Botswana Safari Sleep-outs
From sleeping under the stars in the middle of the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans to sleeping on a deck in the middle of the Okavango Delta, we highly recommend including these exceptional experiences in your Botswana safari.
Below are some of our favorite Botswana sleep-out options.
Kanana Sleep-out Deck
In the heart of the Okavango Delta and located a good distance from the main Kanana Camp is the Kanana Sleep-out platform. The platform is a simple deck on stilts with a comfy bed under a mosquito net with an ensuite bathroom one level below. Due to the location away from the lodge, your guide will be nearby in a small tent should you need help.
The Kanana Sleep out overlooks a very active floodplain that usually has lechwe and other antelope around. Leopard and lion are also not uncommon. This is a completely wild experience and you have a good chance of hearing the lions roaring or the resident leopard rasping in the darkness.
Guests will be driven to the Kanana Sleep out after dinner at the main lodge and then collected again in the morning in time for breakfast and the morning activity. This is the perfect sleep-out for the more adventurous, looking for an immersive wilderness experience away from the main lodge.
Makgadikgadi Pans Sleep-out
On the edge of the vast Makgadikgadi Salt Pans are Jacks Camp, San Camp and Camp Kalahari. All three camps are owned and run by legendary guide Ralph Bousfield. Being on the edge of the immense open salt pan gives the guides at all three camps one of the best outdoor playgrounds in Africa. Setting off on quad bikes, guests head out into the vast white pans with the guides and other guests from the camp. Stopping along the way to enjoy the flatness of the pans. After the activity, guests start heading back to camp, stopping on the way for dinner under the stars. Not far from the dinner table are comfy stretcher beds set at 50-meter intervals and all facing east to take in the incredible sunrise the following morning.
There is a simple chemical toilet and camp wash basin for guests to use. The beds are comfortable and have warm duvets for those chilly winter nights. The light pollution out in the Makgadikgadi Pans is almost zero, making this one of the best places to sleep under the stars. Even without a moon, the stars are so bright they are able to cast a shadow on the ground.
The following morning guests return to the camp for breakfast and the morning activity.
This is not a private sleepout as everyone from the camp does this on the same night. The three camps alternate this experience and so this can only be guaranteed if you spend 3 nights at one of the camps. Due to the location of the salt pans, this activity is only possible during the dry season.
It is still one of the most amazing experiences we have had at Stanley Safaris and will be something you will never forget as it is completely unique to the area.