Urikaruus Wilderness Camp

Urikaruus Wilderness Camp is a small, unfenced camp set among camelthorn trees on the bank of the dry Auob riverbed in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. The cabins are raised on stilts and linked by elevated walkways, looking out over a waterhole that brings a steady stream of desert wildlife right to the camp.

This is one of the most intimate and immersive camps in the Kalahari, with no shop, restaurant or fuel, so visitors come fully self-sufficient and settle into the deep quiet of the red dunes. The Auob is a renowned game-viewing route, and from the verandas guests watch gemsbok, springbok and wildebeest come to drink, often shadowed by the park's famous black-maned lions, cheetah and leopard.

Days here move to the rhythm of the waterhole and the long desert light, and the cloudless Kalahari nights deliver some of the finest stargazing in the country. It is a stay designed for those who want wilderness at its most stripped back.