Day 1 Maun-Okavango Delta | Meals: D
Welcome to Botswana! Upon arrival in Maun today, you will be met and assisted to your light aircraft flight to your luxury lodge nestled in the Okavango Delta. From your birds-eye vantage point, you get your first glimpse of the wetland paradise spread out below. Choose from several luxurious camps for your three -night stay.
Kwetsani Island is a large, elongated island surrounded by enormous open plains in Botswana's Okavango Delta. It is located in the private Jao Reserve, an area of 60,000 hectares to the west of Mombo and the Moremi Game Reserve. The island is heavily wooded with palm, mangosteen and fig trees. The water levels around the island change each year, depending on the magnitude of the annual floods from central Africa. The water levels at Kwetsani are at their highest from April or May to September each year. Kwetsani Camp is a small, intimate, ten~bedded luxury camp and is raised on wooden decks above the lush ground vegetation. The five spacious and lavish "tree~house" chalets are built under thatched roofs and have canvas and pole walls. En suite facilities under thatch include a shower, flush toilet and basin, with an additional outdoor shower. The rooms have an open, airy feel about them, with a superb view of the surrounding plains. The dining room, lounge and pub area is situated under cool thatch.
Hippo, Sitatunga antelope and Crocodile reside in the deeper permanent lily~filled lagoons of the area. Lion, Leopard, Wild Dog, Cheetah, Tsessebe and Lechwe are among the major game attractions at Kwetsani. Nocturnal animals such as Porcupine, Aardwolf, Serval, Genet and Bushbaby can be observed on the night drives (water levels permitting). Kwetsani offers superb land and water activities ~ with much of the focus depending on the water levels from the region's annual flood. In addition to stalking game by mokoro, you will also be able to enjoy exploring palm~fringed islands on foot. Day game drives are a highlight, enabling guests to experience varied and diverse game viewing. Guests have excellent chances of spotting predators during the day as well as on night drives.
The Owners - Dave and Cathy Kays and Kingsley Mogalakwe
Cathy and David Kays and their families, and Kingsley Mogalakwe are the long~term leaseholders of Jao Reserve. The Kays are one of Maun's oldest families. David's great grandfather first came to Ngamiland in 1887. In 1912 the Kays family settled in Tsau, at that time the headquarters of the Batawana tribe (Maun was not yet founded). When the Batawana tribe decided to establish a new village at Maun and move its headquarters there in the mid~twenties, the Kays family moved with them. David's father, Ronnie, was instrumental in advising the Batawana Tribal Authorities on the formation of Moremi Game Reserve and assisted in the demarcation of the reserve's boundaries. Kingsley Mogalakwe is from a prominent and well~known Maun family. His uncle, Montsho Mogalakwe, was also instrumental in the formation of Moremi Game Reserve and has now retired from service in Maun as the deputy chief for Ngamiland. Like all families raised in and around the Okavango, wildlife was in their blood, and they spent most of their lives out in the bush. When they won the rights for the Jao Reserve in the recent tender process, they were determined to make this Botswana's finest reserve. They turned their backs on hunting, even though it is allowed in this reserve. They are only the second reserve in Botswana not to hunt, when hunting is allowed. They have decided to focus all their efforts on developing Jao into a superb photographic reserve, but in the process they lose about US$300,000 in hunting revenue every year to ensure great game viewing and a superb wildlife product in the long term. The two camps they have built ~ Jao and Kwetsani ~ are two of the top camps in the Okavango.
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Day 2 & 3 Okavango Delta Land Based Camp | Meals: BLD
Kwetsani Camp consists of five furnished 'tree-house' chalets, each with its own en-suite bathroom, which are an open, airy accommodation of thatch, wood, glass and canvas. The dining room, lounge and drinks area are constructed under a large, cool thatched roof and offer incredible vistas of the surrounding floodplains dotted with lechwe, wildebeest and other plains game.
Kwetsani Camp offers excellent land and water activities dependent on the annual flood levels of the Okavango Delta. Game drives, as well as breathtaking wildlife viewing by mokoro are on offer. There are also two platform game viewing hides in the concession.
Lion, leopard, wild dog, cheetah, tsessebe and red lechwe are among the major game attractions at Kwetsani Camp, while hippo, sitatunga antelope and crocodile reside in the deeper, permanently lily-filled lagoons of the area. Nocturnal animals such as porcupine, aardwolf, serval, large spotted genet and lesser bushbaby can be observed on the night drives (water levels permitting).
Kwetsani Island is a large, elongated island surrounded by enormous open plains in Botswana's Okavango Delta. It is located in the private Jao Reserve, an area of 60,000 hectares to the west of Mombo and the Moremi Game Reserve. The island is heavily wooded with palm, mangosteen and fig trees. The water levels around the island change each year, depending on the magnitude of the annual floods from central Africa. The water levels at Kwetsani are at their highest from April or May to September each year. Kwetsani Camp is a small, intimate, ten~bedded luxury camp and is raised on wooden decks above the lush ground vegetation. The five spacious and lavish "tree~house" chalets are built under thatched roofs and have canvas and pole walls. En suite facilities under thatch include a shower, flush toilet and basin, with an additional outdoor shower. The rooms have an open, airy feel about them, with a superb view of the surrounding plains. The dining room, lounge and pub area is situated under cool thatch.
Hippo, Sitatunga antelope and Crocodile reside in the deeper permanent lily~filled lagoons of the area. Lion, Leopard, Wild Dog, Cheetah, Tsessebe and Lechwe are among the major game attractions at Kwetsani. Nocturnal animals such as Porcupine, Aardwolf, Serval, Genet and Bushbaby can be observed on the night drives (water levels permitting). Kwetsani offers superb land and water activities ~ with much of the focus depending on the water levels from the region's annual flood. In addition to stalking game by mokoro, you will also be able to enjoy exploring palm~fringed islands on foot. Day game drives are a highlight, enabling guests to experience varied and diverse game viewing. Guests have excellent chances of spotting predators during the day as well as on night drives.
The Owners - Dave and Cathy Kays and Kingsley Mogalakwe
Cathy and David Kays and their families, and Kingsley Mogalakwe are the long~term leaseholders of Jao Reserve. The Kays are one of Maun's oldest families. David's great grandfather first came to Ngamiland in 1887. In 1912 the Kays family settled in Tsau, at that time the headquarters of the Batawana tribe (Maun was not yet founded). When the Batawana tribe decided to establish a new village at Maun and move its headquarters there in the mid~twenties, the Kays family moved with them. David's father, Ronnie, was instrumental in advising the Batawana Tribal Authorities on the formation of Moremi Game Reserve and assisted in the demarcation of the reserve's boundaries. Kingsley Mogalakwe is from a prominent and well~known Maun family. His uncle, Montsho Mogalakwe, was also instrumental in the formation of Moremi Game Reserve and has now retired from service in Maun as the deputy chief for Ngamiland. Like all families raised in and around the Okavango, wildlife was in their blood, and they spent most of their lives out in the bush. When they won the rights for the Jao Reserve in the recent tender process, they were determined to make this Botswana's finest reserve. They turned their backs on hunting, even though it is allowed in this reserve. They are only the second reserve in Botswana not to hunt, when hunting is allowed. They have decided to focus all their efforts on developing Jao into a superb photographic reserve, but in the process they lose about US$300,000 in hunting revenue every year to ensure great game viewing and a superb wildlife product in the long term. The two camps they have built ~ Jao and Kwetsani ~ are two of the top camps in the Okavango.
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Day 4 Okavango Delta Water Based Camp | Meals: BLD
A light aircraft flight takes you to your water-based camp today. Xigera Camp (pronounced Keejera) is located on a riverine island right in the heart of the Okavango Delta. This part of the Moremi Game Reserve is a true wetland paradise, with Xigera Camp surrounded by deep channels and lush vegetation.
Xigera Camp consists of ten luxuriously furnished tented rooms - each with en-suite facilities and an outdoor shower. Raised on wooden platforms and walkways, each tent offers superb views of the seasonal Okavango Delta floodplains and the lagoon. The feeling of living in the midst of a riverine forest is one of the features of Xigera Camp.
Meals and evening drinks are enjoyed in the lounge, pub and dining area overlooking a permanently flowing channel or under the stars in a traditional African boma. For those hot days there is a small plunge pool in which to cool off.
Guests are sometimes treated to close-up views of lion or leopard using the footbridge connecting Xigera Camp's island to the next! The camp "newspaper" (a sand pit built into the bridge to capture paw prints) is "read" each morning and provides information on unseen nightly visitors to camp.
Permanent water year-round allows an unparalleled variety of activities such as mokoro trips, game drives and motorboat outings. Xigera Camp is the only camp in the area - ensuring total privacy.
Xigera (pronounced Keejera) is one of the Okavango and Botswana's best kept secrets. Built in one of the most beautiful corners of the Okavango, Xigera Camp is is situated on "Paradise Island" within the Moremi Game Reserve. Xigera is in an area which has permanent water all year round, which makes it the perfect water and land activity camp. It is one of the only Okavango camps to offer mekoros and boating trips, foot safaris and game drives in total privacy, with the main emphasis being on water activities.
Xigera was rated as one of the top destinations of the 'Ultimate Safari' in the March 1999 issue of Conde Nast Traveler.
The new Xigera opened in April 2000. The old camp has been completely torn down and a wonderful new camp has been built on a new and better site on the island. The camp takes a maximum of sixteen guests in superb and comfortably furnished tented rooms. En suite bathrooms indoors have showers, flush toilets and an outdoor toilet and shower. The rooms are built within a shady grove and overlook a floodplain and waterhole which is often teeming with Red Lechwe and other animals. Meals are enjoyed in the dining room overlooking the main river, which, along with the pub and lounge area, is under thatch. Raised walkways connect the rooms to the dining area. There is a plunge pool.
Game Viewing
Xigera has excellent birding. Pel's Fishing Owl, Wattled Crane, African Skimmers, Slaty Egret, Rufousbellied Heron, Swamp Boubou and a host of eagles, vultures and raptors will keep the bird~lover fully occupied. The rare Sitatunga antelope are at their highest density in the Okavango in the Xigera area. Stalking Sitatunga silently by mokoro is an experience never to be forgotten. The wooden foot bridge, which connects this island to the next, is often used by Lion and Leopard to move between islands. Many a guest has enjoyed Lion viewing from the dining room. When water levels permit, game drives are an attraction. Some years we can drive throughout the year. If there has been a very high flood, we can only usually drive from late September to April.
Xigera has something for everyone, in an area where there are no other Moremi camps. Great scenery and activities in a totally private setting make Xigera a wonderful area. The quiet waterways offer perfect mokoro opportunities ~ some lucky guests have even seen Leopard from their mekoros. Game drives give guests a different perspective of the area. Boating takes one further afield, and the walks offer the opportunity to get close to wild Africa. When the new park rules come into effect in 2001 or 2002, night drives will also be allowed. To get the best wildlife experience, we suggest you mix your activities.
The Owners - Hennie and Angela Rawlinson
Hennie and Angela Rawlinson are a well~respected couple from Maun, with incredible experience in the Okavango Delta. Hennie built the original Xigera way back in 1986. Prior to his Xigera days, he was one of the region's best camping safari guides. Hennie is a commercial pilot and runs a charter operation in Maun. Angela met Hennie while he was managing Xigera in the 1980s and the area has a very special place in their hearts. When the lease at Xigera came up for tender in 1998, they focused all their attention on winning the lease. Hennie and Angela reckon that it was their passion for the area which showed in their writing and won them the tender. They now have this prime site within the Moremi Game Reserve for the next 15 years and they have a built a superb camp which is an absolute winner.
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Day 5 Okavango Delta Water Based Camp | Meals: BLD
A mokoro ride is mandatory at Xigera Camp. On this traditional dug-out canoe, the only sounds are the rustling of the wind through the reeds, the lapping of the water against the boat, and the call of the African Fish-Eagle. The blue of the sky is mirrored in the water, broken only by large round water lily leaves and their stunning purple and white flowers.
Xigera Camp is a delight for birdwatchers, with Pel's Fishing-Owl, African Skimmer, Slaty Egret, Wattled Crane and a host of raptors, other waterbirds and colourful kingfishers to be seen. An abundance of wildlife includes red lechwe, lion, and spotted hyaena.
Xigera (pronounced Keejera) is one of the Okavango and Botswana's best kept secrets. Built in one of the most beautiful corners of the Okavango, Xigera Camp is is situated on "Paradise Island" within the Moremi Game Reserve. Xigera is in an area which has permanent water all year round, which makes it the perfect water and land activity camp. It is one of the only Okavango camps to offer mekoros and boating trips, foot safaris and game drives in total privacy, with the main emphasis being on water activities.
Xigera was rated as one of the top destinations of the 'Ultimate Safari' in the March 1999 issue of Conde Nast Traveler.
The new Xigera opened in April 2000. The old camp has been completely torn down and a wonderful new camp has been built on a new and better site on the island. The camp takes a maximum of sixteen guests in superb and comfortably furnished tented rooms. En suite bathrooms indoors have showers, flush toilets and an outdoor toilet and shower. The rooms are built within a shady grove and overlook a floodplain and waterhole which is often teeming with Red Lechwe and other animals. Meals are enjoyed in the dining room overlooking the main river, which, along with the pub and lounge area, is under thatch. Raised walkways connect the rooms to the dining area. There is a plunge pool.
Game Viewing
Xigera has excellent birding. Pel's Fishing Owl, Wattled Crane, African Skimmers, Slaty Egret, Rufousbellied Heron, Swamp Boubou and a host of eagles, vultures and raptors will keep the bird~lover fully occupied. The rare Sitatunga antelope are at their highest density in the Okavango in the Xigera area. Stalking Sitatunga silently by mokoro is an experience never to be forgotten. The wooden foot bridge, which connects this island to the next, is often used by Lion and Leopard to move between islands. Many a guest has enjoyed Lion viewing from the dining room. When water levels permit, game drives are an attraction. Some years we can drive throughout the year. If there has been a very high flood, we can only usually drive from late September to April.
Xigera has something for everyone, in an area where there are no other Moremi camps. Great scenery and activities in a totally private setting make Xigera a wonderful area. The quiet waterways offer perfect mokoro opportunities ~ some lucky guests have even seen Leopard from their mekoros. Game drives give guests a different perspective of the area. Boating takes one further afield, and the walks offer the opportunity to get close to wild Africa. When the new park rules come into effect in 2001 or 2002, night drives will also be allowed. To get the best wildlife experience, we suggest you mix your activities.
The Owners - Hennie and Angela Rawlinson
Hennie and Angela Rawlinson are a well~respected couple from Maun, with incredible experience in the Okavango Delta. Hennie built the original Xigera way back in 1986. Prior to his Xigera days, he was one of the region's best camping safari guides. Hennie is a commercial pilot and runs a charter operation in Maun. Angela met Hennie while he was managing Xigera in the 1980s and the area has a very special place in their hearts. When the lease at Xigera came up for tender in 1998, they focused all their attention on winning the lease. Hennie and Angela reckon that it was their passion for the area which showed in their writing and won them the tender. They now have this prime site within the Moremi Game Reserve for the next 15 years and they have a built a superb camp which is an absolute winner.
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Day 6 Linyanti Reserve | Meals: BLD
A light aircraft flight takes you to your last stop - the Linyanti Reserve. The 275,000 acre Linyanti Reserve lies northeast of the Okavango Delta and is home to the Savuti Channel. Linyanti is also home to a wide variety of predators and large concentrations of plains game - particularly elephant and migrating zebra. After settling in at your camp, you might enjoy a nature walk along the Linyanti River or perhaps a boat trip to view hippos. Bird-lovers will delight in the search for carmine bee-eaters, redbilled woodhoopoes, emeraldspotted doves, darters and fish eagles. Linyanti is also one of the few spots in Botswana where you might spot the stunning Narina trogon.
Savuti Camp is situated in the southern part of the Linyanti Wildlife Reserve in Northern Botswana. It is built along the Savuti Channel and can accommodate eight guests at a time. The Savuti Channel is a legendary wildlife region, best known for its large number of predators. When the channel flows, water travels from the Linyanti marshes into the interior of Chobe National Park. The channel stopped flowing in 1980 and what was a Hippo-filled river is now wide open grasslands. Savuti Camp is a small and intimate tented camp in an isolated area, far from any crowds. If you are looking for that Savuti experience of old, Savuti Camp should not be missed. Accommodation is in five large comfortable walk-in tents with en suite facilities. Each tent has its own bathroom with a shower, handbasin and flush toilet. There is a separate dining room and pub under reed and thatch, as well as a plunge pool. Three of the tented rooms have bathrooms inside the tents and two of the rooms have more open bathrooms with two of the best bathroom views in Africa.
Game concentrations here are high, especially in our winter months. Besides your normal plains game, the area has good concentrations of Roan, Sable and Giraffe. All the predators occur in the area - Lion, Leopard, Cheetah and Wild Dog. More than 40 different Lion have been identified along the channel around the camp. The Chobe/Linyanti area is renowned for its dense Elephant population and for some of the best Elephant viewing anywhere in Africa in the winter months. As the waterhole in front of the camp is the only supply of water for a large area in the dry winter months, one of the highlights for Savuti Camp is the fantastic wildlife viewing directly from the camp. Hides at other waterholes are also a special feature. As Savuti Camp is within the private Linyanti Wildlife Reserve, activities are not limited to the rules and regulations of Chobe. Game drives, night drives and walks with an armed guide are available along with a number of elevated hides where guests can view animals quietly and safely away from vehicles.
The Linyanti Reserve is a multi-purpose reserve where photographic safaris are conducted and where hunting is technically allowed. Camp management have decided not to hunt anywhere in this area and as a result forfeit well over US$300,000 in revenue per annum. They wish to ensure that animals can breed up to their maximum numbers and live lives that are not negatively impacted by humans.
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Day 7 & 8 Linyanti Reserve | Meals: BLD
Savuti Camp is situated in an isolated part of the Linyanti Concession along the Savute Channel in northern Botswana. The site of Savuti Camp is about 17 kilometres 'downstream' from the Zibadianja Lagoon - the source of the Savute Channel. The Channel stopped flowing between 1980 and 2008; during this time it was an unusual and productive ribbon of grassland that served as a corridor and feeding ground in the surrounding woodland for a wide variety of herbivores.
In 2008, the Savute Channel once more became a deep, clear waterway harbouring hippo and aquatic life with myriad varieties of waterbirds. Wildlife, from plains game to a plethora of predators, has had to adapt to a new source of water and all the opportunities and menaces it has brought with it.
This intimate camp's en-suite accommodation is in seven large walk-in tents that are raised off the ground and face onto the Savute Channel. From the camp's thatched dining area, a plunge pool and large viewing area with fire pit extend outwards on raised wooden decks, providing a wonderful view of the Savute Channel and its wildlife.
Explore the Savute Channel and its environs through day and night game drives, nature walks with a guide (on request), and several well-positioned hides for safe, up-close animal viewing. Savuti Camp's former 'wood-pile hide' in front of camp is now part of the flowing Savute and famous for spectacular elephant viewing in the drier winter months.
Game concentrations here are high, particularly in the winter dry season, and apart from abundant plains game, species such as roan and sable antelope, southern giraffe, lion, leopard, cheetah, spotted hyaena, black-backed jackal and wild dog may also be encountered. In winter, this area can also be excellent for the sought-after aardvark and aardwolf, which are big ticks on anyone's mammal lists!
Savuti Camp is situated in the southern part of the Linyanti Wildlife Reserve in Northern Botswana. It is built along the Savuti Channel and can accommodate eight guests at a time. The Savuti Channel is a legendary wildlife region, best known for its large number of predators. When the channel flows, water travels from the Linyanti marshes into the interior of Chobe National Park. The channel stopped flowing in 1980 and what was a Hippo-filled river is now wide open grasslands. Savuti Camp is a small and intimate tented camp in an isolated area, far from any crowds. If you are looking for that Savuti experience of old, Savuti Camp should not be missed. Accommodation is in five large comfortable walk-in tents with en suite facilities. Each tent has its own bathroom with a shower, handbasin and flush toilet. There is a separate dining room and pub under reed and thatch, as well as a plunge pool. Three of the tented rooms have bathrooms inside the tents and two of the rooms have more open bathrooms with two of the best bathroom views in Africa.
Game concentrations here are high, especially in our winter months. Besides your normal plains game, the area has good concentrations of Roan, Sable and Giraffe. All the predators occur in the area - Lion, Leopard, Cheetah and Wild Dog. More than 40 different Lion have been identified along the channel around the camp. The Chobe/Linyanti area is renowned for its dense Elephant population and for some of the best Elephant viewing anywhere in Africa in the winter months. As the waterhole in front of the camp is the only supply of water for a large area in the dry winter months, one of the highlights for Savuti Camp is the fantastic wildlife viewing directly from the camp. Hides at other waterholes are also a special feature. As Savuti Camp is within the private Linyanti Wildlife Reserve, activities are not limited to the rules and regulations of Chobe. Game drives, night drives and walks with an armed guide are available along with a number of elevated hides where guests can view animals quietly and safely away from vehicles.
The Linyanti Reserve is a multi-purpose reserve where photographic safaris are conducted and where hunting is technically allowed. Camp management have decided not to hunt anywhere in this area and as a result forfeit well over US$300,000 in revenue per annum. They wish to ensure that animals can breed up to their maximum numbers and live lives that are not negatively impacted by humans.
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Day 9 Maun-Depart | Meals: B
Your trip ends today as a light aircraft takes you back to Maun where you begin your journey home.
Welcome to Botswana! Upon arrival in Maun today, you will be met and assisted to your light aircraft flight to your luxury lodge nestled in the Okavango Delta. From your birds-eye vantage point, you get your first glimpse of the wetland paradise spread out below. Choose from several luxurious camps for your three -night stay.
Kwetsani
Kwetsani Island is a large, elongated island surrounded by enormous open plains in Botswana's Okavango Delta. It is located in the private Jao Reserve, an area of 60,000 hectares to the west of Mombo and the Moremi Game Reserve. The island is heavily wooded with palm, mangosteen and fig trees. The water levels around the island change each year, depending on the magnitude of the annual floods from central Africa. The water levels at Kwetsani are at their highest from April or May to September each year. Kwetsani Camp is a small, intimate, ten~bedded luxury camp and is raised on wooden decks above the lush ground vegetation. The five spacious and lavish "tree~house" chalets are built under thatched roofs and have canvas and pole walls. En suite facilities under thatch include a shower, flush toilet and basin, with an additional outdoor shower. The rooms have an open, airy feel about them, with a superb view of the surrounding plains. The dining room, lounge and pub area is situated under cool thatch.
Hippo, Sitatunga antelope and Crocodile reside in the deeper permanent lily~filled lagoons of the area. Lion, Leopard, Wild Dog, Cheetah, Tsessebe and Lechwe are among the major game attractions at Kwetsani. Nocturnal animals such as Porcupine, Aardwolf, Serval, Genet and Bushbaby can be observed on the night drives (water levels permitting). Kwetsani offers superb land and water activities ~ with much of the focus depending on the water levels from the region's annual flood. In addition to stalking game by mokoro, you will also be able to enjoy exploring palm~fringed islands on foot. Day game drives are a highlight, enabling guests to experience varied and diverse game viewing. Guests have excellent chances of spotting predators during the day as well as on night drives.
The Owners - Dave and Cathy Kays and Kingsley Mogalakwe
Cathy and David Kays and their families, and Kingsley Mogalakwe are the long~term leaseholders of Jao Reserve. The Kays are one of Maun's oldest families. David's great grandfather first came to Ngamiland in 1887. In 1912 the Kays family settled in Tsau, at that time the headquarters of the Batawana tribe (Maun was not yet founded). When the Batawana tribe decided to establish a new village at Maun and move its headquarters there in the mid~twenties, the Kays family moved with them. David's father, Ronnie, was instrumental in advising the Batawana Tribal Authorities on the formation of Moremi Game Reserve and assisted in the demarcation of the reserve's boundaries. Kingsley Mogalakwe is from a prominent and well~known Maun family. His uncle, Montsho Mogalakwe, was also instrumental in the formation of Moremi Game Reserve and has now retired from service in Maun as the deputy chief for Ngamiland. Like all families raised in and around the Okavango, wildlife was in their blood, and they spent most of their lives out in the bush. When they won the rights for the Jao Reserve in the recent tender process, they were determined to make this Botswana's finest reserve. They turned their backs on hunting, even though it is allowed in this reserve. They are only the second reserve in Botswana not to hunt, when hunting is allowed. They have decided to focus all their efforts on developing Jao into a superb photographic reserve, but in the process they lose about US$300,000 in hunting revenue every year to ensure great game viewing and a superb wildlife product in the long term. The two camps they have built ~ Jao and Kwetsani ~ are two of the top camps in the Okavango.
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Day 2 & 3 Okavango Delta Land Based Camp | Meals: BLD
Kwetsani Camp consists of five furnished 'tree-house' chalets, each with its own en-suite bathroom, which are an open, airy accommodation of thatch, wood, glass and canvas. The dining room, lounge and drinks area are constructed under a large, cool thatched roof and offer incredible vistas of the surrounding floodplains dotted with lechwe, wildebeest and other plains game.
Kwetsani Camp offers excellent land and water activities dependent on the annual flood levels of the Okavango Delta. Game drives, as well as breathtaking wildlife viewing by mokoro are on offer. There are also two platform game viewing hides in the concession.
Lion, leopard, wild dog, cheetah, tsessebe and red lechwe are among the major game attractions at Kwetsani Camp, while hippo, sitatunga antelope and crocodile reside in the deeper, permanently lily-filled lagoons of the area. Nocturnal animals such as porcupine, aardwolf, serval, large spotted genet and lesser bushbaby can be observed on the night drives (water levels permitting).
Kwetsani
Kwetsani Island is a large, elongated island surrounded by enormous open plains in Botswana's Okavango Delta. It is located in the private Jao Reserve, an area of 60,000 hectares to the west of Mombo and the Moremi Game Reserve. The island is heavily wooded with palm, mangosteen and fig trees. The water levels around the island change each year, depending on the magnitude of the annual floods from central Africa. The water levels at Kwetsani are at their highest from April or May to September each year. Kwetsani Camp is a small, intimate, ten~bedded luxury camp and is raised on wooden decks above the lush ground vegetation. The five spacious and lavish "tree~house" chalets are built under thatched roofs and have canvas and pole walls. En suite facilities under thatch include a shower, flush toilet and basin, with an additional outdoor shower. The rooms have an open, airy feel about them, with a superb view of the surrounding plains. The dining room, lounge and pub area is situated under cool thatch.
Hippo, Sitatunga antelope and Crocodile reside in the deeper permanent lily~filled lagoons of the area. Lion, Leopard, Wild Dog, Cheetah, Tsessebe and Lechwe are among the major game attractions at Kwetsani. Nocturnal animals such as Porcupine, Aardwolf, Serval, Genet and Bushbaby can be observed on the night drives (water levels permitting). Kwetsani offers superb land and water activities ~ with much of the focus depending on the water levels from the region's annual flood. In addition to stalking game by mokoro, you will also be able to enjoy exploring palm~fringed islands on foot. Day game drives are a highlight, enabling guests to experience varied and diverse game viewing. Guests have excellent chances of spotting predators during the day as well as on night drives.
The Owners - Dave and Cathy Kays and Kingsley Mogalakwe
Cathy and David Kays and their families, and Kingsley Mogalakwe are the long~term leaseholders of Jao Reserve. The Kays are one of Maun's oldest families. David's great grandfather first came to Ngamiland in 1887. In 1912 the Kays family settled in Tsau, at that time the headquarters of the Batawana tribe (Maun was not yet founded). When the Batawana tribe decided to establish a new village at Maun and move its headquarters there in the mid~twenties, the Kays family moved with them. David's father, Ronnie, was instrumental in advising the Batawana Tribal Authorities on the formation of Moremi Game Reserve and assisted in the demarcation of the reserve's boundaries. Kingsley Mogalakwe is from a prominent and well~known Maun family. His uncle, Montsho Mogalakwe, was also instrumental in the formation of Moremi Game Reserve and has now retired from service in Maun as the deputy chief for Ngamiland. Like all families raised in and around the Okavango, wildlife was in their blood, and they spent most of their lives out in the bush. When they won the rights for the Jao Reserve in the recent tender process, they were determined to make this Botswana's finest reserve. They turned their backs on hunting, even though it is allowed in this reserve. They are only the second reserve in Botswana not to hunt, when hunting is allowed. They have decided to focus all their efforts on developing Jao into a superb photographic reserve, but in the process they lose about US$300,000 in hunting revenue every year to ensure great game viewing and a superb wildlife product in the long term. The two camps they have built ~ Jao and Kwetsani ~ are two of the top camps in the Okavango.
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Day 4 Okavango Delta Water Based Camp | Meals: BLD
A light aircraft flight takes you to your water-based camp today. Xigera Camp (pronounced Keejera) is located on a riverine island right in the heart of the Okavango Delta. This part of the Moremi Game Reserve is a true wetland paradise, with Xigera Camp surrounded by deep channels and lush vegetation.
Xigera Camp consists of ten luxuriously furnished tented rooms - each with en-suite facilities and an outdoor shower. Raised on wooden platforms and walkways, each tent offers superb views of the seasonal Okavango Delta floodplains and the lagoon. The feeling of living in the midst of a riverine forest is one of the features of Xigera Camp.
Meals and evening drinks are enjoyed in the lounge, pub and dining area overlooking a permanently flowing channel or under the stars in a traditional African boma. For those hot days there is a small plunge pool in which to cool off.
Guests are sometimes treated to close-up views of lion or leopard using the footbridge connecting Xigera Camp's island to the next! The camp "newspaper" (a sand pit built into the bridge to capture paw prints) is "read" each morning and provides information on unseen nightly visitors to camp.
Permanent water year-round allows an unparalleled variety of activities such as mokoro trips, game drives and motorboat outings. Xigera Camp is the only camp in the area - ensuring total privacy.
Xigera
Xigera (pronounced Keejera) is one of the Okavango and Botswana's best kept secrets. Built in one of the most beautiful corners of the Okavango, Xigera Camp is is situated on "Paradise Island" within the Moremi Game Reserve. Xigera is in an area which has permanent water all year round, which makes it the perfect water and land activity camp. It is one of the only Okavango camps to offer mekoros and boating trips, foot safaris and game drives in total privacy, with the main emphasis being on water activities.
Xigera was rated as one of the top destinations of the 'Ultimate Safari' in the March 1999 issue of Conde Nast Traveler.
The new Xigera opened in April 2000. The old camp has been completely torn down and a wonderful new camp has been built on a new and better site on the island. The camp takes a maximum of sixteen guests in superb and comfortably furnished tented rooms. En suite bathrooms indoors have showers, flush toilets and an outdoor toilet and shower. The rooms are built within a shady grove and overlook a floodplain and waterhole which is often teeming with Red Lechwe and other animals. Meals are enjoyed in the dining room overlooking the main river, which, along with the pub and lounge area, is under thatch. Raised walkways connect the rooms to the dining area. There is a plunge pool.
Game Viewing
Xigera has excellent birding. Pel's Fishing Owl, Wattled Crane, African Skimmers, Slaty Egret, Rufousbellied Heron, Swamp Boubou and a host of eagles, vultures and raptors will keep the bird~lover fully occupied. The rare Sitatunga antelope are at their highest density in the Okavango in the Xigera area. Stalking Sitatunga silently by mokoro is an experience never to be forgotten. The wooden foot bridge, which connects this island to the next, is often used by Lion and Leopard to move between islands. Many a guest has enjoyed Lion viewing from the dining room. When water levels permit, game drives are an attraction. Some years we can drive throughout the year. If there has been a very high flood, we can only usually drive from late September to April.
Xigera has something for everyone, in an area where there are no other Moremi camps. Great scenery and activities in a totally private setting make Xigera a wonderful area. The quiet waterways offer perfect mokoro opportunities ~ some lucky guests have even seen Leopard from their mekoros. Game drives give guests a different perspective of the area. Boating takes one further afield, and the walks offer the opportunity to get close to wild Africa. When the new park rules come into effect in 2001 or 2002, night drives will also be allowed. To get the best wildlife experience, we suggest you mix your activities.
The Owners - Hennie and Angela Rawlinson
Hennie and Angela Rawlinson are a well~respected couple from Maun, with incredible experience in the Okavango Delta. Hennie built the original Xigera way back in 1986. Prior to his Xigera days, he was one of the region's best camping safari guides. Hennie is a commercial pilot and runs a charter operation in Maun. Angela met Hennie while he was managing Xigera in the 1980s and the area has a very special place in their hearts. When the lease at Xigera came up for tender in 1998, they focused all their attention on winning the lease. Hennie and Angela reckon that it was their passion for the area which showed in their writing and won them the tender. They now have this prime site within the Moremi Game Reserve for the next 15 years and they have a built a superb camp which is an absolute winner.
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Day 5 Okavango Delta Water Based Camp | Meals: BLD
A mokoro ride is mandatory at Xigera Camp. On this traditional dug-out canoe, the only sounds are the rustling of the wind through the reeds, the lapping of the water against the boat, and the call of the African Fish-Eagle. The blue of the sky is mirrored in the water, broken only by large round water lily leaves and their stunning purple and white flowers.
Xigera Camp is a delight for birdwatchers, with Pel's Fishing-Owl, African Skimmer, Slaty Egret, Wattled Crane and a host of raptors, other waterbirds and colourful kingfishers to be seen. An abundance of wildlife includes red lechwe, lion, and spotted hyaena.
Xigera
Xigera (pronounced Keejera) is one of the Okavango and Botswana's best kept secrets. Built in one of the most beautiful corners of the Okavango, Xigera Camp is is situated on "Paradise Island" within the Moremi Game Reserve. Xigera is in an area which has permanent water all year round, which makes it the perfect water and land activity camp. It is one of the only Okavango camps to offer mekoros and boating trips, foot safaris and game drives in total privacy, with the main emphasis being on water activities.
Xigera was rated as one of the top destinations of the 'Ultimate Safari' in the March 1999 issue of Conde Nast Traveler.
The new Xigera opened in April 2000. The old camp has been completely torn down and a wonderful new camp has been built on a new and better site on the island. The camp takes a maximum of sixteen guests in superb and comfortably furnished tented rooms. En suite bathrooms indoors have showers, flush toilets and an outdoor toilet and shower. The rooms are built within a shady grove and overlook a floodplain and waterhole which is often teeming with Red Lechwe and other animals. Meals are enjoyed in the dining room overlooking the main river, which, along with the pub and lounge area, is under thatch. Raised walkways connect the rooms to the dining area. There is a plunge pool.
Game Viewing
Xigera has excellent birding. Pel's Fishing Owl, Wattled Crane, African Skimmers, Slaty Egret, Rufousbellied Heron, Swamp Boubou and a host of eagles, vultures and raptors will keep the bird~lover fully occupied. The rare Sitatunga antelope are at their highest density in the Okavango in the Xigera area. Stalking Sitatunga silently by mokoro is an experience never to be forgotten. The wooden foot bridge, which connects this island to the next, is often used by Lion and Leopard to move between islands. Many a guest has enjoyed Lion viewing from the dining room. When water levels permit, game drives are an attraction. Some years we can drive throughout the year. If there has been a very high flood, we can only usually drive from late September to April.
Xigera has something for everyone, in an area where there are no other Moremi camps. Great scenery and activities in a totally private setting make Xigera a wonderful area. The quiet waterways offer perfect mokoro opportunities ~ some lucky guests have even seen Leopard from their mekoros. Game drives give guests a different perspective of the area. Boating takes one further afield, and the walks offer the opportunity to get close to wild Africa. When the new park rules come into effect in 2001 or 2002, night drives will also be allowed. To get the best wildlife experience, we suggest you mix your activities.
The Owners - Hennie and Angela Rawlinson
Hennie and Angela Rawlinson are a well~respected couple from Maun, with incredible experience in the Okavango Delta. Hennie built the original Xigera way back in 1986. Prior to his Xigera days, he was one of the region's best camping safari guides. Hennie is a commercial pilot and runs a charter operation in Maun. Angela met Hennie while he was managing Xigera in the 1980s and the area has a very special place in their hearts. When the lease at Xigera came up for tender in 1998, they focused all their attention on winning the lease. Hennie and Angela reckon that it was their passion for the area which showed in their writing and won them the tender. They now have this prime site within the Moremi Game Reserve for the next 15 years and they have a built a superb camp which is an absolute winner.
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Day 6 Linyanti Reserve | Meals: BLD
A light aircraft flight takes you to your last stop - the Linyanti Reserve. The 275,000 acre Linyanti Reserve lies northeast of the Okavango Delta and is home to the Savuti Channel. Linyanti is also home to a wide variety of predators and large concentrations of plains game - particularly elephant and migrating zebra. After settling in at your camp, you might enjoy a nature walk along the Linyanti River or perhaps a boat trip to view hippos. Bird-lovers will delight in the search for carmine bee-eaters, redbilled woodhoopoes, emeraldspotted doves, darters and fish eagles. Linyanti is also one of the few spots in Botswana where you might spot the stunning Narina trogon.
Savuti
Savuti Camp is situated in the southern part of the Linyanti Wildlife Reserve in Northern Botswana. It is built along the Savuti Channel and can accommodate eight guests at a time. The Savuti Channel is a legendary wildlife region, best known for its large number of predators. When the channel flows, water travels from the Linyanti marshes into the interior of Chobe National Park. The channel stopped flowing in 1980 and what was a Hippo-filled river is now wide open grasslands. Savuti Camp is a small and intimate tented camp in an isolated area, far from any crowds. If you are looking for that Savuti experience of old, Savuti Camp should not be missed. Accommodation is in five large comfortable walk-in tents with en suite facilities. Each tent has its own bathroom with a shower, handbasin and flush toilet. There is a separate dining room and pub under reed and thatch, as well as a plunge pool. Three of the tented rooms have bathrooms inside the tents and two of the rooms have more open bathrooms with two of the best bathroom views in Africa.
Game concentrations here are high, especially in our winter months. Besides your normal plains game, the area has good concentrations of Roan, Sable and Giraffe. All the predators occur in the area - Lion, Leopard, Cheetah and Wild Dog. More than 40 different Lion have been identified along the channel around the camp. The Chobe/Linyanti area is renowned for its dense Elephant population and for some of the best Elephant viewing anywhere in Africa in the winter months. As the waterhole in front of the camp is the only supply of water for a large area in the dry winter months, one of the highlights for Savuti Camp is the fantastic wildlife viewing directly from the camp. Hides at other waterholes are also a special feature. As Savuti Camp is within the private Linyanti Wildlife Reserve, activities are not limited to the rules and regulations of Chobe. Game drives, night drives and walks with an armed guide are available along with a number of elevated hides where guests can view animals quietly and safely away from vehicles.
The Linyanti Reserve is a multi-purpose reserve where photographic safaris are conducted and where hunting is technically allowed. Camp management have decided not to hunt anywhere in this area and as a result forfeit well over US$300,000 in revenue per annum. They wish to ensure that animals can breed up to their maximum numbers and live lives that are not negatively impacted by humans.
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Day 7 & 8 Linyanti Reserve | Meals: BLD
Savuti Camp is situated in an isolated part of the Linyanti Concession along the Savute Channel in northern Botswana. The site of Savuti Camp is about 17 kilometres 'downstream' from the Zibadianja Lagoon - the source of the Savute Channel. The Channel stopped flowing between 1980 and 2008; during this time it was an unusual and productive ribbon of grassland that served as a corridor and feeding ground in the surrounding woodland for a wide variety of herbivores.
In 2008, the Savute Channel once more became a deep, clear waterway harbouring hippo and aquatic life with myriad varieties of waterbirds. Wildlife, from plains game to a plethora of predators, has had to adapt to a new source of water and all the opportunities and menaces it has brought with it.
This intimate camp's en-suite accommodation is in seven large walk-in tents that are raised off the ground and face onto the Savute Channel. From the camp's thatched dining area, a plunge pool and large viewing area with fire pit extend outwards on raised wooden decks, providing a wonderful view of the Savute Channel and its wildlife.
Explore the Savute Channel and its environs through day and night game drives, nature walks with a guide (on request), and several well-positioned hides for safe, up-close animal viewing. Savuti Camp's former 'wood-pile hide' in front of camp is now part of the flowing Savute and famous for spectacular elephant viewing in the drier winter months.
Game concentrations here are high, particularly in the winter dry season, and apart from abundant plains game, species such as roan and sable antelope, southern giraffe, lion, leopard, cheetah, spotted hyaena, black-backed jackal and wild dog may also be encountered. In winter, this area can also be excellent for the sought-after aardvark and aardwolf, which are big ticks on anyone's mammal lists!
Savuti
Savuti Camp is situated in the southern part of the Linyanti Wildlife Reserve in Northern Botswana. It is built along the Savuti Channel and can accommodate eight guests at a time. The Savuti Channel is a legendary wildlife region, best known for its large number of predators. When the channel flows, water travels from the Linyanti marshes into the interior of Chobe National Park. The channel stopped flowing in 1980 and what was a Hippo-filled river is now wide open grasslands. Savuti Camp is a small and intimate tented camp in an isolated area, far from any crowds. If you are looking for that Savuti experience of old, Savuti Camp should not be missed. Accommodation is in five large comfortable walk-in tents with en suite facilities. Each tent has its own bathroom with a shower, handbasin and flush toilet. There is a separate dining room and pub under reed and thatch, as well as a plunge pool. Three of the tented rooms have bathrooms inside the tents and two of the rooms have more open bathrooms with two of the best bathroom views in Africa.
Game concentrations here are high, especially in our winter months. Besides your normal plains game, the area has good concentrations of Roan, Sable and Giraffe. All the predators occur in the area - Lion, Leopard, Cheetah and Wild Dog. More than 40 different Lion have been identified along the channel around the camp. The Chobe/Linyanti area is renowned for its dense Elephant population and for some of the best Elephant viewing anywhere in Africa in the winter months. As the waterhole in front of the camp is the only supply of water for a large area in the dry winter months, one of the highlights for Savuti Camp is the fantastic wildlife viewing directly from the camp. Hides at other waterholes are also a special feature. As Savuti Camp is within the private Linyanti Wildlife Reserve, activities are not limited to the rules and regulations of Chobe. Game drives, night drives and walks with an armed guide are available along with a number of elevated hides where guests can view animals quietly and safely away from vehicles.
The Linyanti Reserve is a multi-purpose reserve where photographic safaris are conducted and where hunting is technically allowed. Camp management have decided not to hunt anywhere in this area and as a result forfeit well over US$300,000 in revenue per annum. They wish to ensure that animals can breed up to their maximum numbers and live lives that are not negatively impacted by humans.
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Day 9 Maun-Depart | Meals: B
Your trip ends today as a light aircraft takes you back to Maun where you begin your journey home.
