The principle underpinning Delta Camp is that the Okavango was, in its prehistoric form, pristine, and that every intervention comes at a cost to that pristine natural and cultural environment. Delta Camp's vision strives to consider every action and to understand that each has a mitigating factor and a concomitant benefit. With each ‘pro’ weighed carefully against its ‘con’, they offer guests the highest standards of comfort consistent with the pure elegance of the environment itself.
Scattered in the forest of a large, beautiful and palm-studded island deep in the Okavango Delta, Delta Camp’s chalets are designed and built to take advantage of the many indigenous, old-growth trees of the island forest. The buildings cannot improve upon the natural landscape; they must therefore blend into it as unobtrusively as possible. This sometimes means that a tree grows through a roof or a floor, it always means that you will find no glass in the windows and it very often means that the building itself is elevated onto a deck. Each spacious, elegant chalet is individually designed and decorated to fit discreetly into its setting and to take advantage of the spectacular views of the surrounding bush and flood-plains.
Delta Camp offers privately guided walking safaris like nowhere else in the Okavango Delta. Using only genuine, hand-made dug-out canoes, guides will take guests deep into the Okavango, through the channels and floodplains to walk on the many islands in the area. The guide joins guests on arrival and remains exclusively with them for the duration of their stay.
The Delta Camp experience is cultural as well as being a wildlife and wilderness one, and spending time in the company of a man who has lived his life in this wild place, and perhaps even visiting his home, is a revelation to many visitors, and a lesson in differing values and perceptions.
All activities are conducted without assistance from motors, offering guests the opportunity to truly attune themselves with nature. In addition, the camp does not offer wifi or internet, which allows guests to be present with one another in a beautiful and intimate setting, something that has become increasingly rare in our hurried existence.
Situated on the south-western edge of Chiefʼs Island in the heart of the Okavango Delta, on the western boundary of the Moremi Game Reserve.
Is on peace and tranquility (stalking game on foot provides all the excitement one could wish for) and guests are actively encouraged to visit the local village, home to the guides, and to interact with the people there. Visitors are also encouraged to relax and follow their heart's desire. The luxury of being privately guided allows guests to focus on their particular interests and to determine how it is that they would like to spend each day.
The camp is accessed by light aircraft only and is a 20 minute flight from Maun or a 50 minute flight from Kasane. It is 15-30 minutes from most other camps in the area. It is a 45 minute mokoro ride or 30 minute bush walk to the camp. Arrival into the camp depends upon water levels. Guests are met by their dedicated guide upon arrival at the Delta airstrip. Please advise guests that sunscreen, hat, binoculars and camera should be easily accessible upon arrival so that they may begin their adventure comfortably.
Accommodation is for a maximum of 18 guests in spacious chalets made of wood and lethaka (reed) with en-suite bathrooms. Built of natural materials and elevated off the forest floor, each chalet is luxurious and unique. The Tree House boasts a spectacular sweep of the Okavango and is one of the most extraordinary rooms in the whole of the delta.
3 double rooms
3 triple rooms
2 family houses (maximum 4 guests)
(Please note that despite the flexibility of the units in terms of housing different types of parties, the camp only ever hosts a maximum of 18 people)
Children of all ages are welcome. There are two family rooms to accommodate families. Delta Camp has no age restrictions as believes that guests know their children and their capabilities, and as they will not be going on safari activities with other guests they have no one but themselves to consider. Dedicated child orientated guides walk with families to enrich the safari experience for all members. Delta Camp is happy to accommodate alternative family dining times and to prepare simple food for children. There are games in the sitting area and reference books that will help to entertain and illuminate the children's experience.
Game of all sorts are abundant: lion, leopard, buffalo, elephant, hippopotamus, crocodile, giraffe, antelope including the rare lechwe, tsessesbe and sitatunga, otters, honey-badgers, the shy pangolin, the nearly extinct rhino and a variety of the smaller wild cats such as civets, servals and genets are amongst the many mammal species that visit the Delta. There are also reptiles – many species of snakes (most of them harmless), as well as several species of tortoise, terrapin, lizard, skinks, chameleon and gecko – not forgetting of course the Nile crocodile. Then of course there are the birds, well over 450 species, that bring the forests, rivers and flood-plains of the Okavango to life. Many rare and endangered species call the Okavango home, and birders come from all around the world in search of them.
The power at Delta Camp is generated by solar panels, and where possible the water is also heated this way. Delta Camp also ensures that large fuel tankers do not cross floodplains and streams or cut through forests to deliver diesel for their generators or vehicles and pride themselves on being a camp without any engines or motors.
The local village, Sedibana, is 30-45 minutes from the camp. For over three decades Delta Camp there has been a strong bond between the villagers and the camp. During this time they have actively supported local development in the area. They assist in providing nursing care, veterinary assistance and transport to and from Maun for all of the villagers.
Many of the camp’s staff members come from Sedibana Village and have been with the company for at least 10 years, some more than two decades and there are also multiple generations of families who work at the camp. Delta Camp generates revenue for the government, and helps to police the resources against the depredations of those who don’t care for it. Through their guiding and camp experience, they help create world-wide awareness and exposure of the resources within the Okavango Delta and beyond.
Cyclically the Okavango goes through wet and dry periods. We are currently moving towards the dry cycle while simultaneously experiencing a burgeoning elephant population. As the region becomes more arid the increasing population of elephant is putting pressure on old growth tree species and the landscape is changing noticeably. Delta Camp has established a tree welfare program and many of the trees have been wrapped with diamond mesh wire to protect them from the elephants. In addition, throughout the year trees in danger are being coated with a homemade paste that repels elephants and stops them from scarring and eventually killing the trees.
Delta Camp was one of the first photographic camps established in the Okavango Delta, and was purchased by Peter Sandenbergh in 1984. Peter was a pioneer of the safari business in Botswana and brought a passion for wildness and a care for the land into everything that he did. A principled and focused conservationist, Peter created a unique and quirky camp with a family of staff members many of whom are with the camp to this day. Peter passed away in 2016 and the camp is now run by his wife and children who continue to focus on offering guests authentic experiences while minimising the impact of tourisism on the fragile and dynamic ecosystem of the Okavango Delta.
19°31' 56.19" S and 23° 06' 19.48" E
Please be advised that the use of mekoro depends on a number of factors beyond Delta Camp's control – water levels, vegetation growth, changes in the Okavango’s channel-structure, and hippo activity, amongst others. These can and do change quickly and unpredictably. Consequently Delta Camp may not be able to offer mokoro excursions due to practical constraints or safety considerations. If this is the case they recommend guests participate in other activities that are equally enriching and complete a full-bodied safari experience.
At Delta Camp children 16 years and under sharing with two full paying adults stay absolutely FREE.
Children love the Okavango! The vibrancy, the freedom, the obvious rawness of the natural environment throbbing with life is very often closer to the child-state than it is to adulthood. The view that ‘they’re still too young to appreciate it’ could not be further from the truth. Delta Camp believes it especially important, in this day and age, that kids have access to the natural world, and to be in an environment in which they are forced to direct their attention to the wider world, and away from hand-held electronic devices and computer screens – to stretch their eyes to the distance, to experience smells other than those that come from urban living, to experience the heightened sense of awareness that comes with the knowledge of life and death around them, to let their imaginations take wing, to consider possibilities unconsidered.
In support of providing life-affirming opportunities for your family, Delta Camp has decided to put their money where their mouth is with this innovative and unprecedented offer.
This offer is valid for either one or two children, depending on the rooms available at the time of booking.
Valid through December 21st, 2023
For example, 3 nights at Delta Camp inclusive of return air transfer from Maun:
2 adults and 2 children under 11yrs
Green Season: Normal Rack: US$ 6,404 I Special Rack US$ 4,886 I SAVING US$ 1, 518
Shoulder Season: Normal Rack: US$ 8,474 I Special Rack US$ 6,226 I SAVING US$ 2,208
High Season: Normal Rack: US$ 9,506 I Special Rack US$ 6,956 I SAVING US$ 2,550
2 adults and 2 teenagers 12-16yrs
Green Season: Normal Rack: US$ 7,916 I Special Rack US$ 4,886 I SAVING US$ 3,030
Shoulder Season: Normal Rack: US$ 10,676 I Special Rack US$ 6,266 I SAVING US$ 4,410
High Season: Normal Rack: US$ 12,056 I Special Rack US$ 6,956 I SAVING US$ 5,100
