Mombo Camp
(Okavango Delta - Botswana)
Mombo Camp - A Botswana Safari Lodge
Mombo Camp is situated on Mombo Island, adjoining the
northern tip of Chief's Island, and is within the Moremi Game Reserve in the
Okavango Delta in northern Botswana. The island is surrounded by open
floodplains and the camp itself is largely built in and around the shade of some
large mangosteen, ebony and fig trees - overlooking a wonderful floodplain
teeming with game.
The camp has nine luxuriously furnished tents, raised off the
ground. The guests' rooms and connecting walkways that connect 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. One often finds that animals take
refuge under the rooms. The canvas rooms are spacious and well appointed and
have en-suite facilities with 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 Mombo include morning and afternoon game drives in open 4x4 vehicles.
The camp offers abundant big game viewing, arguably the best
in Botswana. The highlight is the concentration of plains game and all the
predators - including the big cats. Lion sightings are particularly good. Guests
could also see Leopard, large herds of Buffalo, Cheetah, Wild Dog, Elephant,
White and Black Rhino, Hyena, Giraffe, Wildebeest and Zebra.
Access into this area is only by aircraft.
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.
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