Pelo Camp’s five tents occupy a small heart-shaped island in a permanently flooded corner of the Jao Concession, in the north-western Okavango Delta, and the days are spent in a mokoro, poled through the lily channels. Sitatunga and red lechwe slip through the reeds as you pass. After dark the hippos take over, grunting from the lagoon long into the night.
Sitatunga and red lechwe slip through the reeds as you pass.
The name comes from that outline: pelo is Setswana for heart. The camp opened in 2013 and is run by the Kays family of Maun, who hold the lease on the concession, and their roots here run deep. They have been in Ngamiland since 1887. David and Cathy Kays built the safari business, and Martin Kays joined them in 2005.
Pel’s fishing owl is found here, as are the slaty egret and the wattled crane, and the birding is the island’s strongest suit. Fish eagles call across the open water while kingfishers drop into the channels beside the mokoro, and bee-eaters hawk from the reed tops. In the drier months, elephants wade across from neighbouring islands. The deeper lagoons belong to hippos and crocodiles.
In the drier months, elephants wade across from neighbouring islands.
Lion, leopard and buffalo turn up only occasionally, in the dry season. Big game belongs to Tubu Tree, a sister camp on drier ground in the same concession, and Pelo is the water half of a Jao Concession stay. Splitting nights between the two gives a Delta itinerary both halves of the picture: the floodplain seen at water level, and the bush seen from an open vehicle.
A light aircraft carries guests from Maun to the Jao airstrip, in a concession that runs along the western side of Moremi Game Reserve, and a boat takes over for the last stretch through the channels. The camp at the end of it was built to leave little trace on the island. Its tents are canvas on low timber platforms, and nothing here is permanent. Solar power runs every lamp and fan. Wild date palms, jackalberry and Natal mahogany shade the island, rooted in fine white sand. Inside the tents the materials stay just as plain, with canvas walls and wooden floors.
The main deck joins the dining and lounge tents and looks out over the floodplain. At drinks time, the sun goes down over the water in front of the deck. The rest of the camp is built around what was already here. A raised viewing platform sits on an old termite mound, and a plunge pool waits at the water’s edge.
With no engine, the loudest sounds on an outing are the pole and the birds.
Each mokoro carries one or two passengers, with the poler standing at the stern and driving the boat forward with a long ngashi pole. Passengers sit close to the waterline in a fibreglass hull, low among the lilies. With no engine, the loudest sounds on an outing are the pole and the birds. Outings are spread across different channels, and the motorboat takes over for deeper water and longer distances. Back on the islands, walks led by a walking guide, when one is available, follow spoor and teach bush skills such as lighting a fire with sticks.
The day starts early, with coffee and muffins before the morning outing, and comes back to a plated brunch with salads. Afternoon tea brings something freshly baked before the second trip, and everyone is back by sunset. Dinner is served by lantern light while reed frogs call from the floodplain. On cold winter nights there are hot water bottles in the beds. After a nightcap at the boma, a guide walks each guest back to their tent along sandy paths lit by lanterns.
accommodation
The five canvas tents are spaced well apart on raised wooden decks, screened by palms, and each has a covered veranda facing the water. Inside, the bed looks out over the floodplain and a fan keeps the air moving. The en-suite bathroom has a flush toilet and a hot indoor shower, with a second shower outdoors.
activities
Mokoro trips with a poler cover the lily channels and floodplains, and motorboat cruises reach the deeper water. Guided walks explore the islands, catch-and-release fishing for bream and tigerfish runs in season, and birding is part of every outing.
conservation
The camp sources supplies locally and puts support into education, conservation and cultural preservation in the communities around the concession. 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.
01
The Okavango Delta
02
The Okavango Delta
03
The Okavango Delta
04
The Okavango Delta
05
The Okavango Delta
06
The Okavango Delta
07
The Okavango Delta
08
The Okavango Delta
09
The Okavango Delta
10
The Okavango Delta
11
The Okavango Delta
12
The Okavango Delta
13
The Okavango Delta
14
The Okavango Delta
15
The Okavango Delta
16
The Okavango Delta
17
The Okavango Delta
18
The Okavango Delta
19
The Okavango Delta
20
The Okavango Delta
By light aircraft from Maun to the Jao airstrip in the north-west of the Okavango Delta, then by motorboat along the channels to the island, and the boat ride is a fair one, so the safari starts before you reach camp. The light aircraft also link the Delta camps with each other and with Kasane, so Pelo can follow another camp without a return to Maun.
If you would rather fix your own timings, we can arrange a private charter from Maun into the Jao airstrip in a Cessna Grand Caravan, the workhorse of the Maun charter fleets. Whichever way you fly, pack light and in soft bags, because space on these small aircraft is tight.
You go out on the water, mostly by mokoro, the poled dugout canoe, gliding through lily-covered channels with a poler standing at the stern. Motorboat cruises reach the wider lagoons, guided walks cross the islands on foot with a guide, never alone, and catch-and-release fishing for bream and tigerfish runs in season.
The pleasure is in the small things: sitatunga in the reeds, red lechwe on the floodplains, painted reed frogs on the papyrus and the birds, Pel's fishing owl, slaty egret and wattled crane among them. Big cats are not the reason to come. For classic game drives, we pair Pelo with a drive camp elsewhere in the concession.
The Kays family of Maun, who run the camp and hold the lease on the private concession it sits in. Their roots in Ngamiland go back to 1887, when the family began trading in the area, and today David, Cathy and Martin Kays run the reserve themselves.
The concession, known as NG25, covers about 60,000 hectares of the north-western Delta, with Moremi Game Reserve along its eastern side. The family opened its first three camps here in 1999 and added Pelo in 2013, a small, solar-powered camp of five tents on raised platforms, with no permanent structures on the island.
Yes. TravelHealthPro, the UK's official travel health service, puts the northern half of Botswana, the Okavango Delta included, at high risk from October to May and at low risk from June to September. Low risk is not no risk. The American CDC lists the Okavango and Ngamiland districts among the areas where it advises medicine to prevent malaria.
We are travel planners, not doctors, so the choice of tablets, and whether to take them at all, sits with you and your own doctor or a travel clinic. On a water camp, long sleeves at dusk and repellent close at hand are simple sense.
July to September. The flood from the Angolan highlands reaches the Delta in the dry winter, so the channels are at their fullest just when the rain has stopped, and the mokoro and boat trips are at their best. June and October are good too, with the wildlife drawn to permanent water, though October is the hottest month and often over forty degrees.
April, May and November are the shoulder months: fewer visitors, softer light and the birdlife strong. Pelo is a seasonal camp, so we check its dates and the water for your trip before we book.
rated five stars by our clients
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
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.
