NXABEGA OKAVANGO SAFARI CAMP
OKAVANGO DELTA, BOTSWANA

- Nine classically elegant safari tents
- Private wildlife concession
- Extraordinary African wildlife
- Day and night safaris and bush walks
- Mokoro (dugout canoe) and powerboat cruises
- Excellent birdwatching
- Exceptional Okavango Delta wilderness

Location:

OKAVANGO DELTA, BOTSWANA

Project Fee:

Price on Application

Seasons:

high season: June, July, August, September & October
mid season: March, April, May & November
low season: January, February & December

Payment:

Pay only 30% at the time of booking, with the balance due 3 months before travel

Notes:

Please telephone for special price rates on group visits or extended stays over three nights.

Reference:

AL001

General Information

Meaning “Place of the Giraffe”, Nxabega is ideally positioned to explore the magnificence of the Okavango – the largest inland delta in the world. A wetland wilderness of looping channels, islands forested with palms and wide grassy floodplains, the Delta is home to a magnificent array of wild animals and exceptional birdlife. Guests are able to experience this irresistible combination of water and wildlife on twice-daily game-drives in open 4x4 safari vehicles, mokoro (canoe) and powerboat excursions.

Accommodation:

NXABEGA SAFARI TENTS, BOTSWANA

Exclusive safari tents: Nxabega is known for its elegant accommodation with breathtaking views of the magnificent Okavango Delta.

Nine classic safari tents on raised wooden platforms
En suite bathroom with shower and flush w.c
Private game-viewing deck
Swimming pool with expansive deck
Gift shop and interpretive centre
Alfresco dining and fireside facilities

Nxabega is an intimate camp for a maximum of 18 guests. It is a skillful combination of luxury and integration with the environment. The heart of Nxabega consists of sophisticated living and dining areas, made from local timber and thatch overlooking the floodplain. From this springboard of comfort, guests are able to appreciate the exquisite beauty of the Okavango Delta.

Enjoy exciting bush picnics in surprise settings, breakfast in bed, lamplit cocktails on a river island, or a walking safari with tasty picnic – provided with pleasure by Nxabega’s warm and friendly staff.

Nxabega’s exciting safari activities : Explore the magic of the Okavango Delta on twice-daily interpretive game-drives, guided bush walks, and captivating mokoro (canoe) and boat excursions.

Activities:

NXABEGA OKAVANGO SAFARI CAMP, BOTSWANA

Exciting safaris: Nxabega is excellently positioned in the 7,000-hectare (17,300-acre) exclusive wildlife concession near the game-rich Moremi Game Reserve in the Okavango Delta. It offers guests a wide range of wildlife related activities and water-based adventures. Enjoy the following safari activities at no additional cost:

Twice-daily game-drives
Experienced rangers and Batswana trackers will lead you on exhilarating game-drives in open 4x4 safari vehicles. Exciting spot lit night game-drives may reveal hunting prides of lion or the elusive leopard and other nocturnal creatures.

Interpretive bush walks
Explore the Delta on interpretive wilderness walks with a professional guide steeped in knowledge of the local fauna and flora.

Tranquil mokoro (dugout canoe) and boat excursions
Few memories can equal being poled through the channels of the delta in a mokoro or on a boat excursion. These activities are best from June to September.

Exceptional birdwatching
Nxabega offers abundant bird-watching opportunities with 349 species recorded here. The area is rich in wetland species such as African jacana, malachite kingfisher and openbilled stork. You have an excellent chance of spotting Pel’s fishing owl – one of only three fishing owls in Africa – while enjoying a mokoro or boat excursion.

Fishing
With myriad fish species including the finetoothed squeaker and African pike, fishing from Nxabega's powerboat is an enjoyable excursion.

Game viewing:

NXABEGA OKAVANGO SAFARI CAMP, BOTSWANA

African Big Game: Nxabega’s five distinct habitats within the magnificent Okavango Delta wilderness support an incredible diversity of wildlife:

Large herds of elephant
Endangered African wild dog
Resident rare Pel’s fishing owls
Semi-aquatic red lechwe antelope
Exceptional birdlife including numerous ‘Okavango Specials’
Elegant groves of real ran palms
Impressive baobab, leadwood and sausage trees

Nxabega Okavango Safari Camp habitats:
Open woodland savanna is dominated by impressive specimens of knob thorn, umbrella thorn, marula and leadwood trees, with occasional monumental baobabs. Evergreen riverine forest grows alongside river channels and on the fringes of islands, with mahogany, jackalberry, sausage tree, sycamore fig and mangosteen prominent. Floodplain grasslands consist of grass species which are able to withstand seasonal inundation. Palm savanna is an open grassy habitat typified by groves of tall palm and fragrant wild sage. Permanent channels and swamps are crowded with papyrus, miscanthus grass and colonies of swamp fig. Lagoons of open water are typically decorated with water lily, water chestnut and other aquatic plants.

Mammals at Nxabega Okavango Safari Camp:
Larger herbivores - including elephant and buffalo. Lion prides, cheetah, leopard and African wild dog may be encountered. Herds of handsome red lechwe favour the edges of floodplains, often feeding in the company of tsessebe. Hippos reside in deeper channels and lagoons. Honey badgers are observed during daylight hours. Roan and sable antelope favour taller grass in open woodlands while the sitatunga keep to dense papyrus beds. Families of dwarf and banded mongoose occupy large termite mounds. Noisy epauletted fruit bats sip nectar from baobab and sausage tree blooms and feast on ripe figs.

Birds at Nxabega Okavango Safari Camp:
Almost 350 species are recorded. Slaty egret, lesser jacana, wattled crane, coppery-tailed coucal, Hartlaub’s babbler, greater swamp warbler, chirping cisticola, swamp boubou and brown firefinch are ‘Okavango Specials’. Common in savanna are Dickinson’s kestrel, red-billed spurfowl, Kalahari scrub-robin and violet-eared waxbill. Herons, egrets, storks and other waterfowl abound with flocks following the receding floodwaters. African pygmy goose, white-backed duck and African jacana favour lily-covered lagoons. Abundant African fish-eagle course the waterways in search of prey. After dark, the rare Pel's fishing-owl (opposite) emerge to sit in wait at clear pools.

Other African wildlife:
Predatory tigerfish and African pike flourish in clear waters, where various tilapia, catfish and squeakers also thrive. Dazzling dragonflies pursue prey along waterways. Colourful painted reed-frog, long reed-frog and bubbling kassina are two commonly encountered frogs. Nile crocodile, water monitor and Okavango hinged-terrapin are common aquatic reptiles. Massive termite colonies are the foundations for Okavango islands and these industrious insects form an important component of the diet for many mammals and birds.

Conservation

ECOTOURISM AT NXABEGA OKAVANGO SAFARI CAMP, BOTSWANA

Nxabega Okavango Safari Camp is committed to the core principles: Care of the Land, Care of the Wildlife, Care of the people.

The focus is: Community equity, income generation, education and health care are a primary concern. In consultation with community organisations such as the Africa Foundation – a not-for-profit rural development organisation – our partner CC Africa has contributed significantly towards improving the prosperity and living conditions of rural communities.

Vegetable garden project in Botswana: The Africa Foundation, together with CC Africa, assisted four women within the Shorobe community – Tshele Segobanyana, Leponye Boitumelo, Segakgamaleng Bakae and Maria Kangodi – with their own vegetable and herb garden project. They rented a piece of land, water pump and irrigation pipes from the land board, and grew a wide range of vegetables and fresh herbs which they sold to neighbouring lodges – Nxabega Okavango Safari Camp and Sandibe Safari Lodge – and to other suppliers in Maun. They have since relocated their garden to a new plot of land which was obtained through the chief and land board. Money made from their original garden was used for fencing, and a loan from the National Development Bank was used to sink a borehole where a good supply of water was found. Africa Foundation funds have been used to purchase a vehicle for the community to transport the produce through to Nxabega, Sandibe and Maun.

Ecotourism in Africa: Guests play a critical role in helping realise the dream and vision: to create a model in wise land management, integrating international travellers and rural people to their mutual benefit and demonstrating that wildlife can be preserved on a sustainable basis by all.

Positive Health Programme:
Our partner CC Africa strongly believes in its people and was recently listed as one of three finalists in the Investor in People category of the 2005 Tourism for Tomorrow Awards. The October 2005 edition of Africa Geographic featured an article on AIDS and conversation, and highlighted the activities and programmes that various African companies are implementing in order to increase AIDS awareness and, in doing so, empower the communities taking care of some of the world's richest wilderness regions.

"Probably the most attractive program ... is that of CC Africa... CC Africa launched a Positive Health program in 2003 and in April and May last year ran two seven-day courses.... Their approach focuses on home-based care, gardens, counseling techniques and gender issues.... The health of the habitat is critical to the health of the individuals in it.... The conservation industry is uniquely positioned to take the treatment of HIV/AIDS in radically new directions.... Benefits [of the program] include acquiring 'hard skills' such as maintaining clean water, producing food, and home-based methods of dealing with illnesses that are not life threatening.... It takes only the will of ecologically minded people to make sure that the wild places are not lost."
Africa Geographic, October 2005

Getting There

Nxabega is easily accessible by daily scheduled flights from Johannesburg to Maun, followed by a 25-minute light-aircraft transfer to Nxabega airstrip and a five-minute game-drive to camp. There are scheduled flights from Victoria Falls to Maun, and private charters are also available. We can pre-book and package all of your regional/internal flights and transfers. Self-drive to Nxabega is not recommended, as the high water in season makes the camp inaccessible by road.

Let Amanzi Travel arrange your flights for you