gallery of 22 photos

Moremi Game Reserve, Botswana

Mombo Camp

How can Mombo be worth all the hype and exorbitant amount of money? Each time we return the answer is simple: Mombo is worth every penny.

The surrounding eco-system is literally crowded with game. Mombo rarely fails to enchant its guests with its awe inspiring place at the heart of the Okavango Delta. Mombo is located inside the Moremi Game Reserve and therefore cannot offer night drives or walking safaris.

The managers strive and successfully keep the down-to-earth nature of a bush lodge despite Mombos luxury and reputation. Finding space can be a challenge. If Mombo is a MUST stay, plan early.

 — Mango's view

Mombo Camp is located in the Mombo Concession on the northern tip of Chiefs Island within the Moremi Game Reserve in the Okavango Delta, Botswana. This area boasts enormous concentrations of plains game and predators - providing arguably the best big game viewing in all of Africa.

Built under large, shady trees and overlooking the floodplains which teem with wildlife all year round, Mombo Camp comprises nine spacious tents raised two meters from the ground. Bathrooms are en-suite, with both indoor and outdoor showers. Magnificent vistas are the order of the day, with all the rooms, the sala, long veranda and lounge area all taking advantage of the very best that the Okavango Delta has to offer. Mombo Camps main living and dining areas are under thatch, but a boma makes for a delicious dinner under the stars. There is also a plunge pool in which to relax.

The best big game viewing experience starts on the veranda at Mombo Camp, with unbelievable concentrations of game occurring right in front of the camp. Guests often find animals wandering past, right under their rooms!

Activities at Mombo Camp include morning and afternoon game drives. Open 4x4s provide an exquisite vantage for viewing the high concentrations of plains game and all the predators - including the big cats. Lion sightings are frequent. Guests at Mombo Camp can also expect to see leopard, wild dog, spotted hyena, large herds of buffalo, elephant, white rhino, southern giraffe, blue wildebeest and Burchells zebra.

Unlike the water-inundated areas of the Okavango Delta, the habitats here vary from open grasslands, secluded island sanctuaries and papyrus-fringed channels to low sandy islands and dry land on which animals and plants flourish.

The sheer numbers and diversity of mammals found in this area all year round simply defy description, from herds of buffalo to the diminutive steenbok, a pretty dwarf antelope species. Elephant, impala, spotted hyena, lion, leopard and cheetah are all found here and even small predators like serval and side-striped jackal are occasionally seen.

This abundance and variety owes much to the areas position on the eco tone between the ancient Kalahari sands and vegetation of Chiefs Island, and the more modern, water-borne sediments and grasses of the Okavango Delta fan to the west. In addition, the annual inundation and drying of the floodplains to the west of Camp Mombo allow the large numbers of wildlife to utilize both habitats to the maximum.

Birdlife is prolific, with waterfowl like African Jacana, Pygmy-Geese, massive Goliath Heron and migrant waders in summer being particularly common.

Mombo Camp and Little Mombo camps are integrally involved in the Botswana Rhino Reintroduction Project. In 2001, Wilderness Safaris together with Botswanas Department of Wildlife initiated a program that has resulted in white rhino running free and wild in the Okavango Delta.

Includes: All meals, drinks (except premiums), laundry & safari activities