Okavango Explorers Camp

93% (3 reviews)

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

Okavango Explorers Camp: Our full report

On the banks of the Selinda Spillway, Okavango Explorers Camp opened in July 2022, and is the most recent ...

... addition to the Great Plains’ Explorers group of camps. Located on the western side of the private 1,350km² Selinda Reserve, it’s a classic safari camp in style, albeit a relatively luxurious one, and permanently sited.

Envisaged as a stylish, early explorer tented camp, it’s a relaxed, unpretentious camp run by an experienced team. It is certainly more modest in scope than its sister camp, Selinda Camp, and much more basic than the opulent Zarafa Camp, which are both on the same reserve, but it is nonetheless a great spot. With large, open tents revealing dark-wood furniture, crisp white bed linen and rich, soft furnishings from Zanzibar, the details in the décor create a decadent feel – exactly what we would expect from the owners. It is a good option for those seeking a wilderness experience in a traditional tented camp, but still with high expectations of quality. It is worth noting that Okavango Explorers is located on the far western side of the Selinda Concession, away from the Kwando and Linyanti Rivers. As such, we feel it offers an Okavango experience in contrast to the other camps in this concession.

The main area of Okavango Explorers is an open-sided tent. In one is a communal dining table and bar; in the other, a comfortable lounge. The mix of dark wood, campaign furniture and Arabian rugs gives a distinctly explorer feel, and makes for a lovely, social hub in this small camp. Meals are taken either in the dining area, under the stars or occasionally, surrounded by lanterns with your feet in the clear water.

With just six Meru-style tents, Okavango Explorers remains a very intimate camp. The tents are spacious, and all can be made up as doubles or twins. The beds are very comfortable, with high-quality cotton sheets and some of the biggest and softest pillows we have come across. An antique- style fan stands in the corner, along with a writing desk that blends in with the campaign-style furniture in the rest of the room and some attractive storage trunks. Drinking water and mosquito spray are provided, and electric lighting comes courtesy of solar power. Outside some of the tents, directors’ chairs provide the perfect spot for morning coffee or holiday reading.

The canvas-walled open-air bathroom at the back of each tent has a flush toilet and a 200-litre bucket shower; with more than enough water, and hot water brought in the mornings and evenings, it is as good as any hotel shower!

Activities at Okavango Explorers Camp include both day and night game drives, but there is also a strong focus here is on walking and canoeing (water levels permitting). Walking is best between the end of May and October, when there is good visability in the bush as the grasses have died back. Canoeing takes place on the seasonally flooded Selinda Spillway, usually between May and September, when water levels are sufficiently high.

Over the years, animal densities have greatly improved in this area. We’ve seen good populations of the region's common game species: zebra, impala, and giraffe, as well as elephant and buffalo. We also had some great sightings of some rarer species such as the roan antelope. A past highlight in the exact location of this camp was witnessing two wild dog kills in as many days.

So whilst the game here still doesn't rival the densities found in Mombo, Moremi, or the camps beside the Kwando River further east, you’ll still find plenty of varied sightings for a good safari. And for us at Expert Africa, and for most of our travellers, one of the camp's great attractions is the opportunity to get out on foot and do some fantastic walking led by experienced walking guides.

A morning spent walking through the woodland on the edge of the Spillway is delightful. It’s an opportunity to learn about the smaller and less conspicuous flora and fauna with attentive, knowledgeable guides. It’s always wonderful to learn how the guides unravel the multitude of tracks– aardvark, porcupine, hyena, and lion to mention a few – and to learn about the traditional medicinal values of the plants.

When the Selinda Spillway is flowing it is possible to do canoe trips, from camp as well as a spot of fishing. However, later on in the dry season, typically from September, water levels drop and water activities are then suspended.

Our view

Okavango Explorers Camp is a great choice for a traditional tented camp experience, and its location beside the Selinda Spillway is lovely. It is very comfortable, feels very remote and its focus on walking safaris and canoeing trips makes it different to most other places in the Delta. Thus it will work really well for those who want to be active, as well as enjoying the occasional promising game drive from a vehicle.

Megan Green

Botswana expert

Geographics

Location: Okavango Delta Safari Reserves, Botswana
Ideal length of stay: Three or four nights at Okavango Explorers works well. The activities focus on walking and canoeing (water levels permitting) in the Selinda Reserve, so a stay here combines very well with time at Selinda Camp, or Zarafa Camp, in the same reserve – both of which put more emphasis on 4WD safaris – or Duba Explorers Camp, in a wonderfully watery area of the Okavango Delta.
Directions: Okavango Explorers Camp is accessed by light aircraft from either Kasane (50-minute flight) or Maun (45-minute flight), depending on where you stop along the way; it is then a drive from the airstrip to the camp, depending on what you see en route.
Accessible by: Fly-and-Transfer

Food & drink

Usual board basis: Full Board & Activities
Food quality: As a new camp in the Okavango Delta (Open June 2022), we have not yet had a chance to sample the food and drink but we would expect the food to be much like the meals at sister camps, Selinda and Zarafa: light, healthy and delicious.

The camp can cater for most dietary requirements as long as they are informed in advance.

One of the advantages of staying at Great Plains' camps is that the chefs have complete freedom to create their own menus. As a result, you can stay at different Great Plains' camps for over a week, yet not repeat a meal. Meals will likely be:

Breakfast included a choice of muesli, toast with a selection of jams, cheese, yoghurt, scones and fresh fruit along with tea/coffee/smoothie. Alternatively, breakfast can be packed for you to savour on a break during your morning activity

Brunch is served on your return from the morning activity. In sister camps we enjoyed delicious choice of lamb burgers, roast butternut and feta salad, quinoa salad with avocado, a big green salad, fresh bread rolls, a cheese platter and fresh fruit.

Afternoon tea, before the afternoon activity, includes both savoury and sweet snacks.

Dinner is served shortly after your return to camp in the evening, often served under the stars with the camp manager and guide.
Dining style: Group Meals
Dining locations: Indoor and Outdoor Dining
Drinks included: All drinks that are stocked in camp, including premium brand spirits and sparkling wine.

Guests are given a water bottle that is filled up for them before activities etc. Bottled water is available on request.

Special interests

Family holidays: Children aged 10 and over are welcome on safari with special activities organised through the ‘Young Explorers’ club, and the camp is small enough to be taken over in its entirety by a family of 10-12 for a completely private family safari.; See ideas for Family holidays in Botswana
Birdwatching: Located on the banks of the seasonal Selinda Spillway the camp offers a great mix of waterbirds and woodland species, with plenty of raptors always around in this very wild area.; See ideas for Birdwatching in Botswana
Walking safaris: Okavango Explorers is a small, tented camp in a great area for wildlife and birds, which offers reliably good walking safaris at a relaxed pace with good guides. It’s one of Botswana’s better camps for walking safaris.; See ideas for Walking safaris in Botswana
Wildlife safaris: Located in a good game area that’s exceedingly wild, with wild dogs and other large predators known to hunt in the area and elephants congregating in large numbers during the dry season.; See ideas for Wildlife safaris in Botswana

Children

Attitude towards children: Children aged ten years and older are welcomed by Okavango Explorers Camp.
Property’s age restrictions: Minimum age 10 years.
Special activities & services: Okavango Explorers Camp has guides who are great with children and can offer alternative and slightly tailored activities such as fishing or short canoe trips. The camp also offers the 'Young Explorers' programme, which includes child-friendly activities such as animal tracking, plaster casting tracks, and making traditional bows and arrows.

They can offer child-minding from one of their housekeeping team, but not someone specially trained in childcare.
Generally recommended for children: Yes – but it's really best for older children who are also sensible and careful, ideally at least 12 years old. This is primarily due to Okavango Explorer's focus on walking, which is a much more adult activity.
Notes: Children will need to be be supervised at all times by their parents/guardians, as predators wander freely through camp, which is also surrounded by water. This is a genuinely wild and remote area.

Our travellers’ wildlife sightings from Okavango Explorers

Since mid-2018, many of our travellers who stayed at Okavango Explorers Camp 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.

Buffalo

100% success

Elephant

100% success

Giraffe

100% success

Hippo

100% success

Lion

100% success

Roan antelope

100% success

Sable antelope

100% success

Spotted Hyena

100% success

Wildebeest

100% success

Zebra

100% success

Cheetah

67% success

Wild dog

67% success

Leopard

50% success

Aardvark

0% success

Brown Hyena

0% success

Pangolin

0% success

Communications

Power supply notes: Each tent has an individual solar panel to power lights. However. there is also a small generator used as a battery-charging station in the main area.
Communications: There is no cellphone reception or internet, but a satellite phone and radio are in place for emergencies only.
TV & radio: None
Water supply: Borehole
Water supply notes: Okavango Explorers has a ‘reverse osmosis’ machine for filtering drinking water from the borehole. Guests are given a water bottle that is filled up for them before activities etc. Bottled water is available on request.

Health & safety

Malarial protection recommended: Yes
Medical care: Senior staff and guides have medical first-aid training. The nearest medical facility is in Maun and the camp has links to a flying- doctor service.
Dangerous animals: High Risk
Fire safety: There are fire extinguishers in each tent.

Activities

4WD Safari
Birdwatching
Canoeing
Fishing
Guided walking safari
Helicopter

Extras

Disabled access: Not Possible
Laundry facilities: Okavango Explorers does not have a laundry service. Washing powder is provided in the tents for items to be hand washed.
Money: There is no currency exchange here. There are safes in the tents for small valuables.
Accepted payment on location: If you wish to tip, which is optional, then bring cash with you. Cash is accepted in any major currency and the camp has an old-fashioned swipe card machine for Visa and MasterCard, but not Amex.