safari experts, since 1991
Delta detox – Okavango Delta
BOTSWANA
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Safari experiences that you will not find with any other travel company. We know Africa best and will get you to the right place & time to enjoy the greatest shows on Earth!
To travel deep and far into Botswana's Okavango Delta and beyond the reach of cellular networks, where hippos, reed frogs and booming Pel’s fishing owls will lull you to sleep, and lion roars and freshly brewed coffee announce the new day.
Delta Detox is a fully-catered, professionally guided, rustic Okavango Delta camping experience. It is suitable for those looking beyond turned beds, silver cutlery, fine cuisine or pre-warmed facecloths. Expect scrumptious food cooked over an open fire, walk-in tents, raised cot beds with mattresses, pillows, clean linen, warm duvets, chairs and tables, showers and a safari/long-drop toilet
A back-to-basics mobile tented safari in the Okavango Delta for those wanting to unplug from modern-day life and reconnect with themselves
Overview
Length: 5 days
Group Size: Flexible – you tell us how many are in your party
Location: The waterways and islands near Chief's Island and Xaxaba, Okavango Delta, Botswana. The exact location depends on water levels at the time.
Departure Dates: To suit you. June to October usually offers the best water levels for water activities and access to Xaxaba area via boat along the Boro River from Maun. Other months may require a different location via 4x4 access.
Highlights:
Remote, authentic, fully-serviced camping on an island in the Okavango Delta
Game viewing from a boat, mokoro and on foot - led by local Bayei guides. Activities are water-level-dependent
Visit the local Xaxaba village
Enjoy warm bucket showers under the night sky
Pricing available soon
Delta Detox is an exit from the rat race and monotonous western-world lifestyle. It is the ultimate reset button, a back-to-basics pilgrimage on a remote and beautiful private island in the heart of Botswana's Okavango Delta.
Whether you want to track wildlife on foot, complete your Okavango Delta specials birding list, photograph the mind-boggling diversity, or let your worries flow downstream as you slither silently over glassy waters in your mokoro … it’s up to you.
The camp
Xaxaba campsite nestles under stately jackalberry trees on an island near Chief's Island in the heart of the northern Okavango Delta - a remote mobile base camp for exclusive use. Alongside a tranquil waterway, each tent is strategically positioned to offer splendid views across snaking waterways, floodplains, lush islands and open grasslands. Its idyllic setting has been carefully chosen to provide the best possible base for your exploration of the Chief’s Island area.
The camp layout is simple - a bush kitchen at one end, showers and bush loos at the other, and a row of twin-bedded 2.5 m x 2.5 m domed safari tents in the middle. Each tent has comfortable cots, foam mattresses, sheets, duvets, pillows, blankets, and towels (please bring your own soap and shampoo). Mosquito repellent is provided, and an outside paraffin lamp will light your way. Solar-powered lamps are provided for each tent, but please bring your own handheld or head torch. A solar panel provides a trickle charge facility for camera batteries, mobile phones and other small devices. Hot and cold water for your shower is provided for the gravity bucket shower. Safari loos (long-drop) have comfortable seated thrones, toilet paper and the best view in the house.
All meals are cooked in camp by a resident chef, served and enjoyed together with camp staff. Drinking water, juice for breakfast and wine during supper are part of the package. A cooler box with ice and an assortment of cool drinks, spirits and beers is always available. Comfortable camping chairs surrounding the campfire are an enticement to relax as you recount your daily experiences.
NOTES:
We usually access Xaxaba by boat along the Boro River from Maun. When low water levels do not permit access to Xaxaba by boat, we may use a 4x4 vehicle to get you there. The drive can be bumpy
We usually use Xaxaba Campsite from June to October (water-level-dependent), and during other months, we may use an alternate campsite (with a similar setup) with access by a 4x4 vehicle. The drive can be bumpy
When to go
Delta Detox can be enjoyed throughout the year, but camp location and access will vary based on water levels. The following months are best:
In June the dry season starts in earnest, and game sightings improve markedly as the Okavango Delta waters start to rise and wildlife concentrates on dry land. Temperatures drop to the coldest by the end of June, with pre-dawn temperatures reaching as low as 2ºC although daytime temperatures rise up to a very comfortable 25ºC. The bushveld is still green, but leaf drop has started, non-permanent pans are drying up, and the annual flood is on its way from Angola.
By mid-July, the waters have reached the height of the flood, although the bushveld away from the floodplains is dry and dusty. Wildlife is concentrated, and so are predators – so visibility is excellent. July temperatures during the dark hours remain cold, whilst daytime is slightly warmer with sunny days and crisp blue skies. Access to walking starting points is mostly via boat or mokoro.
By August, the bulk of the flood water has filtered through the system, flooded areas throughout the Okavango Delta are draining, and Maun is seeing rising water levels. Temperatures remain warm during the daytime, with peaks approaching 30ºC and dark-hour averages rising to around 10°C.
September sees winter coming to a dramatic end, with temperatures rising steadily and rapidly, with day temperatures comfortably in the mid 30°C. Flood water levels have started to drop.
Read this trip report from a happy client: My ‘Delta Detox’ mobile safari experience
Itinerary
An Africa Geographic representative will collect you and your baggage from your arrival flight or accommodation in Maun. For boat transfers, you will be taken to your speedboat, moored at a jetty on the Boro River in Maun. Vehicle transfers will depart from Maun Airport or your overnight accommodation.
If you are a self-drive and have arranged a place to store your car in Maun, please let us know where you would like to be collected (in Maun!!), and we will arrange to meet up with you and drop you back at the end of the safari.
You may as well do the last download of news and emails on your phone before you switch it off, as you will soon lose reception once you set off (there is a satellite phone for emergencies, and you will always be near an airstrip).
For those on the boat transfer along the Boro River, each twist and turn of the Okavango Delta waterways will reveal new delights. Expect darting malachite kingfishers racing your prow, pied kingfishers hovering overhead, and African fish eagles calling from lofty perches. Honking hippos will beat a hasty retreat, and elephants will greet you with flared ears.
Your cruise will end at the idyllic Xaxaba campsite or an alternative site (water-level-dependent), where the camp has already been set up and awaits your arrival. Lunch may have been served en route or will be ready on arrival - cold drinks, salad, cold meats and cheeses.
After lunch, your guide will deliver a safety debrief and introduce you to your tents, shower and WC facilities. Then, you will enjoy a short afternoon walk (time permitting) or a sunset cruise.
Return to camp at 18h00, by which time warm bucket showers will await you, and once refreshed, you can join your travel companions and guide at the campfire while a delicious home-cooked dinner makes its way to the table.
Lulled by the quintessential sounds of the Okavango Delta, your first night will be spent in a spacious, walk-in domed tent, complete with cot beds and soft bedrolls.
Overnight at Xaxaba or an alternate campsite.
After an early morning coffee with a bite to eat, you will set off on a cruise along the Okavango’s waterways. Depending on what the local bush ‘intel” has been, you may depart camp by speedboat or mokoro.
Along the way, there will be ample chance to moor the boat and walk wherever you choose. Islands are often fringed with huge mangosteen, jackalberry and nyalaberry trees teeming with parrots, hornbills and starlings. The calls of these birds might mingle with those of quarrelling baboons and excited vervet monkeys, and perhaps the alarm calls of bushbuck, francolins or squirrels will indicate a predator blowing its cover.
Wildlife abounds in the area – including lion, leopard, buffalo, elephant, hippo, crocodile, giraffe, lechwe, tsessebe, sitatunga, otter, honey badger, the shy pangolin, and a variety of smaller predators such as the African wildcat, civet, serval and genet.
Reading the tracks on the ground, the bend of grasses, and a plethora of other signs, your guides will track and share the bush news with you. Your walks will always be peppered by fascinating interpretations from the Bayei guides.
As the heat sets in, it is time to return to camp, where beaming smiles and brunch await you.
A plan will be discussed after brunch, and depending on energy levels and expectations, you could go for another bush walk, a leisurely mokoro ride, a visit to a nearby heronry, a swim in a crocodile-free pool, a concerted search for a Pel’s fishing owl, or a chilled cruise in search of the most photogenic sunset spots.
An alternative activity is a visit to the small village of Xaxaba. The legendary Bayei tribe colonised these swamps in their dugout canoes in the 18th Century, and Xaxaba was established way back when.
As the day ends, there will be plenty of time to enjoy a warm shower, drinks by the fire, and some storytelling to recall the highlights of the day.
Overnights at Xaxaba or an alternate campsite.
Today, after a lovely breakfast and perhaps fitting in one last activity, you will be transferred back to Maun Airport to catch your flight back to Johannesburg or transfer to the next lodge. Either way, we will endeavour to get you back to Maun with time to spare - usually by late morning.
As you journey back to Maun, your mind will be in neutral as you savour your last moments in paradise. Batteries fully recharged, you will be ready for life again – but probably already planning your next safari with us.
Why us
We live here, in Africa, and have been doing this since 1991. Travel in Africa is about knowing when and where to go, and with whom. A few weeks too early / late or a few kilometers off course and you could miss the greatest show on Earth. And wouldn’t that be a pity?
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