Setari stands on Little Duba, a palm island roughly 1.2 kilometres long in the private Jedibe concession at the foot of the Okavango Panhandle. Seven lagoons surround it, and the channels hold their depth all year. Hippos surface in the lagoons within sight of the decks, and elephants cross the surrounding channels. Every outing leaves by boat, mokoro or on foot. There are no game drives.
Hippos surface in the lagoons within sight of the decks.
The flight from Maun takes 35 minutes by light aircraft to Jedibe Airstrip, and from there a motorboat carries you through papyrus channels to the camp jetty. What waits at the end is a camp of canvas and timber, raised on stilts above the forest floor. Nine suites and thatched living areas are linked by wooden boardwalks that wind between the palms.
Grant Truthe and Kate Holmes opened Setari in October 2018, on a concession that had stood empty for close to twenty years, since Wilderness Safaris closed its Jedibe Camp in 1999. Truthe grew up in the Botswana bush. Holmes came from London in 1990 and built a career developing delta lodges. They still run Setari themselves, with two more camps in the same concession.
The mekoro slide low and silent through the shallows.
Three motorised pontoon boats work the channels, two of them with upper decks that lift guests above the papyrus for a clear line into the reedbeds and the open water beyond. The mekoro slide low and silent through the shallows. Behind a poler you sit close enough to watch frogs on the lily stems, and walking parties land on neighbouring islands with an armed guide.
The Panhandle is the narrow, deep stretch where the Okavango still runs as a single river, before it spreads across the sand and fans into the Delta proper. Setari sits at that point of release, in the Jedibe waterways, where the water never fails. Channels stay open through the months when camps further south trade their boats for vehicles. The water also refuses to stay still: papyrus islands break loose and drift, blocking a channel overnight, so the route taken on Tuesday may not exist on Thursday.
Fishing runs from March to December, catch and release, with tackle provided by the camp, and the deep channels hold tigerfish, tilapia and bream. Between August and October, migrating catfish push upstream in numbers. The disturbance draws tigerfish into a feeding frenzy along the papyrus edges. Birding needs no season. Pel’s fishing owl keeps to the riverine canopy, and the waterways hold slaty egret, African pygmy goose and malachite kingfisher, with a seasonal heronry within boat range.
The disturbance draws tigerfish into a feeding frenzy along the papyrus edges.
The suites are canvas on timber, eight doubles and one family unit built as two tents sharing a deck with its own dining and lounge area. Inside, extra-length beds sit under walk-in mosquito nets, with writing desks, sofas, double vanities, a free-standing bath, an indoor shower and another open to the sky over the floodplain. Meals are served family-style under the thatch, or privately on a guest’s own deck, with sundowners on the upper deck of a boat or at the fire pit. Nights carry the sound of reed frogs and hippos working the lagoons.
Jao village, home to some 400 people on a neighbouring island, supplies much of the staff, along with the woven baskets sold at camp, and guests can go by boat to watch the weaving. Children of six and over are welcome, though walking and mokoro outings are reserved for those of twelve and older. Helicopter flights over the Delta can be arranged from camp.
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accommodation
Nine elevated tented suites, eight doubles and one family unit of two tents sharing a deck with a private lounge and dining area. Canvas walls, timber floors, extra-length beds under walk-in nets, writing desks and fans. Bathrooms have double vanities, free-standing baths, indoor showers and outdoor showers over the water.
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activities
Boat safaris on the Jedibe channels, two of the camp's three boats fitted with upper viewing decks. Mokoro outings, guided walks on neighbouring islands with an armed guide, and catch-and-release fishing from March to December. Visits to Jao village, helicopter flights over the Okavango Delta, and a pool and gym at camp. No game drives.
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conservation
The NG24 concession is held under an agreement between the Botswana government, the camp and the Okavango Jakotsha Community Trust. Jao village supplies staff and baskets bought by the camp, which runs on solar power and avoids single-use plastic.
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The Okavango Delta
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