The Jackal and Hide

Each of The Jackal and Hide’s 8 Meru style tents is positioned on raised wooden decking, offering guests an elevated view of the sweeping plains and lush grasslands. The tented rooms feature plush and comfortable large king-sized beds – which can be converted into twins if desired, and writing desks. The rooms look out to your private verandah, where you can sit back and watch the grazing zebra and giraffe. All of the tents include an en-suite bathroom with twin basins and an indoor shower. Charging facilities are available in all of the rooms, as well as in the main area.

Guests at The Jackal and Hide Camp can enjoy three delicious meals a day, which are freshly prepared by the camp’s chefs. Dietary requirements can be catered for as long as advanced notice is given. Sit under the shade of the dining areas thatched roof, and look out of the open walls at the amazing landscape that surrounds the camp. Enjoy a refreshing beverage under the stars beside a cosy campfire, and share exciting safari stories with your fellow guests.

Venture out on a thrilling game drive with experienced guides and see the Okavango Delta’s amazing wildlife up close. The camp’s guides will be able to teach you fun and interesting facts about the game and predators that roam the landscape, while showing you the best spots for viewing them. Drive up to prowling lions and giant elephants and watch them behave in their natural habitat from the safety of a 4×4 safari vehicle, open-sided for great photographic opportunities.

Night drives are also available and offer the unique chance to find some of the Khwai Private Reserve’s nocturnal creatures. The darkness adds an extra immersive element to this experience as you watch adorable bushbabies and civets go about their nightly routines, with the roars and growls of big cats in the background.

Glide through the peaceful waterways of the vast Okavango Delta, and witness the reserve’s stunning wildlife from a different perspective. Watch bathing hippos and drinking elephants, and look out for the tiny and adorable reed frogs nestled amongst the reeds and lily pads. Due to the fluctuating levels of the water, mokoro safaris may not always be available from November to March when the water levels are lower.

The Jackal and Hide is a Natural Selection camp. Natural Selection supports the vision of the Botswana Community and Conservation Initiative (BCCI), which provides regional conservation and support for rural communities to develop sustainable land-use practices that promote conservation-based economic opportunities, facilitate landscape-scale wildlife movements, and provide for climate change resilience. Natural Selection has also partnered with Coaching Conservation ‘to provide local people with the critical information they need to stay safe and healthy during the pandemic.’

‘Over the last three years, 1.5% of every guest’s stay in [Natural Selection’s] camps has gone towards community and conservation projects. Combined with the direct contributions that [Natural Selection’s] camps make to local community outreach, this amounts to nearly 1 million USD of committed funds.’

The increase in the number of elephants in the Okavango Delta in recent years is a cause for celebration. However, for villagers along the Delta’s panhandle and outskirts, the sudden boost in elephant numbers means that their land is more likely to be trampled and humans (particularly children) may be at risk of fatal encounters. Natural Selection has recognised that transportation for local communities is a need, and they worked with EcoExist and the Okavango Community Trust to launch the ‘Elephant Express’ in January 2020. The ‘Elephant Express’ service transports children to schools safely, as well as helping patients get to clinics without the fear of crossing paths with a gigantic elephant.

Natural Selections has been working with the local Khwai Village in order to identify needs within the community and create solutions. Natural Selections have launched a number of projects to do this, such as the Feed A Child programme which provides schoolchildren with a healthy vitamin-rich meal at the start of the school day, setting up a pre-school in Khwai Village and providing an income for the teachers, supporting the village elders and disabled members of the community, and providing homes with electricity using solar power. Natural Selections’ initiatives not only help the local communities but inspires the local villagers to see ecotourism in a positive light, helping to prevent human and animal conflict.

Natural Selection ensures that 1.5% of your expedition fees goes to wildlife conservation. They also work with the local communities, governments and conservation organisations in order to help protect conservation areas, and sustain them. The camps that are built are subtle and blend in with the environment and the habitats that already exist there, causing minimal disruption to the surrounding wildlife.

Natural Selection started the Etosha Heights Rhino Protection program which is an anti-poaching group that monitor Rhinos, and ensure that poachers are unable to illegally hunt these endangered creatures.

‘We take rhino conservation extremely seriously, and the Etosha Heights team work tirelessly to safeguard the future of these bushveld unicorns and ensure that many more generations can enjoy watching them. Within the reserve, we have an anti-poaching camp and team that are dedicated to protecting the rhinos and preventing any illegal hunting from happening along the boundaries of the reserve. Our rangers are on the ground 24 hours a day and have completed an intensive training programme to ensure that they’re the best of the best. Combined with new state of the art anti-poaching surveillance technology, this team is a force to be reckoned with.’