Ralph Bousfield spent more than ten years camping and running mobile safaris across this stretch of the NG12 concession before he built anything permanent. Mbamba, which opened in April 2025, is what came of it: twelve tents pitched beneath a stand of mature leadwoods, looking out over tawny grassland and channels that carry water all year, with Moremi Game Reserve along the concession boundary.
Wild dogs den within reach of camp and hunt across these floodplains
The sensibility indoors is the one Bousfield brought from Jack’s Camp in the Makgadikgadi, all four-poster beds under patterned netting, mahogany sideboards, Persian-style rugs, draped canvas in the mess tent and artefacts laid out across two lounges. Wild dogs den within reach of camp and hunt across these floodplains. The lion prides here are known to take down buffalo on the open grassland.
NG12 is a private concession, not parkland, so the guides can leave the tracks and stay out long after dark. Following a wild dog hunt off-road turns a distant glimpse into a sustained sighting. Night drives, run with filtered spotlights, open up the hours when leopards, genets and civets are moving. Drives go out twice a day in open 4WDs, across the grassland and along the channel edges.
When the flood is high, a mokoro replaces the vehicle.
From April the flood pushes in and the boats come out. Poling the shallow channels brings red lechwe and reed frogs within a few metres, while a motorised boat reaches the deeper lagoons and the hippo pools. When the flood is high, a mokoro replaces the vehicle. Once the water drops, the days turn back to drives and guided walks, and the grazing herds pull out onto the open plains.
Twelve canvas tents make Mbamba among the larger camps in this sector of the northern Delta: six twins, four doubles and two family tents that each sleep up to four. Twins outnumbering doubles is unusual on safari, and useful for friends travelling together. With two family tents and a minimum age of six, this is workable ground for children too. The tents stand on low wooden decks threaded around the leadwoods, not through them, each with a private veranda, an en-suite bathroom and an over-bed cooling system for the hot months.
Much of the newer building in the Okavango Delta runs to pale timber, glass and restraint. Mbamba goes the other way, with campaign chests and curio cabinets, storm lanterns, heavy canvas and worn rugs across the two lounges. Around the firepit at night, hyena whoop across the plains and wild dogs hunt in the dark. It suits guests who want theatre and patina over pared-back design, and who like company. Dinner is family-style at one long table, under canvas or out under the stars.
Around the firepit at night, hyena whoop across the plains and wild dogs hunt in the dark.
Sable antelope move through the concession in numbers, alongside roan and tsessebe, giraffe, zebra, red lechwe and large buffalo herds. More than 350 bird species have been recorded here, among them wattled crane, Pel’s fishing owl, slaty egret and carmine bee-eater. Guests arrive by light aircraft from Maun, around forty-five minutes in the air, and then a drive transfer into camp. Scenic helicopter flights can be arranged, as can an excursion to the rock paintings at Tsodilo Hills.
Between April and October the flood is up and the water activities run. From November the channels pull back, storm skies build over the ilala palms, and elephant and buffalo herds shift with the new grass. The swimming pool sits in its own tented pavilion, with loungers and a view worth keeping binoculars for, and the mess tent holds a small library and a well-stocked bar. Everything runs on solar power, in a camp built where Bousfield had already spent a decade sleeping under canvas.
accommodation
Twelve canvas tents on raised timber decks under the leadwoods: four doubles with king-size four-poster beds, six twins and two family tents sleeping up to four. Each has an en-suite bathroom with flush loo and hot shower, mosquito netting, fans and over-bed cooling, a safe and a private veranda. Laundry is included.
activities
Twice-daily game drives in open 4WDs, night drives with filtered spotlights, and walks with an armed guide. Mokoro poling and motorboat trips run when the flood allows, roughly April to October. Off-road driving is permitted on the private concession. Birding, catch-and-release fishing and helicopter flights are also on offer.
conservation
CLAWS collars and tracks lions along the concession boundary and supports communal herding, which reduces livestock losses and the retaliatory killing that follows. The Elephant Express carries schoolchildren and health workers safely through an elephant corridor.
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 own airstrip, then a short drive in that doubles 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 departure confirmed close to the day. If you would rather fix your own timings, or you are a family or a group, we can arrange a private charter instead, typically a Cessna Caravan or a Pilatus PC-12. Everything goes in soft bags, 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.
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 channels beside this camp carry water all year, so mosquitoes are part of the evening in the dry months too. Long sleeves and trousers after sundown, and repellent for the fire and the night drives, are worth the small effort.
Yes, from six years old, and two of the twelve tents are family units, which makes this one of the easier camps in the northern Delta for a family of four or more.
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 that into the quote from the start rather than let it appear later. The camp is unfenced and wild dogs den within reach of it, so children need an adult with them whenever they are outside the tent, and the walk back after dinner is done with a guide.
Yes, and it is included in the nightly rate rather than charged on top, so messages, email and photographs are straightforward from camp.
Mobile coverage in this part of the Delta is another matter, and we would rather confirm the current position with the camp than tell you something that has since changed. If someone in your party has to be reachable at set times, say so before you book. For everyone else, the practical advice is to download whatever you want to read or listen to before you leave Maun.
The camp is open all year, and April to October is the stretch to aim for. June to August is dry and comfortable, afternoons in the middle twenties and mornings near eight degrees, with the flood up and the water activities at their best. September and October are hotter, October afternoons into the middle thirties, and the game concentrates hard on the channels that still hold water. November to March is green and warm, better for birds, newborn animals and lower rates than for reliable big game.
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, a light rain jacket from November to March, strong sun cream and a wide brimmed hat for the middle of the day, and binoculars. Fishing runs from March to December if that is part of why you are coming.
Three at least. The concession runs to a large stretch of floodplain and woodland along the Moremi boundary, and with water and land both in play a shorter stay makes you choose. Four nights gives you a night drive and a morning on the water without giving anything up. 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 and the trip out to the Tsodilo Hills rock art, a private vehicle where one is wanted or needed, and a community, conservation and reserve fee charged per person per night, which applies to everyone aged six and over. Each of those is laid out in the quote.
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.
