We’re so excited about this little camp: with just four tents, set on stilts in a cluster of ebony trees, you don’t get more personal or private than this – and being upstream or at the top end of the Okavango Delta, North Island gets the life-giving flood waters first, ensuring water-based activities almost all year. This is a huge plus, as is the fact that you can easily book it exclusively as a family or with close friends for a very personal Delta safari.
What wildlife can you expect to see at this bush getaway? Given North Island’s location, game viewing options are some of the most rewarding in Botswana, whether sightings are from the comfort of your game vehicle, in the water or on a scenic helicopter flight.
What is the best way to view wildlife at North Island? It’s the gentle mokoro trips that traverse lily-filled channels or slow boat ‘meanders’ through one of the most unique and fragile wetlands in the world that sets an Okavango Delta safari apart.
Quietly observing animals and abundant birdlife from low-level mokoros splicing through crystal-clear waters is an unexpectedly humbling and thrilling experience – often with a good measure of adrenaline thrown in, especially when buffalo or elephant congregate in their numbers to drink nearby.
When is the best time to visit? The dry winter months in the Delta are, ironically, when water levels are at their best.
October to March are the green season months, when it rains – but it comes in short bursts with a spectacular build-up of clouds and dramatic sunsets afterwards (a photographer’s dream).
Find adventure at this hidden getaway
What is the landscape of the Northern Okavango like? Quite simply, it’s stunningly varied. Here you can witness the wildest grasslands, with the largest concentration of lions frequently on the hunt for buffalo, alongside exotic palm-strewn islands; shimmering flood plains alive with leaping lechwe; deeper waters loved by hippos or shorelines dotted with basking crocs. Forested clusters of ebony, leadwood, wild fig and mangosteen trees often play host to leopard, not to mention over 350 species of bird recorded here.
No matter how many times you visit, the Okavango enchants and seduces in equal measure. Our advice is to combine a visit to this sizable concession, situated to the west of Duba Plains and Vumbura, with at least one other camp to give you a deeper sense of just how varied a game experience can be in Botswana – whether it’s the romantic Jack’s Camp in the Makgadikgadi, on the edge of a salt pan that stretches as far as the eye can see, or beautiful Tuludi in the Khwai Private Reserve.
Reviewed by Michelle Snaddon
Edited by Dawn Kennedy