Kevin and Shannon Lang were scouting a leadwood grove in the northern Okavango Delta when a leopard stepped into the golden hour light. Its rosettes gave the camp its name, tuludi, the Setswana word for those markings. Seven tents now stand in that grove, six doubles or twins and one for families, each with its own plunge pool.
Lions, leopards, cheetahs and wild dogs all hunt this ground.
Below the tents, a lagoon draws elephant and buffalo through the dry months. The reserve around them covers some 200,000 hectares, bordering Moremi to the south and Chobe National Park to the east. Lions, leopards, cheetahs and wild dogs all hunt this ground. Private land, not national park, means guides can drive off-road to follow them, work by spotlight after dark and take guests out on foot, which Moremi does not allow.
Seasonal floodplains lie a short drive from camp, reached by mokoro or motorboat when the water allows, and red lechwe and waterbuck graze the shallows. Lily-strewn channels hold malachite kingfishers. Mopane and leadwood woodland behind them shelters breeding elephant herds and resident leopards, and the Khwai River corridor carries the heaviest concentrations of lions, cheetahs and wild dog packs.
Lily-strewn channels hold malachite kingfishers.
Back at Tuludi, timber decks carry the main area out over the lagoon: a lounge of cushions and swing chairs, a mosaic-tiled bar, a pool, a fire pit for sundowners and a library four metres up in the leadwoods with a slide back down to the deck. Brunch is often laid under a tree after the morning drive, and every tent is in sight of the water.
Six of the seven tents take twins or doubles, and the seventh is a family tent whose drop-down partition turns one space into two, sleeping two adults and two children. Canvas roofs pitch high over a separate dressing area, twin basins, a freestanding tub with a view across the water, and showers indoor and out. A sunken seating area and a hanging basket chair face the floodplain, and each deck has a plunge pool cut into the hardwood. Air conditioning runs overhead, and the interiors are warm and earthy, with artisan furniture and wildlife artwork commissioned for the rooms.
The guides work off the road here, following leopard tracks or a wild dog hunt across open ground, and carrying spotlights after sunset for hyenas, servals and genets. Walks go out with an armed guide. Rangers leave before dawn to track predators, and guests can go with them. Data collection on the reserve’s wildlife is part of that morning’s work. Mokoro and boat trips run with the water levels, fishing is catch-and-release, and helicopters take in the Delta from above. More than 350 bird species have been recorded here, among them slaty egret, wattled crane and long-toed lapwing.
Rangers leave before dawn to track predators, and guests can go with them.
The Khwai Private Reserve is held in a joint venture between the Khwai Village community, through its development trust, and the camp’s operators, a structure that turned land once used for trophy hunting into photographic country. A morning can be spent in the village itself, learning its history from the people who live there. Skybeds, a short helicopter ride away, puts guests on open timber platforms above a busy waterhole between April and October, booked in advance. High tea and spa treatments fill the flat hours of the afternoon, and the camp runs entirely on solar power.
Children are welcome from six years old, with age restrictions on mokoro trips and walking safaris. Families with children between six and twelve take a private vehicle on game drives, so the day follows the children and not the group. Getting here means a light aircraft into Banoka airstrip and a short drive on the far side, or a helicopter transfer direct to camp. Elephants pass through the leadwoods after dark, and the resident hippo pod in the lagoon carries on regardless.
accommodation
Seven tents in total: six doubles or twins and one family tent, among the leadwoods. Canvas roofs pitch high over separate sleeping and dressing areas, en-suite bathrooms with twin basins, a freestanding tub and indoor and outdoor showers, and a private plunge pool on the hardwood veranda.
activities
Game drives run morning, afternoon and after dark, with guides free to leave the road to follow tracks, freedoms the neighbouring Moremi Game Reserve does not allow. Walking safaris go out with an armed guide, mokoro and boat trips depend on water levels, and there is catch-and-release fishing, helicopter flights over the Delta and pre-dawn predator tracking with reserve rangers.
conservation
A giraffe research project based in the Khwai Private Reserve studies movement patterns and works to reduce conflict between wildlife and people, while trained rangers patrol the reserve, log wildlife data and protect trees from damage. In Khwai Village, the Maria Ramsden Learning Centre runs pre-school classes and serves a nutritious meal each morning, supported by camp revenue.
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 Khwai Private Reserve's airstrip, then a drive in to camp that is a game drive in its own right. The road leg is part of the nightly rate. The flight is not, and we price it separately in your quote so you can see what each leg costs.
The usual arrangement is a shared seat in plane service that may make a stop or two, with its time 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 into the reserve 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 is worth checking again close to departure because both sources revise their guidance. The lagoon below the tents holds water through the dry months, so mosquitoes are about outside the rains as well as in them, and long sleeves and repellent from sundown are part of the evening whatever the season.
Yes, from six years old, and one of the seven tents is built for a family. Children of six to eighteen sharing with an adult are charged at a child rate, which we price for your dates.
One thing to settle before you book: 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 put it in the quote from the start rather than let it surprise you. The sleepout platforms elsewhere in the reserve are a separate booking and take guests of sixteen and over, with twelve to fifteen year olds allowed only when a family takes them exclusively and each child shares with an adult, so plan that in rather than assume it. The camp is unfenced and elephant and buffalo come to the lagoon below the tents, so children need an adult with them whenever they are outside.
Yes, and it is covered by the nightly rate rather than charged on top, so messages, email and photographs go out from camp without a second thought.
Mobile coverage in this part of the reserve is a different question, 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, download maps, books and anything you want to listen to before you leave Maun.
The camp is open all year. June to August is the most comfortable stretch and the easiest for general game viewing: dry, almost rainless, afternoons in the middle twenties and mornings near eight degrees. September and October are hotter, October afternoons into the middle thirties, and the game gathers hard at the lagoon and the few other places still holding water. November to March brings the rain, green country, newborn animals and migrant birds, with the wildlife spread out rather than concentrated.
Pack a warm windproof jacket, a hat and gloves for winter mornings, because a dawn drive in June or July is genuinely cold before the sun gets up. Then neutral colours and closed shoes for the walking, a light rain jacket from November to March, strong sun cream and a wide brimmed hat for the middle of the day, and binoculars, which earn their place over a lagoon. Fishing runs from March to December if that is part of the plan.
Three at least, because this is private land rather than national park and the things that makes possible, the off track tracking, the night drives and the walking, need whole days rather than a single afternoon. Four nights lets you add a sleepout or a morning on the water without dropping anything. 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, a private vehicle where one is needed or wanted, and a community, conservation and reserve fee charged per person per night, which funds community and wildlife work in the reserve and applies to everyone aged six and over. We set each of those out in the quote.
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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.
