June - September
If the thought of a traditional safari makes you yawn, you've come to the right place. Now's your chance to swap sandy plains for salt flats, and jeeps for quad bikes in remotest Botswana. This is the new generation of safari experience; forget sitting in a hot truck, waiting for a glimpse of an animal 200 metres away. The isolated, alien, landscape and small, unusual game here will have you gripped. After this, you'll never look back.
You'll begin your five day Kubu safari sipping tea in luxurious 1920's style Jack's camp, which is pitched on a grassy knoll, so you won't know it's there until seconds before you arrive. This may be camping, but it's far from roughing it. Every detail, from the cool cotton sheets you sleep in, to the Persian rugs underfoot and the cosy ponchos you'll find in the outdoor dining area make this camp totally unique. You may be in the middle of 16,000 square kilometres of deserted plains, but every luxury is still at your fingertips. Want your clothes laundered? No problem. Why not have it done while you rest on your feather-stuffed antique bed before indulging in a slap-up three-course meal?
If previous safaris have consisted of elusive elephants, lazy lions, and waiting for hours with no hope of seeing a hippo, this is the trip for you. On this five day adventure you'll get friendly with the inquisitive inhabitants of this surprisingly bustling plain. On a cold morning you may find yourself with a meerkat snuggling up to you for warmth, or using your head as a sentry lookout post. After experiencing life inside Meerkat Manor and tracking hyena and wildebeest over the scorched, white earth, you'll be blazing across vast lunar expanses on your quad, past elephant tracks and zebra skulls en route to your next stop: Kubu island.
Home of ancient bloated baobab trees and the largest flamingo colony in the world, Kubu island is an eerie, mystical place. Discover ancient fossil beaches and mysterious stone walls: here the surroundings are guaranteed to amaze. Spend the evening enjoying a candlelit dinner, before snuggling down in to your luxury roll matt and duvet under the star-spangled sky. The next morning, kikoi tied around your head, you'll jump on your quad and head back to Jack's camp across stunning powdery salt-pans. With no visual landmarks, you'll quickly start to lose perspective, and become totally reliant on your expert zoologist guide.
Jack's camp may feel like home, but your safari is not over yet - you're still yet to meet indigenous bushmen trackers. Watch in awe as they teach you how they survive in this harshest of environments, using their vast and ancient knowledge of plants, animal behaviour and survival skills. They'll make boy scouts and brownies look like a walk in the park, and they'll certainly leave you wanting more.
Breaking all the safari norms, Jack's Camp and the five day Kubu experience is like nothing you've seen before. Your friends back home won't believe your photos, let alone your stories. You really have to do it to believe it.
