Moremi Game Reserve, Botswana

Covering about one third of the Okavango Delta, Moremi Game Reserve is undoubtedly one of the top wildlife destinations in Africa. It is completely buffered by wildlife management areas and consists of permanent swamp, seasonal swamp areas and dry land. All the lodges are luxury camps with en-suite tents.

Bordering Chobe National Park in the north-east, the bulk of Moremi Game Reserve consists of the Okavango Delta itself. The reserve is famous for its variety and beauty and has a great diversity of plant and animal life which are seen against contrasting backgrounds of dry areas and areas of permanent water. Leopards roam in thickly wooded areas and birds, of which there are nearly 500 different species, are attracted to lagoons. Giraffe, buffalo, various antelope including the red lechwe, hyena, cheetah, lion and wild dog all exist in the reserve.

These

animals can be viewed on game drives or bush walks or on board a mokoro, a locally made, dug-out canoe which is poled along by your guide. Between July and October, during the dry season, game viewing is at its peak as animals search for permanent water. Due to Botswana’s eco-tourism policy of high-yield and low impact, wildlife can be viewed in Africa’s natural splendour.

There are many interesting sights in and near the Reserve. At the northern Khwai entrance, visitors will enter the park on a rickety bridge constructed out of mopane poles. There are smaller bridges similar to this one in other areas of the Reserve. A few kilometres from this gate is Hippo Pool, fittingly named after the abundance of hippos that lounge in this area. The hippos are best viewed from an observation platform overlooking the pool. Nearby, Khwai village is home to about 300 villagers, some of whom sell attractive basketwork to tourists. The Third Bridge gate is known for having heavy concentrations of wildlife during the dry season and visitors regularly spot crocodiles lurking in the clear water below.

Chief’s Island

Chief’s Island covers nearly 1000 square kilometres, making up the Okavango Delta’s largest land mass. As it is slightly higher than the general level of the Delta, Chief’s Island never floods. Once the traditional hunting ground of Chief Moremi (hence its name), Chief’s Island is now incorporated into Moremi Wildlife Reserve and no hunting is allowed. Due to its Kalahari sandveld habitat and close proximity to water, Chief’s Island is home to a vast amount of animals.

ACCOMMODATION

• Camp Moremi

An elegant, elevated thatch and timber structure serves as the main building comprising a main sitting area, wildlife reference library, dining room and cocktail bar inviting a true sense of the African wilderness. Other facilities include a secluded swimming pool with sundeck and thatched boma where brunch and high tea are served.

• Little Mombo Camp

Little Mombo Camp is an intimate extension of the larger Mombo Camp in the Moremi Game Reserve, Okavango Delta, Botswana. It shares the same island as its sister and offers the same high standards of accommodation and big game viewing – some of the best in Botswana with panoramic vistas of the surrounding floodplains teeming with wildlife.

• Mombo Camp

Mombo Camp has arguably the best big game viewing in Africa. Located in the Mombo Concession on Chief’s Island in the heart of the Okavango Delta, Botswana, the sheer numbers and variety of wildlife all year round defy description.

• Xigera Camp

Nestled in a magnificent riverine forest, Xigera Camp epitomises the region: a tranquil true Okavango Delta experience. Xigera Camp feels like a place apart, a blue-green bubble in which birds sing and baboons bark, people laugh and glide by on mokoro.