Tawana holds a small stretch of the Gomoti River in the south-eastern corner of Moremi Game Reserve, in one of the Okavango Delta’s quieter sectors. Elephants and buffalo cross the river in front of camp. Eight suites stand on raised decks under jackalberry and leadwood, looking out at water that flows all year. It is a permanent lodge of mud-rendered walls and thatch, not canvas.
Elephants and buffalo cross the river in front of camp.
The reserve is state land, not a private concession, and that sets the terms. Game drives keep to established tracks and everyone is back at camp before dark; there is no off-road tracking, no spotlighting and no walking. What the river gives back is its flow, holding through the months when seasonal pans elsewhere empty, and the lion, leopard and wild dog densities that follow the water.
In 1963 the Batawana, led by Regent Queen Elizabeth Pulane Moremi and her son Letsholathebe II, set aside their ancestral hunting grounds to create Moremi Game Reserve. In recognition, the Tawana Land Board later allocated a concession on the Gomoti to her grandson, Kgosi Tawana Moremi, the present paramount chief, who partnered on the lodge that carries his name.
Not one mature tree was felled to build any of it.
Michael Kornmuller drew the camp as curved, mud-rendered walls under thatch, a permanent structure rather than canvas because cyclone-strength winds now reach the Delta. Not one mature tree was felled to build any of it. Each suite is three linked rondavels laid out like a homestead, entered through a curved tunnel modelled on a woven fish trap.
The Gomoti flows year-round, so as the Delta’s seasonal floodplains dry between August and October the herds come to it: elephants and buffalo working along the river in front of the suites, red lechwe grazing the wet margins, hippo pods holding the deeper bends. Sitatunga, semi-aquatic and rarely obliging, move through the reeds. Lions, leopards and wild dogs hunt this corridor, and packs have denned on the floodplains. Cheetahs and spotted hyenas are here too, and more than 400 bird species have been recorded, among them Pel’s fishing owl, slaty egret and wattled crane.
Mornings begin with coffee on a private deck while hippos grunt in the channel below and lechwe move across the floodplain. The suites are spaced far enough apart that neighbours are neither seen nor heard, and the raised walkways drop to ground level in places so elephants can cross the camp at their own height. Meals move around the day: a cooked breakfast before the early drive, pizza from the wood-fired oven at lunch, dinner in the open-air kgotla under lamplight. The wine cellar is walk-in, and there is a steward to talk it through.
Lions, leopards and wild dogs hunt this corridor, and packs have denned on the floodplains.
Three of the eight suites are built for families, at roughly 130 square metres, with a separate sleeping area for children and a private pool terrace. They suit multigenerational groups and families with older children: the minimum age is six, and there is no children’s club. Elevated walkways, big animals moving through camp and an open pool deck mean children stay with a parent or guardian throughout. One of the family suites is fitted for wheelchair users, with grab rails and a portable shower seat.
Access is by light aircraft from Maun to Santawani airstrip, roughly twenty minutes in the air, then a forty-five minute transfer by game-drive vehicle. A helicopter can be arranged instead, and scenic flights over the Okavango Delta lift off from camp. The partnership behind the lodge returns a share of what it earns to Kgosi Tawana Moremi and the Batawana, on the land his grandmother protected.
accommodation
Eight suites, five standard at around 100 square metres and three family units at roughly 130. Each is three linked thatched rondavels: bedroom under a mosquito net with over-bed cooling, a lounge and writing desk, twin sinks, a full bath, indoor and outdoor showers, and a private deck with plunge pool and shaded sala.
activities
Morning and afternoon game drives on Moremi's established tracks, with predator viewing along the Gomoti the reason most guests come. Birding is strong, with over 400 species recorded. Drives end before dark. Scenic helicopter flights, spa treatments, a gym and a 16-metre lap pool. Guides pack breakfast for early starts.
conservation
The BioBoundary Project, researching plant-based airborne repellents to keep elephants off crops and out of villages, is supported from here. So are the Mmogo Centres for Community Development in northwest Botswana, an early learning centre run with the Shorobe community, and a local women's weaving group whose work fills the camp.
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 an airstrip in the south eastern corner of Moremi, then a drive in along the Gomoti. 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 travelling as a family or a group, we can arrange a private charter, typically a Cessna Caravan or a Pilatus PC-12. Soft bags only, because the aircraft are small. This is one of the quieter corners of the Delta, so the flight tends to be a short one with few other passengers going the same way.
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 is worth a check close to departure because both sources revise their guidance. The Gomoti flows past camp all year, which is the reason the game stays and also the reason mosquitoes are around in the dry months. Long sleeves and trousers once the light goes, and repellent on the deck, are worth the small effort.
Yes, from six years old, and three of the eight suites are family rooms, which is an unusually high proportion and makes this a straightforward choice for two families travelling together.
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. Worth knowing for a family: because this is state reserve rather than private concession, everyone is back in camp before dark, so the day has a shape that suits younger children better than a camp running night drives.
Yes, and it is covered by the nightly rate rather than charged on top, so messages, email and photographs are straightforward from the suite.
Mobile coverage in this corner of Moremi is another matter, and we would rather confirm the current position with the lodge than promise you bars. If someone in your party has to be reachable at set times, say so before you book and we will check it for your dates. For everyone else, download what you want to read or listen to before you leave Maun.
The river runs all year, which softens the seasons here more than at most Delta camps. June to August is the most comfortable and the most reliable: dry, afternoons in the middle twenties, mornings near eight degrees, and the game drawn to the water. September and October are hotter, October afternoons into the middle thirties, and the concentration along the river is at its strongest. November to March brings the rain, a green landscape, newborn animals and the migrant birds, and because the Gomoti keeps flowing the game viewing holds up better through those months than it does away from permanent water.
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, a light rain jacket from November to March, strong sun cream and a wide brimmed hat for the middle of the day, and binoculars for the river crossings in front of camp.
Three nights is the right length here. The reserve rules mean the day runs between dawn and dusk on established tracks, so the pleasure is in the river and in returning to the same stretch of water rather than in ranging further each day, and three days is enough to learn it.
What this camp does not offer is off track tracking, spotlighting and walking, so it pairs naturally with a private concession camp where the guides can do all three. A few nights here for the river and the resident game, then a few on private land for the night drives and the walking, is the shape we would build. 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, and the rate itself covers the suite, all meals, drinks other than premium brands, the daily activities and guiding, the airstrip transfer, wifi, laundry, park fees and tax, with the flights, gratuities, insurance, helicopter flights, a private vehicle and a per person conservation fee outside it.
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.
