Xakanaxa

19°10’57.2"S 23°24’30.5"E

90% (32 reviews)

Full review Our view Geographics Food & drink Special interests Children Wildlife sightings Communications Health & safety Activities Extras

Xakanaxa: Our full report

Camp Xakanaxa is a traditional-style camp located in one of the most beautiful and historically wildlife-rich ...

... areas of the Okavango Delta. Set in the north-east of the public area of Botswana's Moremi Game Reserve, the whole camp, widely known simply as Xakanaxa, is shaded by Kigelia and leadwood trees overlooking the picturesque Xakanaxa Lagoon.

Camp Xakanaxa is set out beneath shady riverine woodland, at the edge of the Xakanaxa Lagoon, in a part of the renowned Moremi Game Reserve known as the Mopane Tongue.

From the reception area at the entrance to Xakanaxa, where there is a small curio shop, a short pathway leads around a well-maintained lawn inset with a small pond to the main area. Constructed of local timber, reed and thatch, this is raised on stilts to maximise the views over the lagoon and allow for the rise and fall of the Okavango flood waters. The lounge has seating areas with very comfortable chairs, a small library and a help-yourself bar. This opens out onto an expansive, partially shaded deck with director’s chairs set facing the lagoon. To one side, two long communal dining tables are set out under cover, fronted by a second deck where armchairs make the most of views over the tranquil lagoon.

Jutting out over the lagoon, a jetty ends with seating around a fire pit. A giant jackalberry tree grows to one side and it’s here we enjoyed memorable sightings of a Pel’s fishing owl as it perched and sought out prey in the currents below.

The watery views continue from a small plunge pool, set at the other end of the main area. Bathers can then relax in the shaded sala on one of the loungers. While this can't be beaten for location, those in search of exercise might be drawn instead to the much larger swimming pool set back and to one side of the reception area.

Xakanaxa's 12 Meru-style tents all stand on wooden decks with verandas overlooking the lagoon. They're fairly close together, so it is sometimes possible to hear your neighbours, but reed screens and the surrounding lush riverine vegetation ensure that you won't be able to see them. Beside the pathway that leads to each tent is an iron sculpture of the animal the room is named after. Look out for a special sighting of shy, attractive bushbuck that live in the surrounding woodland.

From a private deck looking over the lagoon, a sliding mesh door leads inside, revealing wooden floors covered with oriental rugs, mesh windows with slivery grey curtains, and a large double or twin beds beneath a mosquito net and celling fan. A couple of reading lights sit on the headboard above the bed and there's a small two-person sofa at the foot.

There's also a writing desk with camp information, a multi-plug socket including USB points for charging electricals and a reading light. A standing fan offers more cooling air when its needed. The luggage rack is small, so travellers may struggle to get two bags on it. But a dressing area to the back of the room has extra storage and a hanging unit. Every tent also has an electronic safe, and hot-water bottles are provided on cold nights between May and July.

At the back of each tent through a wooden door is an en-suite bathroom with a hot shower, twin basins and a flushing toilet. High mesh windows and wood pole walls give this an outside bathroom feel, but it is enclosed within the tent’s mesh and canvas structure, keeping out leaf debris and most insects. Dressing gowns, soaps, shampoo and body lotion are provided, and there is a hairdryer in every tent.

The family tent is made up of two standard tents connected by a short corridor. The second bedroom has a fold-out sofa, and another bed can be added, allowing up to three children to share. Note, however, that the rooms share bathroom facilities so may not suit friends travelling together.

Activities at Xakanaxa include game drives during the day in open 4WD safari vehicles, and boat cruises on the Delta waterways

Motorboat trips are an ideal way to explore the large, adjacent Xakanaxa Lagoon and its surrounding channels – an area that is especially good for birding in the spring and summer months (December to April), when the migrants are breeding. These trips also provide the best opportunity to track down a sitatunga, one of the area's most elusive and seldom-seen antelope.

Both game viewing and birding are very good in the Moremi Game Reserve, and this area has historically provided excellent wildlife watching – as it did on our last visits in December 2023 and November 2024, including leopard, lion and wild dog sightings. However, unlike in the private concessions of the Delta, night drives and walking safaris are not allowed, and game vehicles may not drive far off the tracks – even if interesting game is spotted further away. This can be particularly challenging in the green season, when tall grass can obscure sightings and sometimes hide animals entirely. The area is well worth visiting for its varied and pretty scenery as well as the wildlife densities, but we’d usually recommend including it at the start of your itinerary – before going on to the private reserves with more flexible activity rules.

Xakanaxa aims to have no more than six guests per game-drive vehicle, but when the camp is busy, they can take up to nine. Xakanaxa a very good option for travellers wanting a friendly, well-established camp with a little less restrictive price tag then many of the camps in Botswana during the “peak” dry season. And between November and May there is no surcharge applied to travellers booking a single room, making this a good choice for solo travellers. For keen photographers, birdwatchers or those who would like more space, private vehicles and specialist guides can be arranged, subject to availability and for an additional charge.

Travellers should be aware that Xakanaxa sits between Camp Moremi and Okuti, with a public campsite relatively close by as well. This, and because self-drivers and mobile safaris also use the reserve, can lead to heightened vehicle concentration in the busy months, especially as guides from the three camps communicate about sightings by radio. However, we feel that the historically superb wildlife viewing in this area outshines the number of vehicles that can occur.

Our view

Xakanaxa offers a traditional, low-key safari experience in a beautiful setting within one of Botswana’s most renowned wildlife areas – Moremi. Provided you accept that there are likely to be more vehicles because it’s a public park, it is a great option for high densities of wildlife at a relatively affordable price. It works well at the start of a safari and is also one of only a handful of camps that can be linked by boat transfer instead of by aircraft to another wildlife area.

Tom Morris

Botswana expert

Geographics

Location: Moremi Game Reserve, Botswana
Ideal length of stay: Two to three nights are ideal at Xakanaxa.
Directions: The flight by light aircraft to Xakanaxa Airstrip takes around 25 minutes from Maun or an hour from Kasane, followed by a 15-minute transfer by safari vehicle to camp.
Accessible by: Fly-and-Transfer

Food & drink

Usual board basis: Full Board & Activities
Food quality: On our visits to Camp Xakanaxa we’ve found the food to be homely, varied, tasty and fresh.

Before heading out on the morning activities, you’ll be offered a selection of dishes for breakfast. The varied choices usually include cereals, granola, dried fruits, nuts, yoghurt, preserves, muffins, mini donuts, toast, mini frittatas, fresh fruit, cold meats, cheeses and crackers. There’s also the option of tea, coffee, smoothie and a selection of juices. A welcome option was a ‘coffee to go’ in a reusable, insulated thermos coffee mug that could be taken on your activity.

You'll return from the morning activities to brunch. During our stay this consisted of delicious fish cakes, a vegetable casserole, broccoli and walnut salad, red-cabbage salad, and a hot breakfast choice of bacon, sausages and mushrooms with eggs cooked to order. There was also freshly baked cinnamon bread, fruit and a cheese platter.

For afternoon tea, just before the start of the afternoon activity, we were offered homemade lemonade and iced tea, accompanied by delicious mince filled donut halves topped with sour cream, and lemon and poppy seed cake. For a guest who was gluten intolerant the camp had made a savoury gluten-free muffin and there was fresh cut fruit.

For dinner, after a memorable afternoon activity, we enjoyed a slice of baked camembert topped with relish to start. Main was a buffet selection including well-done lamb, spiced bream fish, mashed potato, flavoured rice, peas, delicious walnut and cranberry stuffed butternut and a selection of accompanying sauces. There was also a garden salad and a cheese platter. Desert was fruit semifreddo. The portions were well sized so that guests didn’t feel overfull after a meal.

Two white wines and two red wines are usually paired with the meal and offered as a choice at dinner. The bar is also open for those who prefer to select a different beverage.

On Thursdays a buffet of more traditional Setswana dishes is typically offered for guests to try.

For snacks between main meals, nuts and droewors bites were served with sundowners and rusks were offered with the mid-morning activity coffee break. (And a jar of shortbread cookies is provided with the tea/coffee station in each room.)
Dining style: Group Meals
Dining locations: Indoor Dining
Further dining info, including room service: Private dining and meals for special occasions are available on request.
Drinks included: Soft drinks, local-brand spirits, house wines and beer are included at Xakanaxa. Premium brands are excluded but are available at extra charge.

Each tent is provided with glasses and a flask of drinking water, which is replenished daily. We don't recommend that travellers drink from the tap.

Special interests

Birdwatching: Xakanaxa Camp offers boat cruises on the Okavango Delta waterways year-round. That allows birders to seek out both dry-country and waterbirds across the diverse habitats in this area. We’ve enjoyed one of our best sightings of a Pel’s fishing owl hunting here, as well as a wide variety of raptors, king fishers, bee-eaters and lyrical songbirds.; See ideas for Birdwatching in Botswana
Wildlife safaris: Camp Xakanaxa is right in the middle of the Xakanaxa area of the Moremi Game Reserve, one of the best areas for wildlife safaris in Botswana. With excellent densities of animal and birdlife, the only drawback is that you are often likely to share game sightings with other vehicles.; See ideas for Wildlife safaris in Botswana

Children

Attitude towards children: Xakanaxa welcomes families with children of six years and older.
Property’s age restrictions: Families with children aged between 6-11 years must book private activities.
Special activities & services: There are board games and books for children available in the family tent. The camp can also arrange activities for children such as football, pizza making or an interpretive bush walk around camp. It is also possible to arrange for camp staff, often the housekeepers, to child sit during meals and siesta. While these staff often have children of their own, please by aware they are not usually qualified childcare professionals.
Equipment: Xakanaxa has a family tent, and for children aged 6-12, an extra bed can be put into a double room. A triple room for adults is not permitted.
Generally recommended for children: Xakanaxa has a friendly, laid-back feel, so could be a great option for those travelling with teenagers, provided they have a genuine interest in wildlife and nature. Note that while the camp is surrounded by an electric fence to keep elephants out, most other wildlife, including hippos, buffalo, and predators, can pass under it. Furthermore, there are unguarded, unfenced pools, and easy access to the lagoon, so we would not recommend this camp for those travelling with younger children.
Notes: Xakanaxa is on the water's edge and is very open, with big mammals wandering through regularly, so parents must take full responsibility for supervision of their children at all times.

Our travellers’ wildlife sightings from Xakanaxa

Since mid-2018, many of our travellers who stayed at Xakanaxa have kindly recorded their wildlife sightings and shared them with us. The results are below. Click an animal to see more, and here to see more on our methodology.

Elephant

100% success

Giraffe

100% success

Hippo

100% success

Leopard

100% success

Lion

100% success

Wild dog

100% success

Wildebeest

100% success

Zebra

100% success

Aardvark

0% success

Black Rhino

0% success

Buffalo

0% success

Cheetah

0% success

Pangolin

0% success

Roan antelope

0% success

Sable antelope

0% success

Sitatunga

0% success

Spotted Hyena

0% success

White Rhino

0% success

Communications

Power supply notes: There is a back-up generator in case of cloudy days or other power interruptions.

Each tent has a multiplug point for charging electrical equipment.
Communications: There is no cellphone coverage at Xakanaxa, but there is WiFi in the main area and the tents. The service can be patchy, but if you find the right spot it works for messages, emails and video calls on WhatsApp.
TV & radio: There is no television or radio at Xakanaxa.
Water supply: Borehole
Water supply notes: The camp uses a reverse osmosis machine to filter the water from the Delta. All the tents have plumbed hot and cold running water for showers, and flushing toilets.

Filtered drinking water is offered in flasks in each room, and from a waterpoint in the main area where you can refill water bottles.

Health & safety

Malarial protection recommended: Yes
Medical care: The nearest doctor is in Maun. Management and guides are first-aid trained and medical evacuation is available in an emergency. In addition to this, a government mobile clinic frequents the area.
Dangerous animals: High Risk
Security measures: Guests are escorted to their tents after dark as wildlife is known to wander through the camp. “Fog horns” are provided in the tents to summon help in case of emergency after dark.

There is a three-strand electric fence around the back of the camp. This is designed to keep elephants out of the camp as they can be destructive to the trees.
Fire safety: Each tent has a fire extinguisher.

Activities

4WD Safari
Birdwatching
Boat trip

Extras

Disabled access: On Request
Laundry facilities: A full complimentary laundry service is included.
Money: No exchange facilities are offered at Xakanaxa. There is a safe in each of the tents.
Accepted payment on location: Mastercard and Visa cards are accepted (with a surcharge); Diners and Amex are not. Cash payments may be made in the form of South African rand, GB sterling, US dollars, euros and Botswana pula.