Imagine a smattering of billowing white tents, shaded by desert palms and surrounded by a thousand acres of shimmering, sparkling nothingness. You’ve just dreamt up San Camp, our impossibly romantic, seven-bedroom camp on the edge of the Nwetwe Pan in Botswana’s Makgadikgadi. San isn’t a place for frills and fluffiness. The magic is in the minimalism, both at the camp and in the mysterious desert landscape. You can forget the tourist crowds and over-stuffed 4x4s too; it’s just you, the wildlife, and a handful of local San Bushmen, waiting to share their secrets with you.

Of all the Makgadikgadi pans, we think Nwetwe is the most iconic. Meerkats pop up from the desert dust, brown hyaena hide in the grass, and you’ll see red hartebeest, springbok and gemsbok scurrying between them. But San Camp isn’t just about wildlife-watching – it’s about the atmosphere and the ethereal surroundings. Disappear into a remote world, a million miles from glowing screens and fruit-themed devices, where the 360-degree panoramas are so vast, you can see the curvature of the earth…

San Camp:

• Elegant and impossibly romantic, San Camp’s classic white tents offer 360 degree views over the sparkling salt pans.
• Take game drives and night drives in custom built 4x4s to see the unique desert wildlife, spend time with the cheeky meerkats, and join the Zu/’hoasi Bushmen on a bush walk.
• Travel across the salt-crusted earth by quad-bike. The fact that you’ll travel at great speed, yet arrive nowhere underlines the true immensity of this remarkable area.
• San Camp has a reputation for delicious and innovative cuisine – think fresh tomato tartlets, three-layer banana and caramel cake, and the best beef Wellington you’ve ever tried.
• Lie out on the pans as the sun sets, and watch the planetarium of stars unfold.
• Retreat to the yoga and meditation pavilion and absorb the compelling energy of your surroundings. This is the perfect spot to relax, unwind and retreat

Accommodation

We’ve already mentioned those beautiful, billowing tents, but what’s in store inside the canvas walls? Think enormous four-posters, draped in crisp cotton and feather-soft blankets, raised high above Persian rugs. Mahogany writing desks and leather armchairs contrast the rugged surroundings, and there’s a lazy day bed just outside, perfect for an afternoon of view-gazing. Ensuite bathrooms have hot, running water showers and flush loos, and there’s plenty of water in the elegant copper jugs and basins. The entire camp runs on solar-power and when darkness falls, you’ll find lanterns scattered around to light the way.

At the main area, the open-sided pavilions are bright and breezy – and let that view do the talking! Gather in the splendid mess tent for a three-course feast, accompanied by white linen and crystal glasses, or sink into a cushion in the tea tent and treat yourself to one of the best brownies in the desert. If you can drag your eyes away from the surroundings, take a peek at our Natural History Museum cabinets with their eclectic collections of old maps, fossils and artefacts, and then, it’s time to let your mind unwind in the sanctuary of the yoga pavilion. We couldn’t think of a better place to end the day.