Kalahari Plains Camp

Eight canvas units (including one family unit) each include a sleep-out rooftop platform from which to enjoy the night skies. The camp, including its main area with pool and deck, takes in the sweeping, spacious views across the Kalahari. Solar power provides electricity and hot water, with innovative insulated canvas walls and roofs keeping the temperatures inside comfortable. This camp can accommodate 16 guests and 02 children plus 4 guide/pilot/tour leaders sharing, subject to concession numbers and / or concession availability.

8 x units in total comprising:

7 x twin-bedded luxury canvas tented rooms each with two three quarter beds.

1 x family luxury canvas tented unit with two three quarter beds in each bedroom (consists of 2 bedrooms each with own bathroom and entrance, sharing a deck).

Twice daily game drives or full-day excursions take place in open 4×4 vehicles and directed towards the seasonal movements of the wildlife. Located in a National Park, the camp adheres to the regulations of the Department of Wildlife and National Parks restricting off-road driving and night driving.

An interpretive, guided walk led by camp staff members who are descendants of the San, provides insights into their traditional lifestyles through dress, activities and a short walk (800 metres) in the immediate camp area.

Sleep out under the starry starry skies of the Kalahari and be lulled to sleep by the sounds of Africa on the roof of your unit. The Kalahari is famous for its clear night skies, and with no light pollution it is the ideal spot from which to view the incredible formations of the stars and planets. Our guides are also known to dabble with astronomy and will take you on a tour through the constellations.

In addition to the guided walk with the San, guided nature walks are on offer (seasonal and subject to the availability of a qualified walking guide). This activity is an approximate duration of 1.5 hours, departing camp just before sunrise and moving toward one of the pans in the area for a more up close and personal focus on the fauna and flora.

Kalahari Plains has actively engaged with the San people to ensure they can benefit from ecotourism. The majority of the staff members hail from villages on the outskirts of the Game Reserve bringing employment and income to the local people.

Children in the Wilderness (CITW) is a non‐profit organisation supported by ecotourism company Wilderness Safaris that aims to facilitate sustainable conservation through leadership development and education of rural children in Africa. One of the Trust’s cornerstone ideals is that of educating the children of Africa, and inspiring them with a love of and commitment to their natural heritage. This applies in particular to those living on the boundaries of many of Wilderness Safaris’ properties and camps. Children in the Wilderness (CITW) is a programme that fulfils this ideal and has proven extremely successful since its inception in 2001.

How it operates

The Children in the Wilderness programme covers a range of educational and support initiatives:

Eco-Mentor Training: In most regions, our Eco-Mentors volunteer their time in order to work with the children. They interact with the children as counsellors, friends and, most importantly, role models. Our Eco-Mentor Training aims to develop local community members, including local teachers, local community members and Wilderness Safaris camp staff by upgrading their skills in environmental understanding and enabling them to better implement school and village environmental projects and initiatives.

Eco-Clubs: Throughout the year, we support Eco-Clubs in rural schools in the communities with which we work. These Eco-Clubs follow a structured curriculum, providing all learners interested in the environment a chance to meet, learn, discuss and expand their knowledge of environmental issues. Children participating in the annual camps are selected from Eco-Clubs. Environmental projects and tasks are earmarked and organised in cooperation with the community members and teachers. The children are encouraged to participate in the planning process and come up with their own ideas in order for them to take ownership of their Eco-Clubs and the projects. The Eco-Clubs are increasingly providing positive community development while reaching a wider community. Projects to date have included tree nurseries and reforestation projects, collage competitions raising environmental awareness, and building “earthbenches” in school grounds.

Camps: A Wilderness Safaris or partner camp is closed for a few days each year, and up to 24 children between the ages of 10 and 17 are hosted in the camp for a three-night, four-day educational and fun-filled programme, including lessons, games, practical sessions and wildlife activities.

Youth Environmental Stewardship (YES) Programme: The YES Programme focuses on children with commitment and potential who have been identified on annual camps and in Eco-Clubs as showing an interest in conservation. YES campers are selected through a rigorous and transparent process based on criteria such as leadership potential, interest in the environment and academic performance. YES camps are usually smaller, with fewer children attending, allowing for focused work groups and increased participation of all children. The programme curriculum is an extension of concepts introduced in Eco-Clubs and at camp, with a greater focus on career guidance, communication, leadership, teamwork and further environmental education. It also aims to inspire the participants to come up with sustainable conservation methods so as to sustain their own lives as well as those of future generations.

Scholarship Programme: In many of the areas where we operate primary education is free or has a minimal charge, while secondary schooling usually has a larger fee attached to it. For this reason, a large majority of children will only ever complete their primary schooling, while some may not even have the opportunity to attend primary school. Through Eco-Clubs and Camp programmes, we are able to identify students who are doing well academically but whose parents are unable to send them to secondary school. Our Scholarship Programme aims to give these children an opportunity to complete their schooling. The programme provides funding for the necessary school fees and, as often as possible, we try and assist with uniform, stationery, and other schooling needs. Funding comes largely from Wilderness Safaris guests and agents, as well as other partner NGOs, corporates, etc.

Other Initiatives: Other important related initiatives include community development and livelihood diversification programmes to reduce poverty, improve living conditions and enhance local education systems. This is achieved through improving school infrastructure, water provision, providing teaching materials, and supporting scholarship and nutrition programmes.

Impact to date

Since 2001, over 6 500 children have participated on an annual Children in the Wilderness camp. More than 600 teachers and Eco-Mentors have trained on our programme. Another important aspect is the scholarship programme, which supports over 480 children, with some of the monies for this coming through the Trust from numerous individual donors. Children in the Wilderness also receives funding from donors via the Trust to support its Youth Environmental Stewardship programme.

Since Kalahari Plains is in a very arid area, it is vital that we conserve water. Kalahari Plains Camp have installed water-harvesting tanks at each tent and other fixed structures to collect rainwater during the rainy season. When all tanks are full with the 115 mm of rain a year, the camp has 150 000 litres of additional water, reducing the need for borehole water during this period. The borehole water drawn from beneath the camp is too salty to drink and is therefore used in the pool and for showering. The camp has a state-of-the-art reverse osmosis desalination system to produce clean, safe drinking water.

In keeping with Wilderness’ objective of reducing energy consumption and fuel use at all its camps, this camp is 100% solar powered, with electricity and hot water provided via solar panels and inverters.Like all Wilderness camps, Kalahari Plains Camp is managed and monitored against very strict in-house environmental standards, so only approved eco-friendly detergents and chemicals are used.

Due to its large size (52 500km2) the Central Kalahari Game Reserve has the potential to sustain a significant number of wild dog packs. The Wilderness Trust has funded a number of projects in the area over the past ten years that have attempted to determine an accurate estimate of the population of this Critically Endangered species. These projects have looked at the factors that influence their population dynamics and spatial ecology and the potential spread of disease from domestic dogs to these populations.

The aim of the project is to determine an accurate estimate of the wild dog population in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR) – the numbers, densities and pack structures, the surrounding area, and the factors that influence their population dynamics and spatial ecology and bring them into conflict with humans. This project aims to build on past work done on wild dogs within the Okavango Delta as well as add to the body of knowledge currently existing, hence the selection of areas with wild dog packs that had not yet been closely studied. This study aims to compare Wild Dog packs in two locations within Okavango Delta Ramsar site to wild dog packs in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR). Movement and activity data from GPS collars on wild dog packs in the CKGR will be compared with data from 3 GPS collars on wild dogs in the Okavango Delta Ramsar site, as well as behavioural observations from the study packs. Due to recent advances in technology, the collars have gotten lighter than ever before (very important for such a highly mobile species) as well as being able to store GPS fixes onboard that can be downloaded remotely later on, and even from the air if necessary.

The Trust focuses its work in three key areas:

Research and Conservation: These include ecological studies of specific species, transboundary movements, migration corridors and human-animal conflicts, interactions between species, and climate change. Such studies are not science for the sake of science, but rather help pave the way for better informed conservation management decisions and thus the sustainability of Africa’s wildlife and wilderness areas.

Community Empowerment and Education: Conservation of animals and plants is only as strong as the people who live in their vicinity. Without the engagement and involvement of such people, conservation is likely to exist only on paper. Therefore, educational and financial empowerment of local communities is the bedrock of the Trust, providing much-needed skills and knowledge to these communities.

Anti-Poaching and Management: Hands-on management contributes to the survival of both individual species and their endangered habitats. The Trust supports a number of anti-poaching entities and assists in further management initiatives, such as aerial surveys.