Hunda is the largest dry-land island in the Jao Reserve, run by the Kays family, who hold the NG25 concession. It is ringed by floodplain and seasonal channels in the north-western Okavango Delta. Leopard, lion and wild dog all hunt its dry ground. Among its trees, Little Tubu Camp keeps just three tents for six guests. It has its own staff and main area, with a bar and a pool deck, so one family or group of friends can take the whole camp.
Leopard, lion and wild dog all hunt its dry ground.
Raised walkways thread through the riverine canopy to each tent and on to Tubu Tree, the larger sister camp next door, which shares the same game-viewing ground. The dining, bar, lounge and pool decks are raised among the trees too. Elephants feed in the seasonal riverbed below the decks.
Martin Thomas Kays Sr arrived in Ngamiland in 1887. Ronald Kays later ran Riley’s Hotel. His son David grew up in the hotel, while Cathy Kays grew up on Mosdene, a private nature reserve in South Africa. In 1998 the family took on the NG25 concession.
Each deck looks across floodplain and small tree islands.
Martin Kays joined in 2005 and led the expansion that added Little Tubu Camp, and he now runs the Jao Reserve with David and Cathy. When both Tubu camps were rebuilt in 2024, Cathy took on the interiors herself, in light oak and natural tones, leaving the view to do the rest. Each deck looks across floodplain and small tree islands. Beyond them run the deeper channels.
Hunda stays dry while the floodplains around it fill, and that gives the larger mammals of the 60,000-hectare NG25 concession every reason to stay put. Elephant herds and buffalo move between the woodland and the water’s edge. Giraffe and zebra work the grassland, while cheetah and spotted hyena patrol the open fringes. Wild dog are seen here, too. Game spreads out across the island rather than packing together, so predator sightings are earned. They reward patient guiding.
Drives go out in open vehicles through the mopane and acacia woodland on the reserve’s drier western side, by day and by night. Because NG25 is a private concession, not a national park, guides are free to drive at night. After dark, the spotlight picks out owls, genets and bush babies moving through the woodland. Guided bush walks slow everything to the pace of the tracks and the botany. On foot, too, the guides find the smaller animals that vehicles roll straight past.
After dark, the spotlight picks out owls, genets and bush babies moving through the woodland.
In the winter flood, between May and late September, the camp adds boating whenever water levels allow. Mokoro trips slip quietly along the channels, and there is catch-and-release fishing besides. From the water, the wildlife changes too. Sitatunga work the reed beds and red lechwe the shallows, and the birds of the concession include Pel’s fishing owl and the wattled cranes that are a particular feature of the reserve.
Evenings end with dinner by the fire under the stars. The camp itself is raised into the riverine canopy, linked by walkways, and the power that lights it comes from the sun. That light touch reflects a long stewardship. The Kays family have run NG25 as a reserve since 1998. They say they source locally and support small businesses, and they partner with communities on education and conservation. For the six guests in camp, that history is the ground beneath every drive and every mokoro trip.
accommodation
Three tented suites are raised on timber decks in the riverine canopy, linked by elevated walkways. Each has its own private deck and an en-suite bathroom with an outdoor shower. Cathy Kays oversaw the 2024 interiors herself, in light oak and natural tones.
activities
Day and night game drives in open vehicles, guided bush walks and birding. In the winter flood, May to late September when water allows, boating, mokoro trips and catch-and-release fishing. Night drives and walking are possible because NG25 is a private concession, not a national park.
conservation
The Kays family have run the 60,000-hectare NG25 concession as a reserve since 1998, and Little Tubu runs on solar power. The family say they source locally and support small businesses, and they partner with communities on education and conservation. Across the reserve's 60,000 hectares, which border Moremi Game Reserve, the family count the wildlife from the air each year.
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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No. Little Tubu is a separate camp of just three tented suites, for six guests at most, with its own main area, its own staff and its own dining, bar, lounge and pool decks raised among the trees. Tubu Tree, its larger sister, stands alongside on Hunda Island with eight tents and a family unit, and raised walkways join the two.
The camps share the same game-viewing ground, so the wildlife and the reach of the drives are the same, but meals and evenings at Little Tubu belong to a handful of people. It suits couples and small groups, and a family or a party of friends who take all three suites have the camp to themselves.
By light aircraft. International flights land in Maun, and the small planes that serve the Delta camps fly on to the airstrip on Hunda Island, a short drive from camp. The same aircraft link the Jao Reserve with other camps in the Delta and with Kasane, so Little Tubu can just as easily be the second or third stop on a route as the first.
For your own timings, we can arrange a private charter from Maun straight to the Hunda Island airstrip, usually a Cessna Grand Caravan EX, an eleven-seat aircraft and the mainstay of the charter fleets based in Maun.
Go out after dark. Night drives in open vehicles are part of the programme, with a spotlight picking out owls, genets and bush babies as well as the predators on the move. By day the guides lead walks on Hunda Island, where the attention turns to tracks, plants and the smaller creatures that a vehicle passes by.
When the flood arrives, usually from May to late September and only where the water is deep enough, boating, mokoro trips through the channels and catch-and-release fishing join the list. Hunda Island is the largest stretch of dry land in the reserve, so the drives carry on through the high water while the boats work the channels.
The Kays family, who have run it since 1998. David and Cathy Kays won the concession, known as NG25, that year and opened the first camps in 1999; their son Martin joined in 2005, and the three run the reserve together today. It covers some 60,000 hectares of the north-western Okavango Delta and holds six camps, Little Tubu among them.
The family's roots in Ngamiland go back to 1887, when the first Kays came up from South Africa with five wagons of trade goods, and in 1928 a later generation drove the first motor vehicle into Maun. When both Tubu camps were rebuilt in 2024, Cathy Kays chose the interiors, with basketry by local artists, and the camps run entirely on solar power.
Yes. TravelHealthPro, the UK's official travel health service, places the northern half of Botswana, which takes in the whole Delta, at high risk from October to May and recommends antimalarial tablets for those months. For the rest of the year it rates the risk as low and advises awareness and bite avoidance. The American CDC lists Ngamiland and the Okavango among the districts where it recommends preventive medication.
Low risk is not no risk. We are travel planners, not medical professionals, so whether tablets are right for you is a decision for you and your doctor or a travel clinic, taken with your dates and the official advice to hand. In any month, long sleeves and repellent after dusk are a sensible habit.
June to October. As the Kalahari around the Delta dries out, game gathers on the islands and the permanent water, and the flood from the Angolan highlands fills the channels just as the days turn clear and mild. July to September brings the best of both, and in the Jao Reserve the flood usually lets the boats and mokoro run from May to late September. October can pass 40 degrees.
From December to March the rains turn the Delta green and the channels run low, so the days centre on driving. That season has its own case: newborn antelope with predators close behind, migrant birds in breeding colour, storm skies for photographers and few other people in camp. April, May and November sit between the two seasons.
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our approach
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Whether by phone or in person, we work with you directly to shape something that is considered, personal, and expertly delivered.
