If you want remote and exclusive – how’s this: Mokolwane is the only camp in the Xudum concession, a 180,000 hectare wilderness in the southwest of the Okavango Delta.
It means if you want to see where elephant and one of the biggest populations of leopard in Africa roam free, this really is the only place to stay.
With the isolation comes peace, quiet and beauty, provided by the lagoons, floodplains, grasslands and forests. And you won’t be surprised to learn that given its remoteness, the camp is accessible only by a half-hour helicopter ride from Maun.
There are only seven tents in camp, each elevated ten feet above ground by solid stilts. This raised location makes the view of the camp’s waterhole from your private wooden deck all the more impressive, increasing your chances of seeing wildlife visiting for a drink or to bathe.
Six of the tents feature either a double bed or twins, with the other a family unit offering both a double bed and twins. Sliding doors open out onto a deck that wraps around the tent, providing a variety of places in both shade and sun from which you can enjoy the view. Inside your tent as well as the bed/s there’s an ensuite bathroom with hot and cold running water, so you can set your shower to the perfect temperature for you.
Meals are taken in the communal dining area (also raised on stilts) from where you can enjoy views of the Matsebi River. On the menu, as well as delicious food and drink, could be a sighting of a herd of elephant approaching camp for a feast of their own, courtesy of the fruit-rich trees that grow around this location.
The main lounge and bar provide two more places designed for relaxation. They are connected to a deck where there’s a swimming pool surrounded by sunloungers. After sundown, camp guests tend to gravitate toward the fire pit with comfy seating providing places to relax and reflect on the day.
Elephant and leopard aren’t the only wildlife you’ll get to see when you safari from here, of course. Lion, buffalo and wild dog sightings are also commonplace, so too zebra, giraffe, antelope, wildebeest and more. This variety helps explain the popularity of the safari drives that depart from camp daily in the mornings and evenings bound for the Delta.
Try and get one of the rooftop seats in the safari vehicle for the ultimate experience, and be sure to go on both the day and night safaris, as each offers the chance to see wildlife in different situations.
The expert rangers who’ll be your safari guides will no doubt advise you to keep your eyes on the skies as well as the ground, as there are many wet and dryland species of bird to see here, not least eagles, wattle crane and Pel’s fishing owl. And you can book an easy-paced mokoro safari aboard a canoe, giving you the chance to get closer to water-based wildlife. Don’t worry, you’ll be guided by an expert who’ll do all the work to propel you along the picturesque channels and waterways.
Mokolwane operates within a private Okavango Delta concession, with a focus on low-impact tourism, habitat protection and community partnership. The model is centred on preserving a relatively untouched area of the Delta while generating conservation revenue through carefully managed tourism.
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We are a group of four from Romania and spent 3 unforgettable weeks in Namibia. We can't recommend them enough, and for any future travels in Namibia or other parts of Africa, we will definitely use their services again.
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From the time we put the key in the ignition till we boarded the plane in Windhoek nothing went wrong.
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It was a fantastic experience, everything was very well organised, went smooth and according to expectations. It was our first self drive in Africa and it was a great, unforgettable time.
