Moremi
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Xigera Safari Lodge
A living gallery of African art, set on the Delta's permanent water.
From our guest surveys — how we gather evidence
A gallery you can sleep in
You arrive over an elevated bridge across a papyrus-lined channel, and the crossing sets the terms: this is the Delta's permanent water, and the lodge belongs to it. Xigera stands all but hidden in a canopy of indigenous forest on the western edge of Moremi Game Reserve, its buildings raised on stilts above floodplain that fills and empties with the Delta's pulse. What separates it from every other lodge in the Delta is inside: a commissioned collection of furniture, sculpture, ceramics and textiles by some eighty African artists and designers — woven human-sized nest seats, a forged-steel firepit, hand-carved chairs — assembled as the largest collection of contemporary African art in any lodge on the continent. Nothing is decoration; everything was made for the room it sits in.
The main island carries the grand lounge and dining room, a bar with a proper wine cellar, an air-conditioned library, a boma, the star deck and a pool set to the floodplain view. The pace is the other signature: there are no fixed activity boards here — days are shaped suite by suite, and the lodge's answer to most requests is yes.
Twelve suites across two islands
Each suite runs to roughly 184 square metres — a separate lounge, bedroom and dressing area, a bathroom with a freestanding bath set to the floodplain, and both indoor and outdoor showers. Late afternoon, the nest seat holds you out over the floodplain with a book you won't finish — the light goes copper on the water, and the air cools before you've noticed the sun is gone. All are air-conditioned, individually designed around their own artists' work, and open onto a private deck with a shaded gazebo and king-sized daybed — several with one of the woven nest seats to read the afternoon away in. A television is there but concealed, sliding out of sight at a touch; WiFi and private in-suite dining come as standard, not as extras.
The suites spread across two islands, linked by raised walkways under the trees, so no suite sits in another's view. For families or two couples, the two-bedroom Family Suite is the one to take — and note that nine of the eleven standard suites hold fixed king beds that cannot be split into twins, so twin-bed parties should say so at booking.
The Delta's water and its dry ground, both
Xigera's position earns it both halves of the Delta. The permanent channels around the lodge carry mokoro excursions — poled, silent, at lily height — and motorboat trips into the deeper waterways, while the drier ground opens to morning and afternoon game drives with a maximum of six guests to a vehicle. Bush walks and catch-and-release fishing run in season, and the birding is serious: this is Pel's fishing owl country, and the papyrus and riverine forest hold species that draw birders on their own account.
The concession's wildlife has a wild rhythm — elephant feed through the palms below the walkways, hippo hold the channels, and predator sightings on the drives have strengthened as more dry ground has opened up in recent seasons.
The Baobab Treehouse takes one party at a time and is weather-dependent, so it books out — reserve it when you book the lodge, not on arrival, and place it mid-stay so a postponed night can move rather than vanish.
Boating and mokoro depend on the Delta's flood levels, which vary by season and by year — in low-water periods the boats may stop running while mokoro continue, and in some years the reverse. The land activities carry the stay regardless; if a specific water experience is the point of your trip, ask us about timing before you fix dates.
A kitchen with a cellar under it
Food is one of the reasons to choose Xigera, and the lodge treats it that way. The dining room runs from long, unhurried brunches to candlelit dinners; the boma takes the fire-lit evenings; and the wine cellar underwrites it all with a list assembled for the trip of a lifetime rather than the minibar. The chef's table is the one to ask for — a final-night ritual for many guests — and private dining moves to your suite or deck whenever the mood does.
Xigera is pronounced “kee-jera” — the name is the local seTswana word for the pied kingfisher, the black-and-white fisherman you'll see hovering over the channels around the lodge all day.
The treehouse and the air
Two experiences worth building into the stay from the start — both booked through us, in advance.
The Baobab Treehouse
A three-storey tower a kilometre from the lodge, sleeping one party at a time with panoramic views from every floor and a guide stationed nearby — dinner and a night fully immersed in the wilderness. Carries a surcharge, booked in advance; weather-permitting and subject to availability.
Helicopter safaris
Low-level flights over the Delta's channels and islands — the one perspective the mokoro can't give you. Booked through us ahead of travel.
The western edge of Moremi
Xigera sits on a private concession on the western side of Moremi Game Reserve, deep in the permanent-water zone of the Okavango Delta — the UNESCO World Heritage wetland at the region's heart. Light aircraft from Maun land at Xigera Airstrip, minutes from the lodge; the final approach crosses the bridge over the papyrus channel.
What it costs.
Rates are per person per night, based on two guests travelling together (sharing).
Four nights for the price of three, from the late dry, when plains game crowds the channels and predators trail it, into the green season of calving, migrant birds and storm light on an island whose game never has to leave.
Book three nights and the light-aircraft flights from Maun and back are free, through the dry season's end, when herds press to the channels with predators close behind, then into the green months of calving and storms.
A safari and a collection under one roof
No other lodge in the Delta attempts what Xigera does: a serious safari and a serious collection under one roof. The water position means mokoro and boating that dry-land lodges can't match; the predators have moved closer as the ground around it dries; and the lodge itself — the eighty artists, the cellar, the anything-any-time pace — makes the hours between activities as memorable as the activities. For the traveller who has done the canvas camps and wants the Delta with every comfort attended to, this is the one.
Is this for you
- ✓You want the full Delta — mokoro, boat, drives and walks — without changing lodges
- ✓Design, art and food matter to you as much as the game viewing
- ✓You want space, air-conditioning and a pace shaped entirely around you
The art/design is stunning and I took far too many photos of the lodge. But the staff were the real highlight for us. Great food, never felt formal.
Tell us your dates and we'll build the journey around it — the flights, the treehouse night, and which camps pair with the deep-water Delta.
The fine print.
- —All meals
- —Local-brand drinks
- —Two scheduled safari activities daily
- —Park fees
- —Return Xigera airstrip transfers
- —Laundry
- —In-suite WiFi
- —Flights to and from Xigera Airstrip
- —Premium-brand drinks
- —Spa treatments and private yoga sessions
- —The Baobab Treehouse surcharge (booked in advance)
- —Travel and medical insurance
- —Gratuities and items of a personal nature
Xigera takes children from the age of six, and they share a suite with an adult. Families travelling with children aged six to twelve pre-book a private vehicle for the duration of the stay. Under-12s don't join walking safaris or mokoro trips, and under-16s wear life jackets on all boating and mokoro excursions.
By light aircraft from Maun to Xigera Airstrip, then a short transfer across the bridge to the lodge.
WiFi in every suite and the main areas, included in the rate.
The lodge is solar-powered and runs plastic-free. Nine of the eleven standard suites hold fixed king beds that cannot be converted to twins — tell us at booking if twins matter.