The name Nxabega is said to mean Place of the Giraffe, and the camp is set beside a seasonal floodplain on the western edge of the Okavango Delta. Three tents and never more than six guests sit on a private concession of some 25,000 hectares bordering Moremi Game Reserve, and at night dinner for all six is cooked over coals and eaten round a single fire.
Palms dot the islands out on the floodplain.
The floodplain opens out beside the camp, with islands close by. Palms dot the islands out on the floodplain. Everything runs off-grid on solar power, and the camp is built light, in the spirit of the 1920s mobile safaris but kept on a single site. Game drives, walks and mokoro trips all leave from here, out across land and water.
In the dry season the elephants move through in numbers, while zebra and impala work the floodplain edges with the red lechwe. Because the concession is private, guides can leave the track to follow a sighting and keep driving after dark under a spotlight, neither of which Moremi allows. A vehicle takes six guests at most, the whole camp at once.
Leopards and wild dogs are both seen on the concession.
Leopards and wild dogs are both seen on the concession. Walks set out from camp too, with the guide reading tracks and dung across the palm-dotted islands and into the drier woodland. From about May, once the flood fills the channels, mokoro trips slip out through the papyrus and lilies. The riverine forest is the place to look for Pel’s fishing owl, one of the most sought-after birds here.
From about May, once the flood has filled the reed channels, the mokoro comes out. It is a dugout canoe, poled slowly through papyrus and water lilies, and the same channels hold tigerfish for catch-and-release fishing while the levels allow. On foot, guides read tracks and dung, and the plants too, across the palm islands and the drier woodland.
A butler brings a morning drink with the wake-up call at first light, and the shower runs hot. Between outings, life gathers in a shaded, open-sided living and dining area with a wooden floor and a well-stocked bar. The camp is unfenced, and animals walk through it freely. After dark every guest is walked back to the tent by a guide.
The camp is unfenced, and animals walk through it freely.
With sand underfoot and food coming off the fire, meals have the easy feel of a family camping trip. The chef cooks breakfast over the open fire, and meals come as sharing platters, perhaps fire-cooked paprika chicken with roast vegetables, hummus and tabbouleh. In the evening a drink comes round before dinner, and all six eat together, round the fire or at one table.
A short light-aircraft flight out of Maun lands at the concession airstrip, and a brief drive brings guests into camp. The camp is informal by design, canvas-walled and solar-lit around its fire, though Wi-Fi keeps a line open to the outside world, and guests after polished suites should look elsewhere in Botswana. Here the effort goes into the hours outside, with a guide who has only six guests to look after. That small scale suits families as well: children aged twelve and over are welcome, and a family can book all three tents for exclusive use.
accommodation
Three walk-in canvas tents each have a private deck, full netting and a super king bed. Fans and solar lighting, plug points, USB charging and Wi-Fi are to hand. Behind a canvas partition, the en-suite has a double shower, double vanities, hot running water and a flushing WC. Binoculars and a journal wait in each.
activities
Morning and afternoon game drives run on after dark, and guides can take the vehicle off-road, both permitted on this private concession and not in neighbouring Moremi. Guided walks, birding and stargazing fill out the days, with mokoro trips and catch-and-release tigerfish fishing when water levels allow.
conservation
The camp's community partner is Wild Impact, a foundation working with neighbouring villages including Shorobe, Sexaxa, Gogomoga and Tsutsubega. Guests can ask about a visit to Sexaxa, outside Maun, on the day they leave. Power comes from the camp's own solar plant, so it draws nothing from the grid.
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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By light aircraft from Maun, the gateway town for the Okavango Delta, on a short flight over the floodplains to the airstrip on the camp's own private concession. A guide meets the plane in an open vehicle and drives you the short way to camp, watching for game as you go.
The same light-aircraft network links the camp with the rest of the Delta and with Kasane for Chobe, so it fits a longer Botswana route, and it pairs well with Sandibe Under Canvas and Chobe Under Canvas over a week. For your own timings we can book a private charter, usually a Cessna Grand Caravan seating up to eleven, flying from Maun or Kasane straight to the concession airstrip.
Yes. TravelHealthPro, the UK's official travel health service, rates the northern half of Botswana, the Okavango Delta included, as high risk from October to May, with antimalarial tablets recommended, and low risk for the rest of the year, when it advises awareness and bite avoidance. Low risk is still not no risk. The American CDC lists Ngamiland and the Okavango among the districts where it recommends prescription medicine.
We are travel planners, not medical professionals, so we make no recommendation on tablets. Whether to take them, and which suit you, is a decision for you and your doctor or a travel clinic, with your travel dates in front of you. In camp the tents are fully netted, and long sleeves and repellent from late afternoon help in every month.
No. It takes its style from the old mobile safaris but stays on one site, beside a seasonal floodplain on a private concession of some 25,000 hectares bordering Moremi Game Reserve. It is built to be light rather than to travel: three canvas tents, no permanent buildings, and power from its own solar plant. Six guests is the most it ever holds.
Each tent sleeps two in a super king or twin beds, with a private veranda, double showers with hot running water, a separate flushing loo, a standing fan, solar plug points and Wi-Fi. Meals are cooked over coals and eaten round the fire. The camp is not fenced, so after dark someone from the camp walks you to and from your tent: you never walk alone.
Walk, paddle and fish, as well as drive. Guided walks go out on foot with your guide to read tracks, plants and birds, and you never walk alone. The afternoon drive carries on after dark, when the night animals come out. Stargazing and birding are part of the stay too, and Pel's fishing owl is the bird keen birders hope for here. All of this is included in the rate.
When the flood is in, usually from around May, the camp takes guests out by mokoro, a dugout canoe poled silently through reed channels and lily lagoons, and offers catch-and-release fishing for tigerfish. Both depend on that year's water levels, so we confirm them closer to your dates. Motorboat trips are not offered from this camp.
Yes, from the age of twelve. Each tent sleeps two and there are no triple tents, so a family of four takes two of the three tents and a family of six takes the whole camp, which makes it a private camp for that group. Tell us everyone's ages at enquiry and we will plan the tents and the days around them.
Older children join the same drives, walks and mokoro trips as the adults. The camp has no children's programme of its own, so it suits teenagers who are keen on wildlife and happy with a simple camp more than younger families looking for a pool and organised activities.
June to October, when the Kalahari around the Delta dries out and wildlife gathers on the permanent water, with July to September the sweet spot. The flood from Angola is high then, so the mokoro trips are at their best. May is a strong shoulder month as the water arrives, and October has the most concentrated game but heat that can pass 40 degrees.
From December to March the rains turn the Delta green. Game is more scattered and the channels are low, so the days run on drives and walks, but the birding is at its peak, young antelope are on the ground, the storm skies make dramatic photographs and there are far fewer people about. Winter nights from June to August are cold, so pack warm layers for the early drives.
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.
