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Camp Xakanaxa
The traditional safari camp, with the lagoon at your veranda.
From our guest surveys — how we gather evidence
What a safari camp was
Camp Xakanaxa (say ka-ka-na-ka) has stayed what most safari camps used to be: canvas, reed and thatch under big riverine trees, run simply and well. The camp stands on the shore of Xakanaxa Lagoon in the north-east of Moremi Game Reserve, shaded by sausage trees, leadwood and a giant jackalberry, and it wears its history lightly — timber-and-reed main buildings raised on stilts sized to the Okavango's flood, a lounge with a small library, and a bar you help yourself from. Evenings run on firelight and lanterns rather than spectacle.
The entertainment is the lagoon. A jetty runs out over the water and ends in a firepit; director's chairs line the deck facing the reeds; a plunge pool sits at one end of the main area with loungers in a shaded sala beside it, and a larger swimming pool waits behind, near reception, for anyone who actually wants to swim lengths. Hippo work the shallows in front of camp — one has been a resident long enough that the staff use his name — and the birdlife off the deck is a show in its own right.
Meru tents at the water's edge
The twelve Meru-style tents stand on wooden decks at the water's edge, each with a veranda set into the riverside growth — the lagoon arrives in glimpses through the foliage rather than as an open panorama; the main deck is where the water spreads out in front of you. Inside is wooden floors and oriental rugs, a double or twin under a mosquito net and ceiling fan, a small sofa at the foot of the bed, a writing desk with a tea station and a jar of biscuits, and charging points with USB at the headboard. The bathroom, behind a wooden door at the back, runs to a hot shower, twin basins and a flush loo inside reed-and-pole walls — the feel of an outdoor bathroom with none of the leaf litter. Hot-water bottles appear on winter nights.
The tents stand fairly close together, and canvas carries sound — reed screens and thick vegetation mean you won't see your neighbours, but you may sometimes hear them.
Drives and boats on famous ground
The Xakanaxa area is one of the storied wildlife grounds of the Okavango, and the camp works it two ways. Game drives run morning and afternoon through mopane woodland, floodplain and grassland — country for elephant, hippo and giraffe on almost any drive, with lion, leopard and wild dog all resident on this ground. Boat cruises take the other half of the day, out across the lagoon and into the channels: the best route to the shy sitatunga, otters if you're lucky, and birding that peaks from December to April when the migrants breed. The ground has range to it: in the dry months the game presses in along the permanent water and the drives get thick with elephant and predators; in the green season the grass stands tall and asks more patience of you — and still gives up its leopard, as recent wet-season visits here have shown. The same guides work the same country year-round, and it tells.
Do the reserve's classic ground first, then move on to a private concession where night drives and walking open up — the trip builds instead of narrowing.
This is the reserve proper: no night drives, no off-road driving, no walking, and the tracks are shared with neighbouring camps and self-drivers, so expect company at big sightings in the busy months. Game drives run at six guests to a vehicle; private vehicles and specialist guides can be arranged at an additional charge.
One long table, lantern-lit
Meals here are taken together, at long wooden tables — the old safari way, and half the camp's character. The kitchen sends out proper spreads: cooked-to-order hot breakfasts after the morning drive, high tea before the afternoon one, and a plated-then-buffet dinner by lantern light, with a Setswana buffet most Thursdays for anyone curious about the local table. Coffee goes out on morning activities in insulated flasks. If a communal table isn't your evening, private dining can be arranged — but the shared table is where this camp's stories get told.
A Pel's fishing owl — one of Africa's most sought-after birds — is resident at the camp, and has been watched hunting the currents from the giant jackalberry beside the firepit jetty.
Room for a family, from age six
Children from six are welcome, and the family tent is built for the job: two en-suite tents joined by a corridor, with a fold-out sofa in the second bedroom and space for an extra bed — up to three children, or a pair of friends travelling together. The camp arranges children's activities on request and a staff member can sit with children through dinner or the siesta. Families with children under twelve pre-book private activities at an additional rate per vehicle or activity — plan for it from the start. The camp itself is open to the water and the reserve: wildlife passes through, the pools are unfenced, and children stay under your supervision throughout.
The lagoon shore of eastern Moremi
Camp Xakanaxa stands where the Khwai River opens into Xakanaxa Lagoon, on the Mopane Tongue of eastern Moremi Game Reserve — ground that has been drawing safaris since before most of Botswana's camps existed. Flights from Maun take around 25 minutes to Xakanaxa Airstrip (about an hour from Kasane), followed by a 15-minute drive to camp.
What it costs.
Rates are per person per night, based on two guests travelling together (sharing).
The original camp, still running
If your picture of safari is canvas, firelight and a lagoon full of hippo — this is that picture, on some of the most reliable big-game ground in Botswana. Around that, the camp keeps the old rituals — the shared table, the lantern-lit dinner, the help-yourself bar — without letting comfort slip: proper bathrooms, hot water, WiFi to the tents. Nothing about it is trying to be a hotel, and that is precisely the case for it.
Is this for you
- ✓You want the traditional canvas-and-lantern safari, done in real comfort
- ✓You like the sociable rhythm of a shared table and a firepit on a jetty
- ✓You want to fall asleep to the sound of hippo in the shallows
I enjoyed seeing the many animals. Also, I was very impressed with the fantastic services from the lodge staff and game guides.
Tell us your dates and we'll shape the whole Botswana combination around Xakanaxa — the flights, the nights, and where the journey goes next.
The fine print.
- —All meals
- —Refreshments, local spirits and wines
- —Two scheduled safari activities daily
- —National-park fees
- —Return Xakanaxa airstrip transfers
- —Laundry
- —Flights to and from Xakanaxa Airstrip
- —Premium-brand drinks
- —Private activities and vehicle hire
- —Travel and medical insurance
- —Gratuities and items of a personal nature
Children from six years are welcome. Families with children under twelve pre-book private activities at an additional rate per vehicle or activity.
By light aircraft to Xakanaxa Airstrip — around 25 minutes from Maun, about an hour from Kasane — then a 15-minute drive to camp.
WiFi in the main area and the tents; there is no mobile signal at camp.
Power is solar, with a generator kept as backup. Staff see you back to your tent once it is dark, and hot-water bottles come out on cold nights.