Moremi
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Chief's Camp
The softest bed in the hardest-working game country in Africa.
From our guest surveys — how we gather evidence
Luxury with the game on its doorstep
Chief's Camp works because of a simple arithmetic: it puts the Delta's most comfortable rooms in the middle of its most celebrated wildlife ground. The camp stands in a grove of jackalberry trees on the north-west of Chief's Island, in the Mombo Concession at Moremi's heart — country so dense with lion, leopard, cheetah and wild dog that it long ago earned the nickname of Africa's predator capital, with white rhino re-introduced to the concession for good measure. The wildlife doesn't wait for the drives: game grazes the floodplain in front of the main deck, and elephant have been known to hold guests hostage at their pavilion doors, browsing.
The main area steps down in levels toward the floodplain — lounge, dining and an atmospheric firepit above, the pool on the deck below — with a spa, a gym, a library and a children's playroom behind. Evenings run to sundowners set up in the bush, and dinner keeps a sense of play at this level: a build-your-own pizza night, or a barbecue by the boma with the staff's singing carrying into the dark.
Among the largest rooms in the Delta
The ten Bush Pavilions are thatched, stilted and enormous — floor-to-ceiling windows, a wraparound private deck, and a plunge pool of your own at the deck's edge. Inside: a four-poster convertible to king or twins with air-conditioning directly over the bed, a lounge area in leather and linen, a Nespresso machine for the first coffee of the day, and a bathroom running from tub to indoor and outdoor showers. One pavilion each night can take a third guest.
The Geoffrey Kent Suite is the camp's own camp: two bedrooms, a kitchen, an indoor lounge, dining room and private boma — staffed with your own guide, vehicle, chef, waiter and housekeeper, and taking up to four guests.
The predator capital, twice daily
Game drives go out morning and afternoon into the Mombo Concession's floodplains and island woodland — the ground that made Chief's Island's reputation. Lion prides, leopard, cheetah and wild dog all hold territories here, worked over by big herds of plains game, elephant and buffalo, with over five hundred bird species in the trees above — and the drives share this exclusive concession with only a handful of vehicles.
When the floodwaters rise, the water joins in: mokoro excursions pole the seasonal channels, and motorboat trips run when levels allow. After dinner the camp looks up instead of out — guided stargazing under one of the darkest skies on the continent, for everyone aged six and over.
The seasonal flood transforms this island edge — dry floodplain crowded with game in one season, a lagoon at sunset in another. If the mokoro matters to you, ask us about water levels for your dates before you fix them; the drives are magnificent either way.
Chief's Island was once the private hunting ground of the BaTawana chief — the reason the Delta's largest island carries his title, and, in a quieter sense, the reason its game was never hunted out.
The island at the heart of it
Chief's Camp stands on the north-western side of Chief's Island — the largest landmass in the Okavango Delta — within the exclusive Mombo Concession of Moremi Game Reserve. Light aircraft from Maun land at the camp's airstrip, with a short game-drive transfer to the pavilions.
What it costs.
Rates are per person per night, based on two guests travelling together (sharing).
Lodge comfort on Chief's Island
Plenty of camps offer luxury; very few offer it on Chief's Island. This is the ground serious safari-goers circle on the map — the predator density, the rhino, the sheer traffic of game — and Chief's Camp meets it with plunge pools, air-conditioned beds and premium drinks in the rate. For the traveller who wants Botswana's most celebrated wildlife without giving up a single comfort to get it, the case makes itself.
Is this for you
- ✓You want the Delta's most celebrated game country and full luxury in the same booking
- ✓A private plunge pool and an air-conditioned bed are non-negotiables
- ✓You're considering the Geoffrey Kent Suite for a family or party wanting everything private
Very spoiled here! Elephants near the room, hippos making a racket at night and some fantastic drives. Staff somehow remember everything, even our coffee orders.
Tell us your dates and we'll build the journey around Chief's Camp — the flights, the nights, and what to pair with the island.
The fine print.
- —All meals
- —Local and premium-brand drinks
- —Two scheduled camp activities daily
- —Park fees
- —Return Chief's Camp airstrip transfers
- —Laundry
- —Flights to and from Chief's Camp Airstrip
- —Private vehicle and activity hire
- —Spa treatments
- —Travel and medical insurance
- —Gratuities and items of a personal nature
Children from six years are welcome. Pavilions take two adults with one triple pavilion available per night; the Geoffrey Kent Suite takes up to four guests including children, with more on request. Under-15s don't join the mokoro trips, and stargazing is for six and over.
By light aircraft from Maun to Chief's Camp Airstrip, then a short game-drive transfer.
The camp is unfenced on its island and game moves through freely — staff walk you to your pavilion after dark, and the elephant occasionally set the schedule.