after my complain he eventually found one and gave it to me. Second night on arrival after salt pans experience around 11 pm we´ve seen a wildebeest kill inside the camp (behind the fence) and lions roaming around. Guide promised to take it outside but I am not sure when did that happen. Our guide Glen escorted me to my tent nr 4. The big lights were on and I could not find a switch for that. On arrival ladies who showed me the room never mentioned that switch. Anyhow after two hours I managed to fall asleep with lights on. I was woken up by lions roaming around my tent, they were on my balcony and it was super scarry! As you know there is no phone or walkie talkie in the tent or any of emergency button. I was feeling helpless and stuck in the tent surrounded by lions. Next day staff told me there supposed to be a horn I needed to use, but again nobody told me about it and it was not in the room. I had a terrible night being by myself, I got a real panic attack. I wanted to make a fire to chase them away but there were no matches or lighter next to the fireplace or elsewhere. I´ve been on 5 safaris so far and always in luxury places similar price range but I never felt NOT SAFE. This is a different level of letting your guests down, especially as a solo female traveler. I had terrible night and didn`t sleep a minute only after they came to bring me water at 6 am I asked to speak to the manager. Long story short, I wanted to leave same day but manager told me I have to pay for the extra flight with Mack air. I had to stay one more night and I asked to give me a female guide to sleep on a daybed. I´ve been told all female guides are booked with guests. Instead, they gave me two ladies who work in the camp, i am not sure what level of protection this meant to provide. I am very happy to be alive back home and I am very disappointed of Jack´s camp. Now I know where all the negative comments come and here is one of many. For this high price people pay to come there it should be no lack of safety and a good coffee at least.

I had high hopes for Jack's Camp, which were not met. The staff is delightful and all try really hard to please, it is a remote camp (took a day to get there, even though it is a 40 minute flight from Maun; we had to make a stop at an out of the way camp on the way in). The game viewing in the area of the camp is limited, and mostly best found about an hour away in the game reserve. As a result, they focus most on experiences, rather than safari drives. For example, one day we spent our morning meeting the habituated meerkats, which was fun, but something you don't need to travel halfway around the world to do. In the afternoon that day, we met the indigenous people, and observed their traditional skills for lighting fire from wood, locating things that can be used for medicinal purposes, and seeing the hides they wear as clothing, which was an interesting experience, except then you realize that they really don't hunt for their food or clothing as their ancestors did because hunting is mostly illegal in Botswana. Our best experience, and basically only real traditional game drive was a morning drive into the game reserve. I had asked if we could do it as a day drive (i.e., take a picnic lunch with us) given how far away it is, and I was told we could, but we had to turn back before noon (I think they needed our vehicle to pick up incoming guests at the airport). It would be great if Jack's offered a day drive into the game reserve, beacuse it was there that we saw most game, including two lionesses and a young male lion, as well as a large herd of zebras and wildebeests gathering at a water hole. Because it is in a private area, they can do night drives, which are unique, and we were fortunate to see an aardvark (rare experience) on one such drive. Jack's is a beautiful and very rustic camp (dirt pathways between the tents and the dining room, so you were tracking in dirt everywhere). The luxury tents are expansive, well maintained, and filled with many items that invoke the feel of a safari camp 80 years ago, but I wouldn't say they were entirely comfortable. There is no air conditioning (except in the netted area of the bed), and our little bed AC unit would shut off after about 10 minutes, making it uncomfortably hot mid-day in May. There were no basic amenities in the bathrooms (i.e., Q-tips) and the towels were quite rustic. It took 2 days of requests to get a hair dryer delivered to our room, and it's not because they forgot to do it. Meals were well prepared and varied, all served in an open air dining room at one long table, family style--which was nice for getting to meet your fellow travelers. As other reviewers have noted, there is no WiFi in the rooms (it is only available in the un-air conditioned gift shop, which has 1 chair), but it is notable that there also are no telephones in your room. As a result, once you are in your room after dark, there is no way you can contact any of the staff in the event you need or would like anything, other than using the emergency horn, which is not a reasonable option. Morning start times varied, and once agreed upon, staff brought coffee or tea to your room with your wake-up, which was a nice touch and reminiscent of safaris I took years ago (before luxury camps began providing Nespresso and Illy coffee makers in the rooms). The last evening of our sundowners was a highlight, laid out on the salt plains. Jack's is a lovely camp for people on their first safari, but it's not recommended for serious safari-goers who are intent on game viewing and photography.

Sadly this camp is highly overrated! Only two rooms have king beds and there is not much to see if you are looking for big animals. The staff was ok, but rooms were oversized and very dark! Felt like a museum. Internet only in a small tent up by the main tent so not convenient at all! Out of the 4 camps we visited this was our least favorite! I don’t understand how it gets such good reviews with so many better options out there. Not a do over for us.

Jack’s Camp is located in the Makgadikgadi Pans National Park. The tented site is fabulous. Three rooms with a private plunge pool. The three room combined are bigger than my home. It was summer in Botswana and hot. But unlike other camps Jack’s has an air unit that flows cool air down onto the bed making the hot days and nights unnoticeable. DeKlerk, my guide, is a member of the San people who are also present to speak, walking tours, and pictures. I took the walking tour to learn the San don’t see a desert but instead a garden. Amazing people. We saw several lion kills, the famous Meerkats and an aardvark, very rare. The accommodations were amazing, the food excellent and the staff eager to please. Why not a five star rating? They advertise seeing the Baobabs and a three million year old rock. However, that requires a helicopter ride. $700 usd for the flight. But since I travel alone it would require two tickets at $1400. Needless to say I missed the adventure. Not the camps fault, the helicopter company sets the rates.

Located in the Makgadikgadi Salt Pan are a collection of decadently luxurious tents done in a Bedouin style. Each accommodation tent is 30’ x 80’ and surrounded by a teak deck. The tent is divided into 3 areas: lounge area and bar, bedroom area and bathroom. Each room features sumptuous furniture, double beds with cooling systems and well-appointed bar. The lodge is a history museum of the founder Jack. It houses artifacts and many items from Jack’s hunting days. While very interesting, it creates more of a museum feel in some of the spaces. This is not the place to view a large amount of animals like big 5 but we really enjoyed going during the green season and viewing the animal migration in conjunction with seeing life on the pans when there is a bit of water. Insects and smaller animals and birds were on full display and very much appreciated. We did view the bushman, which was fine, we also went to see the baobab trees which was not great; would have preferred a game drive instead. More a pile of pulp and nothing else. Rooms and main tent areas are very dark. Very hard to see. Dinner is served at a communal table and afternoon tea is served in another tent on the ground with pillows. While the staff are all very nice and friendly, hosting the guests at cocktails/tea/meals is very informal and can lead to awkward moments as there is no one to steer the conversation, introduce new guests to each other or create a successful gathering. Would recommend candlelight at dinner and hosting courses for the staff. Main meals were delicious although afternoon tea, while majestic in presentation, was mediocre in taste. Gluten free options are available. Our guide was named Prince. Young and enthusiastic and very knowledgeable. He was good company and appreciated. No exercise area and spotty WiFi in the curio shop.