KWETSANI CAMP
Okavango, Botswana

Introduction

Kwetsani Island is a large, elongated island surrounded by enormous open plains in Botswana's Okavango Delta. It is located in the private Jao Reserve, an area of 60,000 hectares to the west of Mombo and the Moremi Game Reserve. The island is heavily wooded with palm, mangosteen and fig trees. The water levels around the island change each year, depending on the magnitude of the annual floods from central Africa. The water levels at Kwetsani are at their highest from April or May to September each year.

Camp Description

Kwetsani Camp is a small, intimate, ten~bedded luxury camp and is raised on wooden decks above the lush ground vegetation. The five spacious and lavish "tree~house" chalets are built under thatched roofs and have canvas and pole walls. En suite facilities under thatch include a shower, flush toilet and basin, with an additional outdoor shower. The rooms have an open, airy feel about them, with a superb view of the surrounding plains. The dining room, lounge and pub area is situated under cool thatch.

Game Viewing

Hippo, Sitatunga antelope and Crocodile reside in the deeper permanent lily~filled lagoons of the area. Lion, Leopard, Wild Dog, Cheetah, Tsessebe and Lechwe are among the major game attractions at Kwetsani. Nocturnal animals such as Porcupine, Aardwolf, Serval, Genet and Bushbaby can be observed on the night drives (water levels permitting).

Kwetsani offers superb land and water activities ~ with much of the focus depending on the water levels from the region's annual flood. In addition to stalking game by mokoro, you will also be able to enjoy exploring palm~fringed islands on foot. Day game drives are a highlight, enabling guests to experience varied and diverse game viewing. Guests have excellent chances of spotting predators during the day as well as on night drives.

The Owners

Cathy and David Kays and their families, and Kingsley Mogalakwe are the long~term leaseholders of Jao Reserve. The Kays are one of Maun's oldest families. David's great grandfather first came to Ngamiland in 1887. In 1912 the Kays family settled in Tsau, at that time the headquarters of the Batawana tribe (Maun was not yet founded). When the Batawana tribe decided to establish a new village at Maun and move its headquarters there in the mid~twenties, the Kays family moved with them. David's father, Ronnie, was instrumental in advising the Batawana Tribal Authorities on the formation of Moremi Game Reserve and assisted in the demarcation of the reserve's boundaries. Kingsley Mogalakwe is from a prominent and well~known Maun family. His uncle, Montsho Mogalakwe, was also instrumental in the formation of Moremi Game Reserve and has now retired from service in Maun as the deputy chief for Ngamiland. Like all families raised in and around the Okavango, wildlife was in their blood, and they spent most of their lives out in the bush. When they won the rights for the Jao Reserve in the recent tender process, they were determined to make this Botswana's finest reserve. They turned their backs on hunting, even though it is allowed in this reserve. They are only the second reserve in Botswana not to hunt, when hunting is allowed. They have decided to focus all their efforts on developing Jao into a superb photographic reserve, but in the process they lose about US$300,000 in hunting revenue every year to ensure great game viewing and a superb wildlife product in the long term. The two camps they have built ~ Jao and Kwetsani ~ are two of the top camps in the Okavango.

Location

o West of Mombo and North of Jao o In private concession bordering the Moremi Game Reserve called the Jao reserve.

Accomodation

Number of chalets:
5 tents in total consisting of:
4 ¾ twin bedded tents
1 kingsize-bedded honeymoon tent
This camp can accommodate 10 guests with tour leader 1 guide or guest tent
Chalet details:
o Luxury treehouse tent over 4m off ground
o En-suite facilities, indoor & outdoor showers o Chalet entrance is door (not zipped)
o Bathroom within chalet
o All tents have verandas overlooking the flood plains
o Fans in all guest tents
o Rooms under thatch
o Soaps, shampoos and insect repellents are supplied in each room

Activities

50% Game Drives and 50% Water Activities (but very much dependant on flood levels.) In the summer months activities tend more towards game drives, whereas in the winter months mainly water based activities are offered.
Game Drives:
o Land game drives in open 4x4 Land Rovers - the camp has 2x 10-seater Land Rovers each accommodating a maximum of 7 guests, allowing all guests an outside seat.
o In times of high water, guests are transferred by mokoro to game drive areas.
o Night drives with spot light.
o Private vehicles available on request.
Walking Safaris:
oThese can be offered from camp on a request basis.
Water Activities:
o Mekoros (a traditional dug-out canoe) 6 x 2seater
o Boating in the waterways to the west of camp.

Laundry policy

Laundry is done on a daily basis and inclusive in the nightly tariff with the exception of 'smalls' ie underwear, which are not washed due to local customs.

Extras payment

Curios and or imported drinks will be billed to the guest and settled on check out. Payment can be effected by cash (US$), travellers' cheques or the following credit cards: Visa or MasterCard. If guests feel that they want to tip, our recommended tipping schedule is as follows:
Guides - US$5.00 per person per day
General Camp Staff - US$3.00 per person per day
Specialist Guides (if applicable) - US$10.00 per person per day
(This is the suggested gratuity schedule only and is subject to service standards)

Flying Times

to/from Maun 30 minutes
to/from Kasane 1hr 20 minutes
Kasane to Victoria Falls 20 minutes but allow additional time for customs and immigration

Air Strip Details

Jao airstrip is located 10 minutes' drive from camp and a +- 5 minute boat trip.
Airstrip co-ordinates: S19.23.16, E022.44.51
Airstrip services Jao, Jacana and Kwetsani camps.

Electricity

o Camp has a 220v generator. Electricity is run in the kitchen and main areas when guests are not in camp. When guests return from daily activities, generators generally switched off (for peace in camp).
o 220v battery power (charged by the generator) is used for lighting and fans in each guest tent 24hrs a day. Hairdryers etc cannot work here.
o Video battery can be charged by the generator when guests on game drives. Hence bring spare battery and charging unit.
o Solar heated water for showers etc.

Guest Comments

"Our stay at Kwetsani was a complete dream. The accommodation, facilities, setting, food and drink was fantastic. However what made our trip truly memorable was the staff at the camp. The background support was efficient and courteous, Lee was particularly welcoming and hospitable, but Grant was the one member of staff who made the trip an incredible experience. His knowledge and enthusiasm was fantastic. Given the future of your company depends on your staff, then both Lee and Grant in particular, should be rewarded and retained correspondingly. Once again, Thank youT. N. and S. S. - London UK

Thanks for your wonderful hospitality - it has been an unbelievable visit. The little treats were very nice; like the evening stories, the greeting on some kind of wooden material, etc, etc.

P.S., USA

Attention to detail and personal service was excellent. We have no complaints or criticism. We had a wonderful time.

J.C. and J.C., California, USA

Wonderful team here are all very friendly, full of information and do not have a problem in making you feel comfortable and at home.

M.D. and E.D.

Everything was wonderful. We have run out of superlatives. The guides all the way through have been splendid and very member of staff out to please.

E.S. and R.B., U.K.

Thank you to you all for making our stay at Kwetsani so wonderful. A truly magnificent camp set in an incredible location - we will remember it always and hope to come back.

B.A. and J.v.N., New York, USA

I cannot add anything to make it more ideal, the mokoro, game drives, walks, everything was wonderful.

S.B. and K.B. New York, USA

The staff"s passion for this part of the Okavango was obvious and infectious. Their enthusiasm, happy disposition and willingness to please was a joy to observe.

M.B., South Australia

You are all wonderful people! I have such an admiration for the incredible work you all do to maintain such a lovely environment.

K.M., Miami, USA

I have never seen a group of people who genuinely love what they do, and get along so well as the group at Kings Pool. You are the best; we can't wait to visit again.

T.M. and J.M., USA

My group was kept happy and contented by your staff. Thanks so much for providing an enjoyable visit to your camp. The Boma meal and the dancing were much appreciated.

Zoo America group - USA

It's been terrific on every level. Gracious, sensitive, accommodating, creative staff combined with interesting other guests and staff along with an idyllic location and superb game viewing. We couldn't ask for more.

P.H. and F.H., DC, USA

Stay was wonderful. Very special place with great staff. Only complaint would be too much good food and too little exercise.

K.H. and M.H., Victoria, Australia

A more beautiful vista is probably not to be found. This has been a fantastic experience. I will recommend this highly and hope to return again.

K.W., USA

The organisation is superb. Everyone is so kind and friendly and also so competent. It was all superb and I long to come back.

J.S., U.K.

We loved the beauty or the surroundings and the common vision of the staff. D.W. and S.W., USA The guides were all superb, really knowledgeable. I cannot express how impressed we were with the knowledge of our guides. They were great.

L.O. and E.O., USA.

This camp provides its own special environment and ambiance. It is a beautiful and peaceful place to visit. Thank you to the management and all the staff for a wonderful time.

R.F and S.F., USA

The whole Safari experience was excellent. A great team effort, we will rave about this trip for years to come.

D.K. & K.K., Hazyview, South Africa

The camp itself was beautifully done. The staff were very attentive and there was quite a lot of interacting, which is great, as we integrate better into the environment and can understand it.

G.H. and C.H., U.K.

Your reputation does precede you, everyone in South Africa said you did wonderful safaris so we were ready for a great time.

B.H and E.H., USA

A very memorable visit, discovering a pride of Lions that had just killed a Buffalo, the sight of the Lions will stay with us for a very long time.

J.W and J.W., U.K.

Terrific ending to my journal on our first trip to Africa for 15 days. We had perfect weather, sunny days and cool nights with clear skies to see all the stars.

A.H., Texas, USA

Kwetsani offered us a water/birding experience that was tops as well, and Grant created a most terrific time there for us. The staff was warm, wonderful and helpful and our final night there, eating under the stars will always be etched in our memories. Sunsets were beyond belief. So much more to say, but mostly we will be back.

L.K., USA

All in all we had a wonderful time, with, as you'd expect, the Okavango portion the most incredible. Chitabe Trails was a great homecoming for us; we had such great memories from three years ago when we stayed two days there at the end of our Mopane trip. Thanks for recommending Kwetsani. What a terrific, luxurious place. The wildlife drives (we're trying to get away from the term "game" drives) were very fruitful: we saw the first cheetahs in the area this season, we saw lots of lions, as well as the other usual animals, and lots and lots of birds. We did a wonderful mokoro morning as well. And Grant was terrific. We were in luck because one of the guides was away, so Grant was more available than usual, and was able to accompany us on our mokoro outing. He even called in an owl! Thanks for all your help. As before, I'm perfectly willing to talk about our trips, your excellent assistance, to anyone who may be interested. Don't hesitate to give out our phone number or email address.

S.L. and L.G.

We often reflect on our incredible time in the african bush, more specifically our time with you in the Delta. Of 1000 pictures taken (a big deal to get through, hence there will be a delay in sending you some of the kingfisher and kwetsani cubs), there is such delight in the images we witnessed. The sunsets, extraordinary outside dinner we had while with you, the sounds of the animals at night and the magnificent birdlife all come back to mind often. And all our close firends have heard about you (all good things I might add) as you helped enormously to make our time very interesting, personal and fun. We really fell in love with africa and we only wish it was closer and more affordable so that we could return often. Any ideas on that score let us know as we want to come back. My heart fills up as I write this as the memories are re kindled. Again hope you are well, let us know how life continues for you. with warmest regards to everyone

L.K. and D.K.

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