Simon and Marleen Byron host no more than ten expeditions a year at Kweene Trails, and Simon is a great friend of ours and one of the best guides in Botswana, with many years in the field. The walking runs between two lightweight canvas camps on a private 30,000-hectare concession in the western Okavango Delta. There is no airstrip. Access is by helicopter only.
Simon is a great friend of ours and one of the best guides in Botswana
Ten expeditions a year is a deliberate restraint. Only one booking holds the concession at any one time, so guests set the rhythm of each day themselves. The wildlife decides as much as they do, along with the water levels and their own appetite for walking, and nothing here is fitted into a schedule shared with anyone else.
Kweene River Camp is the southern of the two, set among arid grass floodplains that flood on occasion and looking out over a channel whose deep pool holds water well into the dry season. Fifteen kilometres north, Magwegwe Camp occupies seasonal swamp with year-round flow, endless floodplains and overgrown islands. Walking the distance between them turns the journey into a slow read of changing habitat, not just a change of scenery.
This is the Abu Private Reserve, home to lion
The nights carry the full bush soundtrack, jackals calling, owls, the rustle of porcupines near the tents. This is the Abu Private Reserve, home to lion, leopard, spotted hyaena and wild dog, alongside elephant, buffalo, giraffe, zebra and red lechwe. More than 380 bird species have been recorded across the wider concession. Its floodplains support large grazing herds, and the predators follow them.
Guest tents at both camps are spacious canvas, Meru or dome style, with firm beds, Egyptian cotton linen and down pillows, and an attached en-suite with a hot bucket shower and a bush loo. There are no plunge pools, no permanent structures, little in the way of built hardware at all. The luxury sits in the space, the silence, the guiding and the food and wine rather than in construction. It makes for a genuinely exceptional under-canvas experience at a time when many Okavango properties are chasing built-form luxury instead, and Kweene Trails counts among the great classic safari experiences still to be had in Africa.
The days follow no fixed timetable. Walks range from a gentle stroll to treks beyond twenty kilometres, tailored to fitness and interest, reading tracks, birds, botany and big game with equal attention. The private concession permits what national parks cannot. There is off-road driving, night drives after genet, serval and caracal, and mokoro when the floodwaters allow, typically June to August. The move between camps on the third day becomes a full day on foot, by vehicle or by mokoro, with a picnic served along the way while the camp is quietly relocated behind the group.
The luxury sits in the space, the silence, the guiding and the food and wine.
All the food is cooked over open fire by bush chefs working with fresh, seasonal ingredients, and eaten communally under the stars or in the open-sided mess tent. South African wines are chosen to match each menu, the one deliberate concession to indulgence in an otherwise pared-back camp. Evenings settle around the fire for sundowners and storytelling before dinner, elephants sometimes drinking loudly at the channel nearby.
Access is by helicopter, roughly thirty minutes from Maun, the flight itself a slow read of the water-laced Delta from above. Scenic flights beyond the transfer can be arranged on request. The camps run on solar power and move with the season, packing down between trips to leave the concession as it was found.
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accommodation
Four to five spacious canvas guest tents, Meru or dome style, accommodating a minimum of four and up to ten to twelve guests on an exclusive-use basis. Each has firm beds with Egyptian cotton linen and down pillows, hanging space, and a private en-suite with hot bucket shower and bush loo. Stretcher beds are available for those who prefer not to sleep low.
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activities
Walking safaris are the signature, from short strolls to treks beyond twenty kilometres. Within this private Okavango concession, off-road driving, spotlit night drives, and season-dependent mokoro trips (typically June to August) are all permitted. The inter-camp move becomes a full-day expedition on foot, by vehicle or by mokoro. Scenic helicopter flights on request.
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conservation
Kweene Trails contributes to Wild Entrust, the predator conservation organisation founded by Tico and Lesley McNutt, which studies lion, wild dog and hyaena in Botswana and supports community initiatives in the Habu Conservancy near the concession. The camps are lightweight, seasonal and solar-powered, keeping the physical footprint on the land minimal.
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
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The Okavango Delta
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The Okavango Delta
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The Okavango Delta
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The Okavango Delta
Every arrival is by helicopter out of Maun. There is no airstrip on the concession and no road worth the name, so no light aircraft leg exists to book, and we time the helicopter against your incoming flight, which for most guests means Johannesburg to Maun in just under two hours. Moving on afterwards, the onward hop can sometimes go straight to your next camp rather than back through town, and we confirm that routing when we build the trip.
Pack soft and light for the aircraft, and keep the camera in reach on the way in.
Yes. The western Delta is malaria country like the rest of northern Botswana, and both the UK's official travel health advice and the CDC recommend antimalarial tablets for the region, with transmission highest from October to May. On a walking safari the advice earns its keep twice over, because you are out at dawn and dusk, exactly when mosquitoes work.
Sort prevention with a travel clinic or your doctor before departure, walk in long sleeves and trousers in the low light, and keep the repellent where you can reach it.
The walking and the mokoro carry a minimum age of twelve, with the guide holding final discretion, and since walking is the entire point here, twelve is the practical floor for a shared departure. Take the camp exclusively, one family, one booking, the whole concession, and there is more latitude for younger children, judged case by case.
We will be straight with you: a child who loves being outdoors will remember this for life, and a child who needs a pool will not. Tell us the ages and we will call it honestly.
Shared departures run on set dates between April and November, with the concession otherwise open to private bookings, so the first decision is which format suits you. Within the season, the heart of the dry winter from June to September brings the easiest walking, low grass, cool mornings and game drawn to the permanent water, with the mokoro window riding on the mid-year flood.
October rewards the hardy with intense game viewing and real heat. Tell us your appetite for distance and we will match the dates to the water.
The expedition rate covers the camps and everything in them: meals cooked over the fire, local drinks stretching to premium spirits and fine wines, limited laundry along the way, the community and conservation levy, and emergency medical evacuation cover to Maun. The helicopter legs are priced separately, and we build them into the quote from the start.
A minimum of four nights applies, which is no burden, since fewer would waste the walk between the two camps that gives the trip its shape.
Broken-in walking shoes or light boots you already trust, worn well before you fly, plus a soft bag kept light for the helicopter. Clothes matter more here than at a vehicle camp, because you are the thing moving through the bush: long trousers against the grass, long sleeves against the sun, a brimmed hat, and warm layers for dry-season mornings that start near single figures.
Binoculars are non-negotiable on foot. Add a small daypack for water and camera, and leave the wardrobe changes at home, since the bucket shower and the campfire do not judge.
rated five stars by our clients
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.
