Conde Nast Traveler magazine compiles an extensive list of what they deem to be the top hotels in the World. Many hotels on the list are some of our favorite camps and lodges in Africa. Let’s take a look at the Gold List for Botswana – home of idyllic African landscapes, amazing game viewing and a wide variety of safari activities. Ask Africa Easy how to include one or several of these camps in your custom Botswana safari or take a look at our Best of Botswana Safari.
Camp Okavango – Enchanting Camp Okavango sits at the heart of the Okavango Delta on Nxaragha Island. Its main lodge features a cocktail bar, sitting area and wildlife reference library, with the dining room leading onto an expansive open-air patio where evenings around the fire can be enjoyed.
Other facilities include a secluded bird-viewing hide and sundeck with plunge pool. Accommodating just 24 guests in custom African-style safari tents on raised teak platforms, Camp Okavango offers guests en-suite facilities and private viewing decks (photo above left). For guests who demand the ultimate in exclusivity, Camp Okavango has the Okavango Suite, a thatched cottage offering complete privacy.
All game-viewing activities are conducted by experienced guides and include exploring the Okavango Delta by mokoro or motorboat and tracking the larger game species on guided nature walks on the many surrounding islands.
Duma Tau – DumaTau Camp is a ten-roomed luxury tented camp located in the private 125 000-hectare Linyanti Wildlife Reserve which borders the western boundary of Chobe National Park in northern Botswana. It is situated close to the source of the Savute Channel on one of the many lagoons within the Linyanti Swamp system, which makes game drives along the Savute one of the highlights of a stay here.
DumaTau Camp lies under a shady grove of mangosteen trees, raised off the ground to overlook a large hippo-filled lagoon. The tents are spacious, under thatch with canvas walls, en-suite bathroom facilities and an outside shower. Guests can enjoy the night sounds of Africa from the comfort of their rooms, and shower under the stars! There is a dining room, pub, lounge, swimming pool and a special guest bathroom with a fantastic view.
Chief’s Camp – The twelve luxury bush pavilions (photo right) at Sanctuary Chief’s Camp are tucked away in the Mombo Concession, part of the world-renowned Moremi Game Reserve. This area is known as the ‘predator capital of Africa’ and is also home to large herds of elephant and buffalo, making Sanctuary Chief’s the ideal place to experience African wildlife at close hand.
The guest pavilions are hidden away in a jackalberry and sausage tree woodland that is characteristic of the area. All have their own private decks and indoor and outdoor showers. Generously draped mosquito nets and traditional ceiling fans also feature. There is a communal decked living room with stunning views over the floodplains, while the dining area surrounds a fire pit on the very edge of the Piajio plains so that guests can continue their game viewing while enjoying fine cuisine and wines.
Mombo and Little Mombo – Mombo Camp is located in the Mombo Concession on the northern tip of Chief’s Island within the Moremi Game Reserve in the Okavango Delta, Botswana. This area boasts enormous concentrations of plains game and predators – providing arguably the best big game viewing in all of Africa.
Built under large, shady trees and overlooking the floodplains which teem with wildlife all year round, Mombo Camp comprises nine spacious tents raised two meters from the ground. Bathrooms are en-suite, with both indoor and outdoor showers. Magnificent vistas are the order of the day, with all the rooms, the sala, long veranda and lounge area all taking advantage of the very best that the Okavango Delta has to offer. Mombo Camp’s main living and dining areas are under thatch, but a boma makes for a delicious dinner under the stars. There is also a plunge pool in which to relax.
The best big game viewing experience starts on the veranda at Mombo Camp, with unbelievable concentrations of game occurring right in front of the camp. Guests often find animals wandering past, right under their rooms!
Vumbura Plains – Vumbura Plains Camp comprises two separate seven-roomed satellite camps, each with its own raised dining, lounge and bar area tucked beneath a canopy of cool, shady, indigenous trees . Magnificent vistas across the Okavango Delta floodplains are a feature. A star-gazing deck with comfortable cushions protrudes into the floodplain, a place to gaze upwards, or a convivial camp fire setting.
Vumbura Plains Camp is unlike any safari camp you will have seen before. Each large, luxurious room is raised off the ground on wooden decks and each comprises a bedroom, lounge, shower and full en-suite bathroom. Outdoor showers are standard. It is open on three sides, and the billowing curtains between the various areas create the sense of a yacht floating through the floodplains. Each room also has a plunge pool and ‘sala’ – a comfortable area to lie and relax, watching the waving grasses of the floodplain.
