LITTLE MOMBO CAMP
Okavango, Botswana

Introduction

Little Mombo is situated on Mombo Island, adjoining the northern tip of Chief's Island, and is within the Moremi Game Reserve in northern Botswana. The camp offers abundant big game viewing, arguably the best in Botswana. Little Mombo is an extension to Mombo Camp, and is built under the shade of large shady trees and overlooks a wonderful floodplain teeming with game.

Camp Description

The three tented guest rooms and connecting walkways are up to two metres off the ground, allowing game to wander freely through the camp - but at the same time allowing for guest safety. The rooms are comfortably furnished, spacious and well appointed and have en-suite facilities under canvas - and an additional outdoor shower for those who enjoy a shower under the stars. The dining room, pub and living area overlook the open plain in front of the camp and there is a plunge pool for relaxing in the heat of the day. Activities at Little Mombo include morning and afternoon game drives in open 4x4 vehicles. The highlight here is the concentration of plains game and all the predators - including the big cats - with Lion sightings being particularly good. Guests could also see Leopard, large herds of Buffalo, Cheetah, Wild Dog, Elephant, White Rhino, Hyena, Giraffe, Wildebeest and Zebra.

Game Viewing

Mombo and Little Mombo are situated on Mombo Island, which is an extension of the north western end of Chiefs Island which effectively divides the Okavango into eastern and western sections. The whole of Chiefs Island and Mombo fall within the Moremi Game Reserve, and, in particular a zone within the reserve, set aside for "low intensity" safari use. Thus Mombo and Little Mombo are remarkably exclusive and remote.The sheer numbers and variety of large mammals in this area defy description, all year round. From elephant and both species of rhinocerous, to lion leopard and cheetah. From herds of buffalo to tiny steenbok, they occur in this area in large numbers.All this owes much to its position on the ecotone between the ancient Kalahari sands and vegetation of Chiefs Island, to the more modern, water borne sediments and grasses of the Okavango fan, to the west. Much geomorphological evolution has resulted in a richness and diversity that is legendary amongst the original tribesmen and hunters of the 19th and 20th centuries. The Moremi Game Reserve was amongst the first to be promulgated by tribal request in an effort to protect this fantastic legacy. They have certainly succeeded in the case of the Moremi.As described before, the annual inundation and drying of the floodplains to the west of Mombo, allow the large numbers of wildlife to utilise both habitats to the maximum.When the annual inundation of water arrives in the area during March to May each year, large mammals are able to move into the Chiefs Island area, which contains rich resources of grass and acacia forests. The wetlands are fringed by large hardwood trees, containing shade, cover, nesting areas, and food, for a wide variety of mammals and birds. By September and October the wetlands have started to recede leaving behind vast floodplains of short green grass when the rest of the large islands are at their driest. It is this seasonal food availability and quality that has resulted in the excitement and diversity that is the Mombo area.

Elephant, Buffalo, Lion, Leopard, Cheetah and all the major predators are common in the region. The excellent game at Mombo has made this area Botswana's top wildlife documentary location. National Geographic, the BBC and many others have filmed here. Birdlife is prolific, with waterfowl and waders being particularly common.

Location

o Northern Botswana
o Central Okavango Delta
o On Mombo Island on the northern tip of Chief's Island of Moremi Game Reserve, northern area

Activities

Type - 100% Game drives, No water activities although guests will see water.
Game Drives:
o Game drives via 3x10 seater open 4x4 Land Rover each accommodating a maximum of 7 guests, allowing all guests an outside seat.
o Game drives on Chiefs Island
o Best game viewing in Botswana
o Night drives not possible at the moment but will change when the new Moremi rules come into place
o Private vehicles are available
Walking Safaris:
o Game walks offered during siesta time on request

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
Mombo airstrip located 15 minutes' drive from camp
Licensed for heavier aircraft up to 5700kg MAUW (maximum all up weight), can take King Airs provided that they have flotation gear.
Air strip co-ordinates: S19 12.68, E022 47.51

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 12v 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

Mombo is like no other place in the world. The new "tents" are exquisite and the animal viewing is wonderful. We have become very vocal ambassadors for Little Mombo. I think you strike just the right balance between comfort and having the sensation that you're on the frontier of civilization as we know it. We look forward to planning our next trip.

J M FAHEY National Geographic Society

Little Mombo was a wonderful surprise. The small, cozy atmosphere was a wonderful way to end our journey. Corli, Julius and B. K. really exceeded themselves in offering us a most memorable experience. Corli is the perfect Pied Kingfisher hovering beautifully around everyone attending to our every need. Corli should be considered the Julia Child of the Bush. We rarely ate at the same location twice. One day our brunch was served on an island where Corli called the pearl spotted owl and it magically appeared and answered back. She truly invented the most impressive meals. Many times we felt we didn't want to eat the meals because they were so artfully arranged. A fellow tourist from Boston actually videotaped the meals because they were so artfully arranged. We marveled at the mountain of vegetables crowned with our own porkie pot of beef. Every meal was dressed in a different table cloth or place mates. We were truly exhausted just watching Corli. The traditional dance before supper at little Mombo was so different from Jao. Corli actually sang with the staff, and danced an exhausting two minute clip, and arm in arm joined the staff if their farewell song. Now we ask you, who wouldn't want to work with Corli? She offered us a position when we retire and we are seriously taking her up on the offer. Hearing the adventures of Julius in California was refreshing. He came from Mombo just to be with us at Little Mombo. He is a gentle giant, patient and kind. He had wooden steps to assist me in and out of the vehicles. He put on a fabulous slide show for the first time and certainly got two thumbs up. Whatever the client wants to see Julius will put forth extraordinary effort to find. The best photographer will be lucky to have Julius because he knows the exact light that will make a brilliant photo. Leopard climbing down a tree, dusting himself in the sand, and finishing up with a drink of water seems like an everyday occasion, It doesn't get any better than an African sunset provided by Julius. This summer we took our son and daughter-in-law along with us. Their jaws were opened most of the time. We only wish we could take more Americans to Botswana and let them experience your remarkable African adventure. P.S . David is looking forward to next summer already.

David & Ruth Arendsen

That was FANTASTIC. Mombo is simply superb - and the new camp is beyond anything I could have imagined. Really - we don't know how to put it - but we are absolutely overwhelmed that we had the opportunity to see and experience the new camp and the spectacular wildlife. I have no way to state how impressed I am with everything and everybody associated with that unbelievable operation.

I am waiting for my trannies to be processed and they will be back on Sat. I know that I will have some pics that you might be interested in as the sun was in a cloudless sky for our entire stay. Perfect photography weather. I will e-mail low res scans of some of the stuff that I got, guests watching elephants (only 2 metres away) from the boardwalk - lots of different angles, leopards in trees, unbelievable blackmaned lions that have migrated up from Chiefs Island area, and so on. I wish I had been warned how good the boardwalk was for wildlife watching and photo ops. Not knowing this I left my powerful flash equipment for night shots at home knowing that there was no night drives. I mention this as I was in the ghastly position of watching 2 leopards mate, twice, from the boardwalk without any equipment to photograph them with. If I had had my 135 f2 lens and Metz flash gear I would have had some unique pics. I boobed big time!!!!!

Anyway, over a twenty minute period of time they mated on either side of the board walk, crossing over it at the low point at the trading store walking almost underneath your sign! We were only ten to fifteen metres away from them and they ignored us completely. I could have had spectacular shots had I had my flash equipment!!!!!!!! Some advice here - if you send up any photographers to Mombo - tell them about the boardwalk opportunity and advise them to keep cameras and flash equipment grafted permanently to their sides after the sun goes down. Certainly if I ever get the opportunity to go back there I would go totally laden with flash gear, trip sensors, remote cameras etc and stay up all night long.

The game viewing from the camp was obscenely good. One day a group of guests arrived at midday. Linda was giving them their orientation chat in the lounge as they sipped their frosty drinks. They could hardly concentrate as in front of the lodge 2 elephants walked by, a group of buffalo were sitting in the shade of one of the trees and in the distance two male lions walked down and drank from the marsh lagoon. One of the buffalo then rushed the lions and chased them off. The guests hadn't been in Mombo for more than ten minutes and they had seen lion elephant and buffalo plus interaction! They were impressed no end - heck, I was impressed even more than they were. The views from the tents are better than Treetops in Kenya - when it was at its very best. From our own sala in Tent 7 we saw lions and lionesses at midday on six of the fourteen days we were there - it was hard to lie back and rest, there was so much going on. Who knows what happened on that floodplain when we were out on drives in the mornings and evenings? Frankly I did not want to know as on several occasions we came back to find buffalo, elephant, lion, lechwe and bushbuck in front of the camp right next to the main deck - but the good light for photography was gone. It was tricky deciding whether to go out for game drives or staying in camp!!!!!!! Also, I have never been to any place else that has the potential that Mombo Camp has for unique, mind blowing, set-up, wildlife/camp/guest combination photographs - especially so as the camp itself is very photogenic. It's a work of art in its own right and I don't know who was responsible for the overall design but they did a great job. Superb in fact. The only problem was that even 14 days is not enough to appreciate all the different design and furnishing touches that make the place so peaceful, artistic, and tasteful. The only problem was that one has to go home eventually - a real tragedy that! Even the mechanics of the camp are a wonder - I refer to your water system! And your electricity generators!!!! No noise at all - a gold medal there.

Nandi was our guide and what a superb guide he was. Sophisticated, responsible, consistent, confident, incredibly knowledgeable, amusing and charming all rolled into one. If all your other guides are as good as he is then your operation is one hell of a successful example of building capacity. Congratulations! The camp staff were really outstanding as well - Charles, Linda, Peter, Jo-Anne, Maggie,Thys, BK and Greg - all of them incredibly charming hosts at a camp that seemed to run as smoothly and efficiently as a Swiss watch. Please send my compliments to all of them for a wonderful stay.

I had forgotten what a fantastic place Botswana is. It made me think a lot about the whirlwind passage of the last few years. I am going to have to make some changes - possibly move back to Botswana on a more permanent basis for a few months of each year at least.

Paul Augustinus - [Wildlife author and painter - www.paulaugustinus.com]

Little Mombo was a wonderful surprise. The small, cozy atmosphere was a wonderful way to end our journey. Corli, Julius and B. K. really exceeded themselves in offering us a most memorable experience. Corli is the perfect Pied Kingfisher hovering beautifully around everyone attending to our every need. Corli should be considered the Julia Child of the Bush. We rarely ate at the same location twice. One day our brunch was served on an island where Corli called the pearl spotted owl and it magically appeared and answered back. She truly invented the most impressive meals. Many times we felt we didn't want to eat the meals because they were so artfully arranged. A fellow tourist from Boston actually videotaped the meals because they were so artfully arranged. We marveled at the mountain of vegetables crowned with our own porkie pot of beef. Every meal was dressed in a different table cloth or place mates. We were truly exhausted just watching Corli. The traditional dance before supper at little Mombo was so different from Jao. Corli actually sang with the staff, and danced an exhausting two minute clip, and arm in arm joined the staff if their farewell song. Now we ask you, who wouldn't want to work with Corli? She offered us a position when we retire and we are seriously taking her up on the offer. Hearing the adventures of Julius in California was refreshing. He came from Mombo just to be with us at Little Mombo. He is a gentle giant, patient and kind. He had wooden steps to assist me in and out of the vehicles. He put on a fabulous slide show for the first time and certainly got two thumbs up. Whatever the client wants to see Julius will put forth extraordinary effort to find. The best photographer will be lucky to have Julius because he knows the exact light that will make a brilliant photo. Leopard climbing down a tree, dusting himself in the sand, and finishing up with a drink of water seems like an everyday occasion, It doesn't get any better than an African sunset provided by Julius. This summer we took our son and daughter-in-law along with us. Their jaws were opened most of the time. We only wish we could take more Americans to Botswana and let them experience your remarkable African adventure. P.S . David is looking forward to next summer already.

D.A & R.A., USA

We are back home one week after our African trip and are pleased to report that on a scale of 1-10 this experience was a 20!!!!! Little Mombo did an excellent job throughout our journey. The Grace Hotel in Joburg was the perfect start . Then off to Lesedi which we should have done as a day trip. We thoroughly enjoyed the activities there but the overnight stay a little rough for our tastes.We missed the Grace. Victoria Falls Safari Lodge was a better choice on your part than the Hotel. That provided a good introduction to the game viewing. The Falls were spectacular and we took a jetboat ride on the upper Zambesi River. Our small plane ride to DumaTau was exciting. The staff was very friendly and accomodating. We saw all the game including Wild Dogs but no Leopard . We had numerous Elephant encounters especially in camp . We had nightime visits and one of the local residents parked in front of our door blocking our return to the tent. Birds galore. The highlight of the trip was luxurious Mombo which exceeded our expectations. The staff and facilities were outstanding. The game viewing was the best. We saw 3 different Leopards on 3 different occasions. We didn't want to leave.

D.M. and D.M., USA

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