Moremi Game Reserve

The perfect place for 4x4 safari: forest, wildlife, birds

Camp Okuti is a superb camp in an excellent game reserve.

After arriving in yet another tiny 4 seater plane, we stayed at Camp Okuti for 3 nights. It could not be a better camp to stay at. Attentive staff. Luxurious accommodation. Great food. Even some resident bushbuck. Like all camps in Botswana it is built to be semi-permanent, so it can be removed in the future to leave no trace of it having been there. Our guide was excellent. He had worked over most of Botswana and was very knowledgable indeed. We saw everything we had hoped to, including a Wild Dog pack on a hunt and at the kill. Lion, elephant, giraffe, leopard, buffalo herds, kudu, hippo, bushbuck, reedbuck, waterbuck, dwarf and banded mongooses, and of course the ubiquitous zebra and Impala. A relaxing boat trip on the delta rounded our stay off nicely. A photographer's paradise. There was wildlife around us right up until our guide (and us) had to move the huge bull elephant from the runway before our plane out could land!

Moremi had fewer animal sitings except that we had quite a good viewing of a mother and baby leopard enjoying a meal. Moremi was nice because it has both water and land activities and offers a good variety. We stayed at Baines Camp, which has some wonderful, romantic options. Weather permitting, they will move the bed out to the balcony so you can sleep under the stars (and mosquito netting). It's a remarkable experience and while you may feel like you prefer the safety of being indoors, it really is an experience not to miss. At one point we were wakened by an elephant casually eating grass next to our balcony. It was literally up against the railing and seeing that from your bed was among the most memorable experiences of the trip. They will also set up outdoor bubble baths on the balcony - very romantic! Getting to the camp requires a long boat ride snaking through paths cut through marsh. How the guides know which paths to take is beyond me. The water is crystal clear and if the guides spot a scrap of paper or other trash in the water they would stop and reverse to pick it up. Pristine beauty.