Moremi
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Camp Khwai
The owners' own camp, on a bend of the Khwai.
From our guest surveys — how we gather evidence
Built by its owners, run by its owners
Camp Khwai is that rare thing in northern Botswana: a safari camp owned and run by Batswana, on their own ground. Ronnie and Tlotlo Mokotedi raised it from bare land on a bend of the Khwai River in 2021, after two decades in the country's lodges and hotels, and their hand shows everywhere — in the staff who greet you by name from the second morning, the welcome performance that has reduced more than one arriving guest to happy tears, and the detailing that reviews keep noticing, down to the floss on the dinner table. This is hosting as a family matter, and it reads that way.
The camp itself sits under thatch on the river bend, with Moremi Game Reserve beginning across the water. The main area holds the dining tables, the bar and a pool facing the river — elephant come down to drink on the far bank while you swim — and evenings end at the fire with the hippos providing the bass line.
Seven tents above the floodplain
The six king-bed tents stand elevated on timber decks, each looking over the floodplain or the lagoon, with an en-suite bathroom and a private veranda. Mosquito curtains wrap the beds, ceiling fans move the air, and the showers are a small point of pride — no bucket showers here, but proper hot water with no time limit and a sightline to the river, in case your best sighting of the day arrives mid-shampoo.
The seventh tent is the family tent: two rooms behind one entrance, sleeping up to five — built for families, and equally taken by honeymooners and small groups wanting the space.
The game gathers at the river
Two scheduled activities run daily — game drives, mokoro trips and visits to the neighbouring village — in open vehicles carrying a maximum of six guests. The drives work the Khwai community ground and the Moremi fringe, country where lion, leopard and wild dog are the resident headline and elephant are simply the weather; night drives and guided bush walks can also be arranged. The mokoro trips change the pace entirely: poled along the channels at water level, jacanas stepping across the lilies an arm's length away.
The guiding is home-ground guiding — guests mention their guides by name, review after review — and the hosting follows you out of camp: bush breakfasts arrive at viewpoints, sundowners find their spot, and the day bends to what the group wants rather than the board.
When water levels allow, the camp can arrange your arrival transfer to finish by mokoro — landing at camp by water rather than by track is the best first five minutes on the Khwai.
The jacana you'll watch from the mokoro walks on water — its absurdly long toes spread its weight across the lily pads, so it strides over the floating leaves as if the river were a lawn.
All ages, by design
Camp Khwai welcomes children of all ages, and the camp was designed with them in mind — the elevated tents are safe for youngsters. The family tent's two rooms keep everyone together without anyone on a bedroll, and the team's warmth extends naturally to the smallest guests.
Plan around two rules: the family tent books with a private vehicle at an additional cost — your own guide and your own schedule, in practice — and children under eleven have private activities booked for them and sit out the mokoro trips.
A bend of the Khwai, at Moremi's doorstep
The camp stands on the Khwai River in the community concession at the north-eastern edge of the Okavango Delta, with Moremi Game Reserve directly across the water. Light aircraft from Maun or Kasane land at Khwai Airstrip, about twenty minutes' game drive from camp; self-drivers reach it by 4x4 along the sandy Khwai tracks.
What it costs.
Rates are per person per night, based on two guests travelling together (sharing).
The hosts make the difference
Plenty of camps sit on good ground along the Khwai; this is the one where the owners built it, live it and run it. That changes the texture of a stay in ways no facilities list captures — the named welcomes, the food cooked with intent, the day rearranged because you mentioned wanting one more mokoro. Put that hosting on a river bend with Moremi across the water and all ages welcome, and Camp Khwai makes its own case.
Is this for you
- ✓You want an owner-run camp where hosting is personal, not a rota
- ✓You're travelling with children — any age — and want a camp built for it
- ✓You want the Khwai's big game with mokoro water and the village next door
Everything was arranged perfectly, staff was very friendly and always willing to help. Accommodation was clean and beyond beautiful.
Tell us your dates and party — we'll build the journey around Camp Khwai, from the flights to the family tent to the mokoro arrival.
The fine print.
- —All meals
- —Local-brand drinks — soft drinks, local beers, wine and selected spirits
- —Two safari activities daily
- —Park fees
- —Return Khwai airstrip transfers
- —Laundry (wash and fold)
- —Flights to and from Khwai Airstrip
- —Premium-brand drinks
- —Inter-camp transfers
- —Conservation and community levy (charged per person per night)
- —Private vehicle and activity hire
- —Travel and medical insurance
- —Gratuities and items of a personal nature
Children of all ages are welcome. Private activities are booked for children under eleven at an additional cost, under-11s sit out the mokoro trips, and the family tent books with a private vehicle.
By light aircraft from Maun or Kasane to Khwai Airstrip, then a game-drive transfer of about twenty minutes — or by 4x4 along the sandy Khwai tracks.
The camp runs entirely on solar power. The riverbank belongs to the wildlife as much as the camp — hippo graze the lawns after dark, so a staff escort walks you to your tent each evening.