Jacana Camp | Okavango Delta
25 Feb 2020 - 27 Feb 2020
Jacana Camp offers a classic, water-focused Okavango Delta safari in the heart of the Jao Reserve. Set on a remote island in the expansive Jao Flats, the camp is surrounded by seasonally flooded plains, papyrus swamps and crystal-clear channels, where the annual inundation shapes both the landscape and wildlife movements.
With just five spacious en-suite tents, each featuring an outdoor shower and elevated wooden deck, Jacana provides an intimate and authentic Delta experience. The camp is particularly renowned for exceptional birdlife, including Pel’s fishing owl, African and lesser jacana, slaty egret and African pygmy goose, alongside red lechwe, hippo and elephant that thrive in this water-rich ecosystem.
While predominantly water-based, offering boating, mokoro excursions and seasonal fishing. Jacana also provides year-round game drives via dedicated access to nearby larger islands, ensuring a well-rounded safari experience in all seasons.
INSIDER’S TIP: Early morning mokoro excursions offer the most magical Delta perspective, drift quietly through lily-lined channels while scanning the trees for Pel’s fishing owl.
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Standard Twin/Double Tents
Jacana’s five elevated tented suites are set on raised wooden decks overlooking the surrounding floodplains and papyrus-lined channels of the Jao Flats. Designed to blend seamlessly into the watery landscape, the spacious canvas tents combine classic safari charm with understated comfort.
Each en-suite tent features an outdoor shower and a private viewing deck, allowing guests to remain closely connected to the rhythms of the Delta. During flood season, water often surrounds the camp, creating an immersive island experience with wildlife and birdlife visible from the comfort of the deck.
Raised wooden walkways link the tents to the main dining, lounge and pool areas, which sit beneath towering sycamore fig trees and offer expansive views across the seasonal floodplains. The elevated design enhances privacy while maximising the camp’s tranquil, water-dominated setting.
Room Facilities
Balcony / Deck, Bath Towels, Bath, Complimentary Wi-Fi, En Suite Bathroom, External Shower, Fan, Hand Towels, Laundry Service (Complimentary), Mosquito Nets, Outside Shower, Shower, Solid Base Camp Beds
Property Facilities
Bar, Pool
Room Facilities
Electrical Outlets, Fan, Internet Access (Complimentary), Laundry Service (Complimentary), Mosquito Nets, Outside Shower, Safe, Tea / Coffee
Available Services
Credit Card Facilities
Activities on Site
Bird Watching, Boating, Catch-and-release Fishing, Game Drives, Mokoro Excursion, Walks (Guided)
Activities Nearby
Cultural Tours, Helicopter Scenic Flights
Explore the varied habitats surrounding Jacana Camp on guided morning and afternoon game drives in open 4x4 safari vehicles. Seasonal floodplains, waterways, woodland and dry islands create a diverse landscape that supports an abundance of wildlife and birdlife.
Led by an experienced guide, each drive is shaped by the conditions and wildlife movements of the day, offering opportunities to observe the reserve’s resident animals in their natural environment.
Game drives are subject to weather, road conditions and operational considerations. Wildlife sightings cannot be guaranteed.
When conditions allow, continue your afternoon game drive beyond sunset and experience a different side of the Okavango Delta as nocturnal wildlife becomes active. Using a spotlight, your guide may search for elusive species such as porcupine, aardwolf, serval, spotted genet and lesser bushbaby, while predators may also become more active after dark.
During the flood season, Jacana Camp is situated on an island and road access is not available, so night drives cannot be conducted.
Night drives are seasonal and subject to water levels, weather, road conditions and operational considerations. Wildlife sightings cannot be guaranteed.
Experience the Jao Reserve on foot and discover the wilderness from a more intimate perspective. Guided nature walks offer the opportunity to slow down and appreciate the smaller details of the Delta, from animal tracks and plants to insects, birds and other signs of wildlife activity.
Led by an experienced walking guide, each excursion is shaped by the prevailing conditions and tailored to the interests and abilities of the guests.
Guided nature walks are seasonal and subject to weather, terrain, wildlife activity and the availability of a suitably qualified walking guide. Advance booking is essential. Participation is subject to the guide’s discretion and applicable age restrictions.
Glide quietly through the waterways surrounding Jacana Camp in a traditional mokoro, poled by an experienced guide. Travelling at water level offers an intimate perspective on the Okavango Delta and reveals its smaller details, from colourful reed frogs and aquatic plants to an abundance of waterbirds.
The channels may also offer opportunities to observe larger aquatic wildlife, including hippo and crocodile, from a safe and respectful distance.
Available subject to water levels, weather conditions and operational feasibility. Participation is subject to the guide’s discretion and applicable age restrictions. Wildlife sightings cannot be guaranteed.
Explore the waterways surrounding Jacana Camp by boat and experience the Okavango Delta from a different perspective. Cruising through open channels and alongside reed-lined banks offers excellent opportunities to observe aquatic birdlife and water-associated wildlife, including hippo and crocodile.
Depending on the season and conditions, guests may also be fortunate enough to glimpse the elusive sitatunga among the papyrus and floodplain vegetation.
Available subject to water levels, weather conditions and operational feasibility. Wildlife sightings cannot be guaranteed.
Try your hand at seasonal catch-and-release fishing in the waterways surrounding Jacana Camp. The Delta supports several freshwater species, and the experience offers a relaxed way to enjoy the channels and floodplains from the water.
A limited selection of basic fishing equipment is available at camp for guests’ use.
Fishing is seasonal and subject to water levels, weather conditions and operational feasibility. In accordance with Botswana’s annual fishing closure, fishing is not permitted during January and February to protect breeding fish populations.
The Jao Reserve offers exceptional birding across a rich mosaic of floodplains, waterways, reedbeds, woodland and dry islands. With both land- and water-based activities available, guests have excellent opportunities to add a wide variety of species to their lists.
Notable specials may include wattled crane, slaty egret, rosy-throated longclaw, Pel’s fishing owl and African skimmer, alongside more regularly encountered species such as coppery-tailed coucal and African pygmy goose.
Birding opportunities vary according to season, habitat conditions and water levels. Sightings cannot be guaranteed.
Your Stay
2 Nights
Your Rooms
1x Tented Room/s
Fast Facts
5 Stars
Lodge
Spoken Languages: English
No. Rooms: 5
Special Interests: Birding, Nature, Wildlife
Wilderness Chitabe Lediba | Okavango Delta
27 Feb 2020 - 1 Mar 2020
On the same island as its sister camp (Wilderness Chitabe), Wilderness Chitabe Lediba is a more intimate destination and is ideally suited to small groups and families. The surrounding mix of savannah, woodlands and palm-dotted floodplains, that characterise this corner of the Delta, support a diversity of species year round. Game drives take in an abundant array of herbivores: giraffes, buffalos, red lechwe, tsessebe, impala and elephants, which in turn attracts the larger predators: lions, leopards, spotted hyenas, cheetahs, and African wild dogs.
Of the five meru-style guest tents, each decorated in a distinctive and appealing style, two are specifically designed for families having adjoining bedrooms and a shared en-suite bathroom. The dining area, lounge and pool have a glorious vantage over the small lediba (a lagoon within a channel) after which the camp is named and lend themselves to recounting exciting safari tales.
INSIDER'S TIP: Scan the bushveld during your evening drive for nocturnal mammals such as civets, genets, bushbabies, owls and leopards.
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The smaller and more intimate Wilderness Chitabe Lediba is well-placed to create a more relaxed atmosphere. It is named after the lediba (a remnant lagoon that is now an active waterhole) in front of camp.
Nestled in the natural beauty of Chitabe Island, the walkways weaves through the treeline and termite mounds – all harmonious to the natural order – with innovatively built tents to ensure minimal environmental impact.
All tents have indoor and outdoor showers, the latter offering spectacular views of the Delta scenery.
Families are easily accommodated in two units which each sleep four comfortably. Both suites have two bedrooms with two three-quarter beds, and private en-suite bathrooms.
Families with small children will prefer the unit with an interleading indoor passage, while families with older children will enjoy the privacy of the unit with an outdoor walkway.
Property Facilities
Bar, Library, Pool
Room Facilities
Electrical Outlets, Fan, Internet Access (Complimentary), Laundry Service (Complimentary), Lounge Area, Mosquito Nets, Outside Shower, Safe, Tea / Coffee, Verandah
Available Services
Credit Card Facilities, Private Vehicle (Available)
Activities on Site
Bird Watching, Game Drives, Night Drives, Walks (Guided)
Activities Nearby
Cultural Tours, Helicopter Scenic Flights
Prepare yourself for some significant predator-prey, or predator-predator, action – a wildlife photographer’s dream. Lions, leopards, African wild dogs, spotted hyaenas, and cheetahs provide almost constant unfolding drama on the floodplains, at the expense of herbivores such as buffalos, giraffes; and a host of antelope, such as tsessebe, impala, and red lechwe.
On top of the excitement of a safari experience, the advantage of evening drives is that you have a unique chance to see nocturnal wildlife at their most active. Instead of watching a big cat snooze in the sun, for example, you may be able to glimpse a pride preparing for their evening hunt and setting off into the bush for a kill. Scan the bushveld for creatures that rarely appear during the day, from aardvark, to civets, genets, bushbabies, and owls.
A walking safari is a wonderful way to explore Africa's wildlife, and these may vary from a gentle morning ramble to a longer "hike" for the more intrepid. Escorted by our enthusiastic guides, explore areas with no roads, whilst listening to bird calls, and learning about animal track identification.
The birdlife is excellent and varies throughout the year, depending on water levels and season. Sightings may include African hawk-eagle, ground hornbill, scarlet-chested sunbird, red-billed hornbill, gabar goshawk and red-billed francolin.
A dinner in the bush is the ultimate safari experience – join us as we toast to the day under a magical star-studded sky while listening to the evocative sounds of an African night …
Your Stay
3 Nights
Your Rooms
1x Tented Room/s
Fast Facts
Lodge
No. Rooms: 5
Special Interests: Birding, Nature, Wildlife
