Dinaka Private Game Reserve

Highlights

• 100,000-acre private reserve bordering the Central Kalahari Game Reserve
• Underground and eye-level photographic hides overlooking active waterholes
• Sleep-out deck for a night beneath the Kalahari sky
• Cultural walks and tracking with San Bushmen
• Day and night game drives with off-road access to sightings
• Five-star status from Botswana Tourism Board and EcoTourism certified

You Should Know

• Maximum 20 guests in camp
• One family tent sleeps up to five guests across two bedrooms
• One tent is wheelchair friendly
• Private vehicle use is available at additional cost
• Reached by a 35-minute flight south from Maun, or 55 minutes from the Okavango Delta camps

The Details

Location

Dinaka sits on the northern boundary of the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, an exclusive 100,000-acre conservancy in a 60-million-year-old desert biome. The reserve has built a reputation for high-density desert wildlife, with animals drawn year-round to a network of pans and waterholes that keep sightings predictable even in the dry months.

It is the desert counterpart to the water-based safaris of the Okavango Delta, and pairs naturally with Ker & Downey's delta camps to give guests both sides of Botswana's wildlife story. Resident species include black-maned Kalahari lion, leopard, cheetah, brown hyena, honey badger, Cape fox, porcupine, oryx and springbok.

Accommodation

Eight thatched tents, including one family tent, are connected by raised boardwalks. Each tent has a bedroom with a king bed and mosquito net, a mini bar and coffee station, and a bathroom with both indoor and outdoor showers. A shaded verandah looks onto the camp's waterhole, which is also visible from every room and the main lounge, so game viewing carries on through the heat of the day.

Dining

The central lounge, dining and bar area offers indoor and outdoor dining, family-style meals and a serviced bar. An outdoor fireplace and central pool sit at the heart of camp, and meals are taken in the lounge, on the deck or out in the bush depending on the day's plan.

Activities

Activities are built around the desert. Morning and afternoon game drives have off-road permissions to follow sightings, and night drives reveal nocturnal species rarely seen elsewhere. Guided, armed nature walks add a slower pace, and educational walks with the San Bushmen cover tracking and traditional desert knowledge.

Photographers are well served, with underground and ground-level bunkers and elevated eye-level hides positioned around the waterholes. An elevated observation deck and the sleep-out deck round out the offering, the latter giving guests a chance to spend a night under the Kalahari stars.

Price Includes

• Accommodation in a thatched tent
• All meals and drinks in camp
• Morning, afternoon and night game drives
• Guided armed nature walks
• Cultural walk with the San Bushmen
• Use of the photographic hides and sleep-out deck
• Wi-Fi in camp
• Laundry