Moremi Game Reserve is located in the Okavango Delta. This is possibly the most productive area for wildlife viewing within the delta.
Aside from the wetlands, it consists of a dry peninsula, which is excellent for classic game-drive safaris and offers more wildlife sightings than the mokoro (dugout canoe) trips.
All the Big Five are present. The quality of the guiding is superb, and there tends to be as much emphasis on the birds and little creatures as on the flagship species.
Attractions
Moremi offers excellent wildlife viewing, both on land and from a mokoro (dugout canoe). Rhino were extinct in the Okavango, but both black and white rhino have been re-introduced in the reserve, although sightings are still rare.
All the other Big Five are easily spotted. Even the leopards are quite relaxed here. Wild dog sightings are some of the best in Africa. The middle of the Dry season, when the area is most flooded, and food is plentiful, is the time to find the dogs denning.
Moremi is a fantastic birding destination, for both woodland birds and water birds. The guides tend to be enthusiastic bird watchers, which helps keen birders not familiar with the area.
Unfortunately, walking is not permitted in the reserve. Mokoro (dugout canoe) trips offer a good opportunity for photography, as birds tend to let you come very close when gliding on the water.
Moremi’s most sought after special is the rather ordinary-looking slaty egret. Another wetland special, the gracious wattled crane, will be of interest to birders and non-birders alike.
Where to stay
Tuskers Bush Camp
Tuskers share a prime location in a 365 000 hectare private concession on the eastern edge of the Moremi Game Reserve in Botswana.
A newly revamped tented camp, Tuskers has 6 Meru-style canvas units located secretively between the plentiful trees, offering pure safari bliss.
The main dining tent and adjacent bar surround the central boma and campfire, which has a prestigious view of a popular waterhole, while a guest swimming pool overlooks the same scene.
Okuti
You will discover the treasure trove of wildlife that inhabits the Moremi Game Reserve, one of Botswana’s prime wilderness areas. The ceiling fan cooled rooms have en-suite bathrooms and both indoor and outdoor showers.
Each room has a magnificent view of the Xakanaxa lagoon. Public areas include a dining room, sitting room, swimming pool and campfire. Game drives are conducted by specially adapted four wheel drive vehicles.
Camp Xakanaxa
Set in the heart of the Moremi Game Reserve, which is rated as being one of the finest game viewing areas in Africa, Camp Xakanaxa has one of the best locations in Botswana.
Accommodation is in twelve tastefully furnished tents with twin or double beds and en-suite facilities with shower, hand basin.
The tents are situated on the edge of the lagoon and from their private viewing deck, with comfortable loungers, one looks onto the reed fringes at the waters edge.
The camp, with its eclectic mix of furnishings from all over Africa, has a dining room, lounge/bar area, fire deck and plunge pool all slightly raised on wooden platforms with spectacular views over the lagoon. The reception area boasts a curio shop.
At night the camp looks stunning as it is lit by dozens of paraffin lamps and candles. The game drives in this sector of Moremi take one down winding tracks, through Mopane forests and across lush grasslands.
The waterways are either forded by vehicles or crossed on rustic log bridges. The camp faces out over the Xakanaxa Lagoon on the Khwai River, where combined boat and mokoro (dug-out canoe) trips explore the sinuous channels and floodplains of the Delta, one of Africa’s greatest natural wonders.
Birding in the area is excellent, especially in the spring and summer months when the migrants are breeding. To the north are the world famous heronries, which attract large numbers of breeding storks and herons.
Wilderness safaris mombo camp
Newly rebuilt, the concept of Mombo Camp is to maintain the Mombo traditions and history stretching back nearly 30 years, as well as to celebrate our Conservation Purpose – indeed, one of our greatest conservation successes: the reintroduction of black and white rhino into the wilds of Botswana.
The camp’s location – in the Mombo Concession on the northern tip of Chief’s Island within Moremi Game Reserve – is known as “the Place of Plenty” as it is considered one of the best areas for wildlife in Africa.
The area boasts enormous concentrations of plains game and predators which begin virtually on Mombo’s decks, the surrounding floodplains teeming with game year round.
Kwetsani camp
Island tree-houses overlooking a picture-perfect, lechwe-dotted floodplainKwetsani is situated on an elongated island covered with palm, mangosteen and fig trees.
The main area, including dining and lounge area, with its large wooden deck and cool thatched roof, is raised high above the ground and overlooks an expansive floodplain.
A walkway leads to a plunge pool with loungers – a perfect spot to relax at midday. Kwetsani offers excellent land and water activities dependent on annual inundation levels.
Lion, leopard, lechwe and tsessebe are among the major game attractions, while hippo, sitatunga and crocodile reside in the deeper, permanently lily-filled lagoons.
Incredible vistas of the surrounding floodplains dotted with lechwe, other plains game and even lion can be seen from the decks or from the comfort of your tent.
5 Tents: Airy ‘tree-house’ chalets of thatch, wood, glass and canvas; en-suite bathrooms; outdoor shower; connected with wooden walkways Experiences: Game drives Mokoro excursions Boat trips to Hunda Island for game drives (Seasonal) Seasonal hide for sleep-outs or game viewing.
Camp Moremi opened its doors to guests after a complete rebuild of the property. Camp Moremi is owned and operated by Desert & Delta Safaris, Botswana.
Camp Moremi is located on the edge of the Xaxanaka Lagoon, in the heart of Moremi Game Reserve, Botswana. The camp has twelve thatched tented rooms, eleven standards and one family room, all rose on decks with wonderful views of the Moremi bush environment.
The new beautiful public areas include an elevated bar, dining room, lounge, and library, all built within the canopy of large ancient Jackal berry, fig and Ebony trees. Other features include a secluded outdoor dining area, and swimming pool.
Your stay at Camp Moremi is a fully inclusive of accommodation, all meals, all drinks, scheduled guided safari activities, laundry service and National Park entrance fees. Scheduled activities include both land and water activities in the form of guides’ game drives and boat activities within the surrounding area.
Belmond Khwai River Lodge
Nestled on the edge of a lead wood and fig tree forest, overlooking the vast Khwai River floodplains and beyond into the Moremi Wildlife Reserve, sits the luxurious Belmond Khwai River Lodge. Khwai is renowned for its large concentrations of mammals and it is not unusual to see many different types of wildlife from the comfort of your own private deck.
As a year round destination for wildlife, predators can regularly be seen in the area, rated as one of the most prolific in Botswana for viewing wildlife.
The exceptional location of Khwai makes it a regular host to Elephant, Buffalo, Lion, Leopard, Cheetah and Wild Dogs. Birdlife can also be viewed in abundance with exceptional sightings of wildfowl and raptors near the lodge.
At Khwai River Lodge, you are close to Africa’s heartbeat and at the centre of a world that has not altered since life began. You can sense this from the moment you arrive.
Jao camp
A sophisticated and hidden Okavango Delta retreat. Located on a large island in the heart of the Okavango, Jao Camp’s individually handcrafted and luxurious tents look out onto the essence of the Delta – swathes of water, swaying reeds, leaping lechwe and dancing cranes.
The main area is an elaborate two-storey wooden structure with lounge and dining area, two plunge pools, a library, curio shop and boma for dining under the stars, complemented by an excellent wine cellar.
An award-winning spa and gym epitomise luxury in the most remote, scenically splendid setting. Jao’s position is amongst waterways and lagoons, yet close to dry Kalahari woodland – means you can enjoy both land and water experiences, depending on the time of year and the level of the waters that move ceaselessly through the area.
Here, spectacular herds of red lechwe are followed by lion and leopard, while other game includes tsessebe, giraffe, elephant, hippo and crocodile, occasional sitatunga and regular spotted-necked otter.
Experiences: Mokoro • Boating (seasonal) • Seasonal catch-and-release fishing • Day and night game drives • Seasonal hide for sleep-outs or game viewing