Natural Selection Travel
Natural Selection Travel is an exceptional company with an amazing conservation ethic. They commit 1.5% of every safari sold to one of a number of important conservation initiatives. With First Light Safaris contributing an additional 1%, know that more of your investment is going towards a future for wildlife and the communities that benefit from eco-tourism.
Natural Selection Travel has a number of amazing camps and lodges in Botswana that offers you the opportunity for a complete and diverse safari experience. Their properties have a lot of character and intangibles that many other companies just can’t duplicate. Our favorite camp? Little Sable in the exclusive Khwai Private reserve.
Little Sable, Okavango Delta
With only 8, traditional safari tents, Little Sable is an intimate camp with an emphasis on hospitality and comfort, offering a stylish yet relaxed safari experience. Each room is a cozy retreat from the elements and all have wonderfully large king-size beds (that can also be twins), writing desks, cool ensuite bathrooms, outside showers and private viewing decks with views across the shimmering grasslands.
Little Sable is the perfect hideout in the heart of the game-rich Khwai Private Reserve and a firm favorite at Natural Selection. Here you’ll get to enjoy an authentic and rich safari adventure, with so much to discover around every twist and turn. From your classic game drive, to a mokoro or boat trip, wind your way around this shimmering grassland on a different activity every day. And best of all, this iconic Delta experience is all yours at great value.
Elephant Pan, Okavango Delta
Elephant Pan revels in its location, here amid the sandy mopane forests in the drier interior of Khwai Private Reserve. It’s a laid-back destination where the wildlife that flocks to the waterhole on the fringes of the camp offers guests a front-row seat to thrilling sightings. If you’ve always wanted to get up close to elephants, Elephant Pan is for you.
Elephant Pan has eight tents, and inside, we’ve plumped for a theme of stylish simplicity. You’ll find everything you need, and nothing you don’t. Each tent has twin beds, which can easily be made into doubles.
Mesh nets keep the mosquitoes out, and there’s an electronic safe to store valuables, along with a luggage rack and wardrobe. Our eco-conscious minds were also at play when we designed Elephant Pan, and each tent is solar powered, with international plug points. A gas geyser pumps constant hot water to the ensuite bathroom and shower.
Skybeds, Okavango Delta
Sleeping under the stars in the heart of the bush isn’t something you do every day, and we wanted to keep the experience as exclusive as possible. As a result, there are only three Skybeds sleeping a total of six people, and, just as importantly, each one is perfectly private from the next.
The Skybeds are no ordinary camp bedrooms. You’ll be sleeping high above the plains, raised two stories off the ground, and quite literally metres from a mammal-dominated waterhole.
The upper platform is your alfresco bedroom, complete with bed and mosquito net. The snuggest of duvets will keep you warm when the temperature tumbles and we’ve even got hot water bottles to keep you extra toasty. The bathroom is on the second-floor level with an enclosed shower, flushing loo, and private changing area. As well as a dome tent with two single beds for inclement weather.
Mokolwane Camp, Okavango Delta
Set amongst a sprinkling of Mokolwane palms, in the Xudum concession, you’ll find Mokolwane tucked away in 300,000 acres of wilderness. Teeming with herds of elephant, buffalo and all the Okavango predators. This is leopard country. These territorial cats love it here so much, that the area boasts the third highest density recorded anywhere in Africa.
At Mokolwane you’ll find 7 charming tents, hiding 10 feet above the ground amongst the shady bows of fig, jackalberry, ilala palm and wild mangosteens. Elephants love it here, with a buffet of palm nuts, berries, and wild fig to feast on as they drip off these tree giants.
Each room, with an ensuite bathroom and comfortable interiors, emanates an earthly charm. Set on the Matsebi river system you’ll find yourself amongst the shade, enjoying spectacular views which turn emerald as the floodwaters roll in.
Duke’s East, Okavango Delta
Duke’s East offers four spacious canvas safari suites, each carefully positioned to offer unforgettable views of the Okavango Delta. The tents are on raised wooden decks and sit elegantly amongst leadwood and ebony trees.
Taking their cue from the style and panache of the original Jack’s Camp, the guest tents at Duke’s East revel in the much-loved vintage safari aesthetic of plush fabrics, Persian rugs and hand-carved four-poster beds. Think mahogany sideboards filled with African memorabilia; richly-patterned kilims atop wooden floors and a butler tray decked with a steaming pot of filter coffee come morning.
Each tent offers a spacious en-suite bathroom, bedecked with brass fittings and bespoke amenities, an outdoor shower as well as a private viewing deck. Here leather campaign chairs offer a space for quiet reflection on your time in the wilderness, and the opportunity for spontaneous game sightings.
Duke’s Camp, Okavango Delta
Duke’s Camp offers eight canvas safari suites, each carefully positioned to offer spectacular views of the Okavango Delta. The tents are on raised wooden decks and sit elegantly amongst leadwood and ebony trees. Taking their cue from the style and panache of the original Jack’s Camp, the guest tents at Duke’s Camp revel in the much-loved vintage safari aesthetic of plush fabrics, Persian rugs and hand-carved four-poster beds.
The camp is named in honor of Sarefo ‘Duke’ Sarefo, the custodian of this remarkable island wilderness amid the Okavango Delta. Duke was born 80 years ago on the very island that the camp now stands. Duke’s forefathers are of the Wayeyi tribe, who have long worked the waters of the Okavango Delta as traditional fishermen.
Duke remains dedicated to protecting and preserving this wilderness and has embraced environmentally conscious tourism as a means to safeguard this landscape for future generations of the Sarefo family. A lease agreement on the concession allows travelers the unique privilege of exploring this unexplored corner of the Okavango Delta.
Mbamba Camp, Okavango Delta
Mbamba offers 12 stylish canvas tents (4 double, 6 twin and 2 family), carefully positioned under the shade of an impressive stand of large leadwood trees. The tents are on slightly raised wooden decks and revel in the much-loved Bousfield vintage safari aesthetic of plush fabrics, mahogany sideboards, Persian rugs and romantic four-poster beds, all infused with a yesteryear charm.
Each tent offers spacious en-suite bathrooms, over-bed cooling systems, and a private veranda that sits elegantly under the boughs of the trees to offer respite from the heat, and stunning views of the Okavango Delta.
Mbamba occupies a massive concession in the northern Okavango Delta. Its vast size, limited human impact, and abundant wildlife make it a truly wild and untouched Delta experience. The camp itself is pitched under a stand of large leadwood trees and the surrounding landscape of tawny grasslands interwoven with shimmering channels, ancient woodland and ilala palm-islands, is beautifully pieced together to create a wildlife utopia.
Expeditions Camp, Okavango Delta
Expeditions Camp was born from a simple belief: that the soul of safari lives in its origins in canvas walls, firelight, wide open silence and the slow, attentive way the early explorers moved through the wilderness. It is situated in The Northern Okavango Concession which spans across 200,000 acres of untamed wilderness
Pitched in a hidden crease of the Delta, Expeditions Camp rests under shady ebony trees beside a seasonal floodplain. This semi permanent camp has been built with intention — and with a loyalty to the traditions of true wilderness exploration. Crafted for authenticity, the 8 tents rest directly on the level forest floor, forgoing raised decks to create an intimate connection with the African bush. Four-poster beds, antique furnishings, Persian rugs, rich textiles and a fully plumbed en-suite bathroom with hot water on tap ensure that comfort is never compromised. A private deck opens onto the floodplains: the perfect place to sit, pause and watch the Delta shift with the light.
Jack’s Camp, Makgadikgadi Pans
Jack’s Camp blends the sophistication of vintage mid-century travel furniture with the adventurous spirit of exploration, creating an iconic safari experience. Its 9 guest tents, 7 twin tents and 2 double tents, are all adorned with a classic East African feel.
There is a comfortable living area, with a sofa and day bed for relaxing on and the outer deck has a private plunge pool, with swing beds for exquisite views overlooking the Makgadikgadi Pans. You’ll discover Natural History Museum cabinets curated by Ralph Bousfield himself, an over-bed cooling system to ward off the desert heat and an en-suite bathroom with indoor and outdoor showers.
In the 1960s, Jack Bousfield set out on an expedition into the desolate Makgadikgadi Pans. He soon stumbled upon a site that so captured his imagination that he set up a camp in that very spot, with the unshakeable expectation that others would feel the same. That was the first incarnation of Jack’s Camp, a simple, no frills affair in the heart of the desert, visited by guests as much to see Jack as the otherworldly area.
San Camp, Makgadikgadi Pans
Imagine a smattering of billowing white tents, shaded by desert palms and surrounded by a thousand acres of shimmering, sparkling nothingness. San camp consists of 7 tents on the edge of the Nwetwe Pan in Botswana’s Makgadikgadi. San isn’t a place for frills and fluffiness. The magic is in the minimalism, both at the camp and in the mysterious desert landscape. It’s just you, the wildlife, and a handful of local San Bushmen, waiting to share their secrets with you
Ensuite bathrooms have running water with flush loos and solar heated showers, and there’s plenty of water in the elegant copper jugs and basins. The entire camp runs on solar-power and when darkness falls, you’ll find lanterns scattered around to light the way.
Along with Jack’s and Camp Kalahari, the best time to visit San is during the zebra migration where 10’s of thousands zebra along with wildebeest migrate into the area from December to March to take advantage of the grass that turns the pans green with the onset of the rains. Flamingos flock to the area as well.
Camp Kalahari, Makgadikgadi Pans
Laidback and understated, nothing is overly elaborate at Camp Kalahari. Instead, you’ll find 12, Meru-style canvas tents filled with fresh textiles, Moroccan kilims and four-posters. Shower alfresco in the open-air, ensuite bathrooms and there’s plenty of hot and cold water available throughout the day.
If you’re travelling with your brood, choose one of the interconnecting family tents; with a bathroom linking the space for children and adults, it’s ideal for families and groups.
And if you’re looking for adventure, then look no further! We’ve got quad bike adventures, across the otherworldly salt pans, walks with the Zu’/hoasi bushmen to discover the amazing creatures that somehow manage to survive in this harsh environment, and our very own ‘Kalahari cool cats,’ the habituated meerkat family who like nothing more than to use unsuspecting guests as lookout points.
Meno a Kwena, Boteti River
Meno a Kwena isn’t a hyper-luxurious camp and that’s why we love it. We don’t have private butlers and air conditioning, but what we do have are 10 classic tents perched on a clifftop overlooking the river and offering some of the best ‘armchair’ game viewing we’ve ever seen. Each is classically-styled, with a few eccentricities thrown in here and there; think locally-woven fabrics mixed with colonial-style furniture, and simple fittings brightened by snippets of color. All have fully-equipped ensuite bathrooms, and there are two family units, both with inter-leading tents.
A spectacle of 30,000 zebra and wildebeest migrate across the Makgadikgadi Pans, alongside a scattering of other hooved animals. As the pans dry from April onwards, the zebra complete their journey at the Boteti River in an explosion of black and white stripes, followed closely by the predators: lion with their impressive black manes, leopard and cheetah using the surrounding bushes as cover, packs of wild dog, and mischievous jackal.
