The Xudum River runs through Kanana’s private concession in the southwestern Okavango Delta, near Moremi Game Reserve, and it is the water that sets the terms of a stay. Riverine forest of fig, ebony and knobthorn shades the camp, and beyond it lies a floodplain that fills each year as the water arrives from the Angolan highlands, then drains slowly through the dry months, changing the shape of the land as it goes.
Riverine forest of fig, ebony and knobthorn shades the camp
Because the concession sits outside national park rules, guides can do what neighbouring Moremi forbids: leave the road, run night drives, walk out with guests on foot. Lion, leopard and wild dog all hunt this ground, and elephant, red lechwe and hippo move through in numbers that hold across the year rather than peaking in a single season. It is years of reading this stretch of river that turn that range into a coherent safari.
Between roughly July and December the concession hosts a seasonal heronry, storks and egrets, pelicans and herons nesting in their hundreds among the flooded trees, and here Pel’s fishing owl turns up often enough to be a realistic target rather than a hopeful mention. Outside that season the same channels carry mokoro excursions, among them glass-bottomed craft that open up the underwater world beneath the papyrus.
Later in the year the water recedes, and the drier ground draws impala
Motorboats reach lagoons too far for a mokoro to cover in a morning, and once the floodwaters are established the fishing begins, for tilapia, African pike and sharp-tooth catfish. Later in the year the water recedes, and the drier ground draws impala, red lechwe, baboons and large tuskers to what remains, so the emphasis shifts back toward game drives and walking. The whole rhythm turns on the flood.
Rebuilt and refurnished in early 2025, Kanana holds five-star status from the Botswana Tourism Board and wears its country lightly, all natural materials, thatch and canvas and teak decking, in a palette of soft sage, pale yellow and dusty pink drawn from the land around it. The main lounge and dining area sit open-sided on raised decking that wraps around an ancient fig tree, lifting the communal space to canopy height above the floodplain. Meals move between a communal table, the firepit and the jetty, with freshly baked bread and vegetables coming from a live cooking station and a wood-fired oven, both added in the rebuild.
Seven Meru-style tents stand on raised teak platforms, their canvas walls opening onto the water and the channels beyond. The interiors run to rich neutrals, crisp whites and turquoise accents, closer to 1920s explorer style than to contemporary minimalism, and each tent has a one-way glass shower that gives unobstructed Delta views without being seen from outside. A two-bedroom family tent with its own outdoor shower extends the camp to families, and children from seven years old are welcome.
At night, hippos grunt from the river, elephants graze near the tents in the dark, and in season the heronry supplies a constant chorus from across the water. Guests staying three nights or longer can book the sleep-out deck, a raised platform over a waterhole where a bed is made up under open sky. The camp runs entirely on solar power and holds Botswana’s top ecotourism certification. What holds the whole experience together, though, is the guiding: reading the river’s rise and fall, knowing when a mokoro will show more than a vehicle can, and tracking predators across ground that looks different every few months as the flood advances and retreats.
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accommodation
Seven Meru-style safari tents on raised teak platforms, plus a two-bedroom family tent, accommodating up to sixteen guests. Canvas walls open to floodplain and channel views. Each tent has an en-suite bathroom with a walk-in shower and a one-way glass shower; the family tent adds an outdoor shower. Refurbished in early 2025.
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activities
The private concession permits game drives, night drives and guided walking safaris, none of which are allowed in neighbouring Moremi. Water-based activities depend on flood levels: mokoro excursions (including glass-bottomed craft), motorboating, and fishing for tilapia, African pike and sharp-tooth catfish. A sleep-out deck over a waterhole and a seasonal heronry (roughly July to December) round out the programme.
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conservation
Kanana runs entirely on solar power and holds Botswana's top ecotourism certification. Guest contributions, matched by the operator through its Chobe Impact programme, fund education, research and conservation, including Bana Ba Letsatsi, a Maun centre for vulnerable and orphaned children. The camp also takes part in Pack for a Purpose, which invites guests to bring supplies for local community projects.
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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The Okavango Delta
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The Okavango Delta
You fly in. A light aircraft charter from Maun crosses the Delta to Kanana's airstrip in around half an hour, and a short game drive brings you the last stretch to camp on the Xudum River. We build these flights into your itinerary and time them to your arrival in Maun so the day joins up.
Seats are shared and the exact departure is set the day before, once the airline fixes its routing. If you would rather set your own timings, we can arrange a private charter, typically a Cessna Caravan or Pilatus PC-12, timed to your international arrival and flown direct to Kanana's strip. Luggage is limited to soft bags of around 20kg on these small planes, which we confirm with you before you pack.
Yes. The Delta lies in the malaria belt of northern Botswana, so it is not a malaria-free area. The risk is seasonal and at its lowest through the dry winter from June to October, when most safaris run and there is little standing water, then rises with the summer rains from about November.
Guidance shifts from year to year, so we always suggest checking the current position with a travel clinic or your doctor before you travel, and taking the usual precautions against bites after dark.
For big game and predators, the dry winter from June to October is the window, with July to September the strongest stretch. October is the most concentrated for game but the hottest, often above 40 degrees, while the green summer from November suits birding, when the migrants arrive and the heronry near camp fills.
One quirk of the Delta catches people out: the flood arrives in the dry winter, not the summer, fed by rain that fell months earlier in Angola. So mokoro and motorboat trips around Kanana are usually at their best from roughly June to September, and as the water recedes later in the year the drier ground draws game onto the floodplains for land drives. If a boat or mokoro matters to you, tell us and we check the flood before booking.
Winter days from June to September are warm and clear, in the mid-twenties, but dawn drives can start close to single figures, so pack layers you can shed: a fleece and a windproof jacket for the early start, lighter clothes underneath. From October the heat builds fast and can top 40 degrees before the rains break.
Stick to neutral colours, and bring a hat, sunglasses and good sun cream whatever the season. Add a light waterproof if you travel in the green summer months, when afternoon storms are common.
It is. Kanana welcomes children from age seven, and a two-bedroom family tent gives a family its own space. Because the camp sits on a private concession rather than inside a national park, guides can shape drives and mokoro outings around younger guests rather than a fixed schedule.
Tell us the children's ages when you enquire and we will confirm what they can join, since walking safaris and some water activities carry their own minimum ages.
There is wifi in the guest rooms, but no mobile phone signal in this part of the Delta. It runs over satellite, so it is fine for messages and email rather than video calls or streaming.
Many guests treat the quiet as part of the appeal, and the camp can always be reached for anything urgent while you are out.
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our approach
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