Kgao Island lies in the northern Okavango Delta, and Duke’s Camp occupies it lightly: eight canvas tents raised on decks beneath ebony and leadwood, facing a permanent lagoon. The private concession borders Moremi Game Reserve, and the mood inside is a deliberate 1930s expedition, all brass and leather, campaign chests and Persian rugs over polished wood. There is no cellphone signal on the island.
Elephants and red lechwe cross the floodplain in front of the tents.
When the flood is up, mokoro and motorboat take over the channels between the islands. As the water drops, the game drives and the walking come into their own, so a stay of a few nights usually takes in both. Elephants and red lechwe cross the floodplain in front of the tents. The fish eagle’s call carries across the lagoon most of the day.
Sarefo Sarefo, known as Duke, was born on Kgao Island. He is a Wayeyi man, and his family fished these channels. In 2002 he applied for formal ownership of the island, in recognition of that history. The camp stands here today under a lease agreement with him, and so it carries his name, not a founder’s.
They read spoor on foot, pole the mokoros and run the night drives.
Ralph Bousfield built the camp, extending into water and floodplain the vintage safari style he established at Jack’s Camp on the Makgadikgadi Pans. The guides are trained in that tradition. They read spoor on foot, pole the mokoros and run the night drives. The mess tent holds cabinets of curiosities, and afternoon tea is served in a Persian tea tent with cushions on the floor.
Each tent opens through canvas onto its own deck, a lounger and chairs facing the water. Inside, the look is period: mosquito nets hang over hand-carved four-poster beds, Persian rugs cover the polished floorboards, the tent linings are paisley, and mahogany campaign chests and historical prints finish the walls. Even the bathrooms keep to it, with brass fittings and showers indoors and out. The same spirit runs through the library and bar, built as period pieces complete with a drinks cabinet, though the power behind it all is solar, around the clock. For families, the family tent puts two en-suite bedrooms either side of a lounge, with its own plunge pool.
The concession runs to roughly 890 square kilometres of floodplain, channels and island woodland, and vehicle numbers across it are held down. Game drives carry a maximum of seven guests, with rooftop seats for spotting. Because the land is private and not reserve, the guides can leave the track, drive after dark with a spotlight and walk. The water widens the choice further. Fishing runs from March to December, and longer stays can take in a night of fly-camping on a private island, a bedroll and a mosquito net under the stars. From above, helicopters cross the Delta to the rock art at Tsodilo Hills.
Guests are walked to their tents after dark, when the hippos are loud on the lagoon.
Elephants feed through the leadwood branches within sight of the decks, and buffalo move in large herds across the floodplain while red lechwe splash through shallow water. Sitatunga keep to the reeds, and leopard, cheetah and wild dog range across the concession. Guests are walked to their tents after dark, when the hippos are loud on the lagoon. More than 350 bird species have been recorded in the region, among them wattled crane and carmine bee-eater, and a pair of Pel’s fishing owls roosts in the ebony trees above camp.
Before dinner everyone gathers at the mopane fire. Dinner itself is one long vintage table, in the mess tent or outside under the ebonies, three courses on old silver and cut crystal by lantern light. For a larger party, Duke’s East, a four-tent sister camp five minutes away by vehicle, runs its own kitchen and guides but shares sightings with Duke’s Camp, which suits a family or a group taking both, and children are welcome from six. Getting here is part of it too: the Okavango Delta is reached by light aircraft, and the last stretch in is a game drive of about forty-five minutes.
accommodation
Eight tented suites are raised on timber decks beneath ebony and leadwood: five twin, two double and one family tent with two en-suite bedrooms, a shared lounge and a plunge pool. Canvas walls and polished wood floors throughout, showers indoors and out, and a private viewing deck with campaign chairs and a lounger.
activities
Game drives morning, afternoon and after dark, in open vehicles seating a maximum of seven, with off-road driving and walking permitted on the private concession rather than inside Moremi. Mokoro and motorboat trips when the flood allows, fishing from March to December, fly-camping, and helicopter flights to Tsodilo Hills.
conservation
On the concession boundary, Duke's Camp supports the communal herding programme run by CLAWS, which protects cattle from lions and reduces retaliatory killings. The Elephant Express buses, with EcoExist and the Okavango Community Trust, carry schoolchildren and health workers through northern Botswana's elephant corridors.
Get in touch and let’s start the conversation. An initial consultation helps us understand what you’re looking for, whether that’s specific experiences, luxury touches, or marking a special occasion, and from there we’ll guide you through what’s possible so you can decide if we’re the right fit.
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By light aircraft from Maun into the concession's airstrip, then about forty five minutes in by vehicle, which is a game drive in its own right rather than a transfer. That last leg is part of the stay, and we arrange the flight with the rest of your trip.
The usual arrangement is a shared seat in plane service that may make a stop or two on the way, with its time confirmed close to the day.
If you would rather fix your own timings, or you are travelling as a family or a group, we can arrange a private charter instead, typically a Cessna Caravan or a Pilatus PC-12. Pack into soft bags either way, because the aircraft into the Delta are small and a hard case will not go in the hold.
Yes. TravelHealthPro, the UK's official travel health service, classes the northern half of Botswana, the Okavango Delta included, as high risk for malaria from October to May and recommends antimalarial tablets for those months, then as low risk for the rest of the year, when it advises awareness of the risk and avoiding bites.
The CDC names the Okavango and Ngamiland districts among the parts of the country for which it recommends prescription medicine to prevent malaria. Low risk is not the same as no risk.
We do not make medical recommendations, and we would not want to. We arrange travel; we are not doctors. Which tablets suit you, how they sit with anything else you take, and what is right for a child are questions for your own doctor or a travel clinic.
On the practical part, dusk is the hour that matters, so long sleeves, long trousers and repellent are worth the packing space.
Yes, from six years old, and one of the eight tents is a family unit with two bedrooms either side of a lounge. Children of six to eighteen sharing with an adult are charged at a child rate, which we price for your dates.
One thing to know early: a family travelling with a child of nine or younger has to take a private vehicle for the whole stay, and we arrange that from the start.
For a larger family or a group, the four tent sister camp five minutes away is worth considering alongside this one, because the two share sightings but run their own kitchens and guides. The camp is unfenced and hippos are loud on the lagoon at night, so children need an adult with them whenever they are outside the tent.
Yes, and it is one of the things the nightly rate covers rather than a charge on top, so messages, email and photographs are straightforward from camp.
There is no mobile signal on the island, so the wifi is the only way out. If someone in your party has to be reachable at set times, say so before you book and we will confirm what is possible for your dates. For everyone else, the practical move is to download maps, books and anything you want to listen to before you leave Maun.
June to August is the most comfortable stretch and the easiest for general game viewing: dry, almost rainless, with afternoons in the middle twenties and mornings near eight degrees. The flood is usually up through those months, which is when the mokoro and the boat come into their own on the channels between the islands.
September and October are hotter, with October afternoons in the middle thirties, and as the water drops the drives and the walking take over. The rains from November to March bring green country, newborn animals and migrant birds, with the wildlife spread out rather than gathered at water.
Pack a warm windproof jacket, a hat and gloves for winter mornings, because a dawn drive in June or July is genuinely cold before the sun gets up.
Then neutral colours and closed shoes for the walking, a light rain jacket from November to March, strong sun cream and a wide brimmed hat for the middle of the day, and binoculars, which earn their place here. Fishing runs from March to December, so bring polarised sunglasses if that is part of why you are coming.
Three at least, because the water and the land give you two different safaris and a short stay forces a choice between them. Four nights lets you take a night drive and a morning on foot without dropping the mokoro.
Six or seven nights, or eight and more, taken across this camp and its sister camps in Botswana and Namibia, earn a long stay discount off the nightly rate, which is one reason we usually build the whole trip as a single booking.
The rate is fully inclusive:
Outside it sit the flights, premium spirits and wines, gratuities, comprehensive travel insurance, the scenic helicopter flights over the Delta and out to the Tsodilo Hills rock art, a private vehicle where one is needed or wanted, and a community, conservation and reserve fee charged per person per night, which funds community and wildlife work in the concession and applies to everyone aged six and over.
rated five stars by our clients
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our approach
Every journey starts with a conversation. We take the time to understand your vision before we start planning.
Whether by phone or in person, we work with you directly to shape something that is considered, personal, and expertly delivered.
