Travel reviews by RP from Guildford

"Okuti was efficiently run but also relaxed. The service was first class but also managed to be relaxed; the staff had a good attitude and were always prepared to put themselves out if necessary. The food was very good - ample variety and served well. The accommodation was of spacious design and comfortable. It was inclined to get a little hot in the afternoons (in August), leaving us to wonder what it would be like in summer. The two of us stayed in a family unit which gave us an enormous amount of space. There was reliable hot and cold water 24 hours a day.

The highlight of our stay here were the game drives and, in particular, our guide. Not only was he an expert tracker, but he knew all the animals and birds, even obscure ones, and was thoroughly knowledgeable about the ecology and environment. We had arranged in advance a dedicated guide for our last two days here but, in the event, we had him to ourselves for the full four days. This made an enormous difference to our game viewing experience. There were some mornings when, for health reasons, we were unable to start out first thing. But our guide could not have been more helpful or accommodating. He was there when we were ready to go, on one morning as late as 9 o'clock."

"Jacana island on which the camp is situated is a 15-20 minute boat ride from the 'mainland'. The water is why visitors would choose to come here. The staff were singing a welcome song for our arrival as the boat drew in and was tied up. This set the tone for our stay here. The service was excellent in every respect and all the staff were happy to fall in with our needs. However, after being escorted to our rooms to freshen up after our journey, we were prevented from going back to the communal area for tea by the arrival of three bull elephants placidly demolishing the vegetation around our rooms. The camp structure they did not touch however. In our previous camp, the policy was to keep the big game out with an electric fence. At Jacana, being an island where the only big game in daytime were elephants, the policy was to let them roam. It seemed to work. One must remember that the elephants were here long before Jacana Camp. We did get our tea, but half an hour later once the elephants had moved off.

The activities here included game drives, after the aforesaid 15-20 minute boat ride but, as we were to spend only two days here, we stuck to boat rides in the mornings (further afield) and mokoro trips in the afternoon/evenings (more romantic). Consequently we saw very little game (apart from the camp elephants of which we saw plenty) but we did see a huge variety of birds, many very close up! When we got home we bought a copy of Birds of Southern Africa just so that we could identify our photographs of them. Although our very knowledgeable guide had told us their names at the time, one quickly forgets ... We had the guide all to ourselves for the full two days because there was only one other couple at the camp during our stay. This made a huge difference to us, allowing us to choose the time and mode of our excursions, and could be said to have made our holiday.

Our room was of a very high standard with separate spacious bathroom/lavatory and plentiful hot and cold water. The food was very good, even lunch. Throughout our stay, there was careful attention to detail, but the whole atmosphere of the camp was very relaxed.

We would strongly recommend a short stay here to anyone who can appreciate the very beautiful watery location but we suspect that, beyond three or four days, some visitors may tire of the constraints of location and activities."

"Let us start with the best first. For health reasons we could not take part in all the activities. However,, our guide and the organising staff really put themselves out to make our stay as enjoyable as possible - and succeeded admirably. For example, my wife didn't feel up to the quad-biking on the pan one afternoon, but the manager drove her out there later in his Land Cruiser for the sundowner. Another example, I had been particularly looking forward to the walk with the San. This was not in fact on the schedule for the two days we were there. However, it was arranged for my final morning - just for me!

Jack's Camp has echoes of Great White Hunters of the past. This is reflected in both its management policies and in the decor. Our most disconcerting moment was to find, on arrival, that all the front line staff were young Europeans and that the numerous African staff were working mainly behind the scenes. This was in marked contrast to the two previous camps we had been to, where we were introduced to all staff. That said, the staff here could not have been more helpful. Also, the service unit here is much larger than most, serving two other camps as well. In the main communal area there were hunting memorabilia, period furniture, old photographs, maps, and books which were fascinating for those interested in such things, although appreciating them fully would require more time than the average visitor has. Period furniture also filled the sleeping rooms which didn't necessarily contribute to room comfort. Our room was in fact fairly comfortable, especially the beds, but the room was too cluttered to lay out our belongings. The flow of water was totally reliable but the bathroom/lavatory would have been more functional with modern furniture. However, these negatives pale beside the huge logistical difficulties of providing any sort of service in such a remote location. The food was nothing short of outstanding, although it had to be conveyed across 30 metres through rough grass from the kitchen to the dining area. The dining service was consequently a little haphazard, handicapped further by an insistence on Ladies First even when parties were arriving at different times.

My wife, whose main interest was in wildlife, did wonder before we went whether this was a good choice of location for the final two days of our holiday in Botswana, but my reason for choosing it was precisely because it was so different from the Moremi/Okavango area where we had spent the previous six days. This location gives a real feel for the Kalahari and is located right next to the extraordinary salt pans. There is wildlife here, though not so much at the time of year we went (August) but it tends to be either smaller or big but more distant. The highlights on our first evening/night game drive were a brown hyena, honey badger, genet and porcupine - pretty thin perhaps for a Kruger Hoover but fascinating nonetheless. If you like meerkats, this is certainly the place to come, for you can walk with a human-habituated colony and see them wake up, warm up, and hunt, all at close quarters. However, no one comes in August primarily to see the game. There is in fact a good deal to see and do. In our two days we had the game drive just mentioned, a visit to Chapman's baobab, hunting with meerkats, quad-biking out to the Makgadikgadi salt pan, sundowner on the pan (strictly non-alcoholic this time) and, most wonderfully for me, a walk through the Kalahari with a family of six San. The activity program at Jack's Camp is astonishingly wide and adventurous for such a remote location. I am lost in admiration for the sheer organisational prowess of the manager and his staff. This extends to the running of the camp as well.

Different, but yes I would certainly recommend a short stay of two, perhaps three days, here."