Museum at Jack’s Camp in Botswana

Jack Bousfield was a bushwhacking crocodile hunter who arrived in Botswana from his Tanzanian homeland in the 1960’s. He was completely overtaken by the romance of the Makgadikgadi region and set up a small camp. He died in 1992 in an airplane crash and Jack’s son Ralph and his then-partner built the glamorous Jacks Camp in his father’s memory.

One of the striking interiors at Jack's Camp

The main dining tent at Jacks is a treasure trove of curious and eclectic items, many of them discovered by Jack himself on his endless explorations of the area and job working for a game-capture operation. The whole tent is walled with glass cabinets preserving local stone tools, fossils of extinct flora and fauna, historical maps, plentiful skulls and animal remains, bushman beadwork and other eccentricities. The room is recognized as one of Botswana’s official museums.

Flight over the Okavango Delta

There is no better way to grasp the remoteness of the Okavango Delta region than by flying over it in a light aircraft/helicopter. From the air, the wetland landscape is woven together with great intricacy: serpentine channels cut through emerald carpets of marsh, spilling into lagoons with pods of hippos. Winding streams twist and loop, diverging into lazy pools and vast plains scattered…

Botswana in September

Northern Botswana stays completely dry during September, but the centre and south may receive a few scattered showers. Temperatures climb rapidly throughout the month and no longer drop below 0°C, even in the Kalahari. Average lows are between 10°C and 15°C, a bit cooler in the south and warmer in the north. By the end of September, the days are hot everywhere, averaging over 30°C and…

Cash and payments in Botswana

Botswana’s pula The currency in Botswana is Pula, which is a Tswana word meaning “rain”. Rain is cherished and welcomed because it brings life to the Kalahari. Pula is used throughout the country and is the accepted form of payment in restaurants, shops, and at hotels or lodges; however, most places in Maun, Kasane, Francistown, Gaborone, and other major towns accept international…

Walk with bushmen in Botswana

The San bushmen of the Kalahari have long been a subject of great intrigue and fascination, admired by anthropologists, scientists, story-tellers and everyday travellers alike. Sadly, very few bushmen are able to live the same ancient nomadic lifestyle that their ancestors did, but certain elements of these traditions have been kept alive through their employment at various safari lodges.…

At your lodge in Botswana

Visitors to Botswana should always bear in mind that they are travelling to a country that cherishes its natural surroundings and pays enormous attention to conservation and the health of the environment. Botswana’s land is primarily dedicated to wildlife and sustaining a small population of people, so environmental impact is low. It is important to respect the effort gone to to protect…

Botswana in November

November is the spring shoulder season in Botswana, a time of soaring thunderclouds, returning migrant birds and, once the rains arrive, fields of new-born calves. It’s still very hot, with daily highs of 35°C to 40°C across the country, and it can get even hotter in the north where nights are humid and often well over 20°C. The start of the rainy season is always hard to predict,…