Going on safari in a national park or game reserve is vastly different to exploring a private concession, where access is limited to lodges and safari operators with special permission. The Khwai Private Reserve in Botswana is in the centre of the country’s most popular and famously visited parks and reserves: Moremi Game Reserve in the south, Chobe in the north, the Okavango Delta in the west, and Khwai Community Reserve in the east. A 495 000-acre conservancy quite literally surrounded by wildlife-rich wilderness, Khwai Private Reserve is abundant, yet it is blissfully exclusive. There are three new additions to Khwai’s magnificent landscape worth talking about, and even more so, worth visiting: Sable Alley, Hyena Pan, and Skybeds.
Visiting any one of these camps is guaranteed to turn your superb Botswana into an unbeatable one with their new and innovative design, supreme locations, cut-above guiding, hosting, and management teams, and unique offerings in a wilderness we already know is sublime. Each of these three is something special; none are the same in terms of location, layout, style, or energy; while every one traverses the private expanse of Khwai.
Sable Alley
This is the largest and most luxurious of the three in terms of lodge amenities, spaciousness, and perhaps location. Sable Alley is positioned on the edge of a lagoon, which feeds the Khwai River, and each of the 12 tented suites are enormous, while one is designed for honeymooners and two are kitted out for families. The activities on offer incorporate the presence of the water through those iconic Delta mokoro excursions, and hours between game drive are no less exciting in terms of wildlife watching as the water is a constant attraction for hippo, buffalo, elephant, lechwe, waterbuck, and abundant birdlife.
Game drives are an exclusive experience exploring the concession and uncovering the secrets of a purely wild area. The same can be done on foot with an expert trails guide, which adds the third component to an all-round safari experience incorporating a water-based activity, a vehicle-based safari, and an on-foot excursion. What’s more? Sable Alley is sustainably built and it contributes a percentage of its profits to supporting the Khwai Village community projects.
- Family tents
- Honeymoon tent
- Mokoro activities
- Outdoor showers
Hyena Pan
This one is all about being in the middle of the wild, where tall mopane trees mark your location among the territories of lions, wild dogs dens, mud wallows favoured by dagha boys, and the woodland hideouts of roan, sable, tsessebe, and kudu. Leopard slink through the trees, silently stalking impala, and warthogs plough through the grass at breakneck speed in their comical manner. Hyena Pan is the name of a natural waterhole, which floods right to the edge of the lodge in the rainy season, and shrinks back during the dry season, but it is thought to be the only water source in a large area present throughput the year, so wildlife is around all year round.
The casual timber and thatch lodge is named after the pan it overlooks, and the beauty of it is how seamlessly it blends in with the mopane forest. There are 8 twin rooms with ensuite bathrooms that are characterfully kitted out with the simple essentials that will leave you feeling entirely content without having more than you need. Of course, the lodge was built with environmental sustainability in mind, so rest assured your comfort did not come at the cost of your surroundings. There is a splash pool, a lounge, and dining deck in the central area, which all look onto the pan. The extras? A ground-level hide and an elevated platform to provide even more opportunities to watch wildlife roam around and practice your photography!
- Located in a wildlife hotspot
- Ground-level hide and a game viewing platform
- Spotlit waterhole at night to capture visiting predators
- Elephant love the mopane woodland surrounding camp
Skybeds
The third in the trio is Skybeds, which is exactly what it says it is: sleeping platforms atop 2-storey towers offering an elevated place to sleep in the open air and absorb the wild night. Skybeds has to be booked in conjunction with either Hyena Pan or Sable Alley, and it is reserved for adults and children over 12 years old. There are only 3 platforms sleeping a total of 6 people, so this is also a fantastic option for an exclusive booking. Each tower has a second floor (beneath the top floor/bedroom), which has a canvas sheltered bathroom with a flushing loo, shower, and dressing room.
There is a main lodge to congregate at for meal times, sociable chatter and sizzling sundowners, but in between the wildlife frenzied game drives the real appeal of this place is to fall asleep under ultra-comforting linen and feel the outside air on your face. If there are any worriers out there concerned with the idea of being exposed to the elements – not to fear, there is rain-proofing to protect from summer falls and there are mosquito nets that float between you and the stars.
- Open-air sleeping platforms for stellar nights
- Only three ‘bedrooms’
- A waterhole in the centre of camp so wildlife activity doesn’t stop at night
- Can be booked exclusively
