Little Sable’s eight tents are raised on wooden platforms in a grove of tall trees, linked by walkways, in the Khwai Private Reserve, a private concession on the border of Moremi Game Reserve. Elephants graze the floodplain in front of the deck. Zebra and antelope drift across the same grass through the middle of the day, so the siesta hours rarely go unwatched.
Elephants graze the floodplain in front of the deck.
The camp works alongside the Khwai Development Trust, which holds the community concession. Tracy Kelly, who also designed sister camp Sable Alley, gave the interiors muted greys and mustard, woven rugs and black wood, comfortable rather than showy. Only a handful of camps share the reserve’s 200,000 hectares, so sightings are rarely queued for.
In front of camp, seasonal floodplains hold red lechwe, hippos and saddle-billed storks. Behind it, mopane woodland and camel thorn draw kudu, sable, roan and giraffe. Wild dogs have been seen hunting impala through that mopane belt. Lions, leopards and spotted hyenas range across both, so one morning drive can take in wetland species and woodland browsers without covering much ground.
Wild dogs have been seen hunting impala through that mopane belt.
Guides work in open vehicles, and the freedom to leave the track matters most on fresh predator spoor. Spotlit drives after dinner turn up servals and genets, and leopards out hunting. Rangers take guests out before dawn on predator patrols, and when the flood allows, mokoro and motorboat trips reach the deeper channels. Walking safaris cover tracks, plants and insects on foot.
The camp began as a small photographic operation called Pangolin Khwai Camp, spent several years as The Jackal & Hide, and reopened under its present name. Khwai Private Reserve itself was a hunting concession until its shareholders turned it over to photographic use in 2009, and when Botswana’s national hunting ban lifted in 2019, not one of them went back to hunting. The rangers who patrol it now count wildlife populations, watch for poachers, and have spent years coaxing back leopards left wary by that era.
Little Sable’s closest comparison is Sable Alley, twelve tents against eight, with roomier suites, wellness treatments and a lily-covered lagoon of hippos in front of it. Little Sable has no spa, and its view is open grassland rather than water, the same designer’s hand at a smaller, plainer scale. The choice comes down to grander social spaces on one side and, on the other, a camp small enough that the firepit, the pool deck and the guiding all stay within easy reach.
July to October is the driest stretch, when elephant and buffalo gather at permanent water
Under thatch, the main area is open-sided: a lounge, a small bar, dining tables, decking and a firepit where people gather for early coffee and again for evening drinks. In fine weather dinner is served outside, a set menu that changes daily, at individual tables instead of one long communal one. A raised viewing deck looks out over the grassland, with a swimming pool and sun loungers below it. Guests are walked back to their tents after dark.
Light aircraft land at the Khwai airstrip, and a game drive of around forty-five minutes brings guests in, doubling as the first drive of the trip. Helicopter flights over the Delta’s waterways can be arranged. Guests can also spend a night on the reserve’s Skybeds, open platforms raised above a waterhole. July to October is the driest stretch, when elephant and buffalo gather at permanent water, while the flood that carries the mokoro runs roughly May to October. Children aged six and over are welcome, and two of the eight tents are built for families.
accommodation
Eight tents stand on wooden platforms linked by walkways: six twin or double, two family tents. Sliding wooden doors open onto verandas set with director's chairs. King beds convert to twins, and the bathrooms have twin basins with separate shower and toilet cubicles.
activities
Day and night game drives, off-road tracking of predators and walking safaris with an armed guide, all permitted because Khwai Private Reserve is privately held, not national park land. Mokoro and boat trips run when water allows, alongside catch-and-release fishing, birding, predator patrols with rangers and visits to Khwai village.
conservation
The reserve's ranger unit patrols against poaching and collects wildlife population data, work that has included habituating leopards left wary by the concession's hunting-era past. The Khwai Development Trust holds the concession, and the village's grass-harvesting project supplies the thatch on the roofs of Little Sable itself.
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 Khwai Private Reserve's airstrip, then a drive in that works as a first game drive. The road leg is part of the nightly rate. The flight is not, and we price it separately in your quote.
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, typically a Cessna Caravan or a Pilatus PC-12. Soft bags only, because the aircraft into the reserve are small.
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.
We plan safaris rather than give medical advice, so the decision belongs with you and your doctor or a travel clinic, and it deserves a check close to departure because both sources revise their guidance. The floodplain in front of camp draws elephant through the dry months and holds damp ground with them, so long sleeves and trousers after sundown, and repellent for the fire and the night drives, are part of the evening whatever the season.
Yes, from six years old, and two of the eight tents are family units, which makes this one of the more workable camps in the reserve for two families travelling together.
Children of six to eighteen sharing with an adult are charged at a child rate, which we price for your dates. A family travelling with a child of nine or younger has to take a private vehicle for the whole stay, charged per vehicle per night, and we build it into the quote from the start. The sleepout platforms elsewhere in the reserve are a separate booking and take guests of sixteen and over, so do not count on them for a younger family. The camp is unfenced and elephants graze the floodplain in front of the deck, so children need an adult with them outside the tent at all times.
Yes, and it is covered by the nightly rate rather than charged on top, so messages, email and photographs are straightforward from camp.
Mobile coverage in the reserve is another matter, and we would rather confirm the current position with the camp than promise you bars. If someone in your party has to be reachable at set times, say so before you book and we will check it for your dates. For everyone else, download whatever you want to read or listen to before you leave Maun.
The camp is open all year. June to August is the most comfortable and the most reliable for general game viewing: dry, afternoons in the middle twenties, mornings near eight degrees. September and October are hotter, October afternoons into the middle thirties, and the grassland in front of camp does its best work then, because the animals have fewer places left to drink. November to March brings the rain, green grass, newborn animals and the migrant birds, with the game spread out rather than gathered.
Pack a warm windproof jacket, a hat and gloves for winter mornings, because the first hour on an open vehicle in June or July is properly cold. 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 are worth having when the plain in front of the deck is busy through the siesta.
Three at least. This is private land rather than national park, so the guides can leave the track, drive after dark and walk, and those need whole days to be worth having. Four nights lets you add a sleepout or a night out with the trackers without dropping anything else. 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.
The rate is fully inclusive: the tent, all meals, drinks other than premium brands, the daily activities and guiding, the transfer between the airstrip and camp, wifi, guest laundry, park entry fees and tax. Outside it sit the flights, premium spirits and wines, gratuities, comprehensive travel insurance, the scenic helicopter flights, a private vehicle where one is needed or wanted, and a community, conservation and reserve fee charged per person per night, which goes to the trust that holds this community 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.
