Bordering the southern edges of Chief's Island is a well established and long standing community area of the Okavango Delta. Grant Truthe, with his vast knowledge of the area in which he grew up, now leads private mobile camping safaris to this beautiful and wild part of the Okavango. Grant was born and bred in Botswana, speaks the local language fluently and has been guiding for almost 20 years.
Having two young children of his own, Grant's a particularly good guide for families, and there is no age limit for his mobiles. These mobiles also work out as great value if there is a group of you travelling – next year (2008) Grant will be able to take up to 10 guests at a time. These safaris are private - once booked, your trip here is guaranteed to be exclusive; we will not ask you to mix with other travellers. Because the camp is all yours, and Grant is your personal guide, activities and timings can be planned exactly to suit your group.
A mobile camping safari is a great way to experience the Okavango Delta – it is a bit of an adventure and allows you to get close to nature (whilst still enjoying quite a high level of comfort). We highly recommend a three-night stay here as part of a safari to Botswana; and this can easily be combined with stays at lodges either before or after your mobile safari. The area where you will be camping is accessed by flying in by helicopter, or being driven in by Grant (about three and a half hours from Maun).
Three camp assistants take on all the camp chores, allowing you the undivided attention of the guide as you explore the area. Meanwhile the camp chef prepares excellent fresh three course meals over the fire, which you'll enjoy at a candlelight table set with linen, crockery and glasses – the meals we ate on our last mobile safari with Grant are some of the best we have ever experienced in Botswana! This mobile camp offers first-class guiding with a very comfortable set up.
This area of the Okavango - the Santantadibe region - is in our opinion one of the most beautiful areas of the Delta. You will find a variety of landscapes here - palm covered islands, grassy meadows, mopane woodland and river systems which fill with water after good rains. Being quite far south, the Angola floods tend to reach here in September, and continue to flow right through October and even later, depending on the volume of rain which falls earlier in the year.
Herds of buffalo, giraffe and zebra can be found here along with lion, cheetah, leopard and occasionally, wild dog. This is also a great area for birding, especially from November onwards through the wet season, when migrant birds arrive, and breeding plumage is on show.
Activities here include walking safaris, fishing and bird-watching trips, canoeing and boating adventures (dependent on water levels), and 4WD safaris (including night drives) using custom-built, open vehicles which give excellent all-round visibility.
A visit to this NG17 mobile camp can be a one-off, as part of a fly-in safari to several camps in Botswana, or alternatively it can be part of a longer mobile camping safari with Grant, during which you also stay at similar mobile camps set up for you in Moremi Game Reserve, Chobe National Park and the Central Kalahari Game Reserve. Speak to us to find out more about these possibilities.
Central facilities: In the centre of camp there is a large tent with sides that can be rolled up - it is set up to provide shade and sheltered dining in the unlikely event of rain. To one side of this you will find the camp fire, where directors' chairs are set out. This is the place where you will meet for breakfast and for drinks in the evening. There is a cool box in this area which contains a selection of drinks for you to help yourself to.
Slightly away from the main camp are a long drop loo and a separate bucket shower which are both shared by the group/family travelling together. Hot water can be requested for showers at any time.
Directions: The mobile camp can be reached by helicopter or by road from Maun. By road the transfer is approximately 3 and a half hours (approximately 30 minutes on tarred road and the rest on slightly bumpy sandy tracks).
Accessible by: Fly-and-Transfer
Food & drink
Usual board basis: Full Board
Food quality: The food here is great and all the more so when you consider that it is all cooked over an open fire. As an example, when we were last on safari with Grant in October, dinner on the first night was a delicious butternut squash soup with freshly baked seeded bread, followed by a perfectly cooked beef fillet with vegetables, fresh salad and sautéed potatoes. Pudding was crème caramel which was a little melted (well it had been 40 degrees that day!) but still very tasty all the same. Good quality red and white South African wine is also served with dinner each evening.
For our early morning breakfast around the camp fire, before our game drive the next day, a selection of cereal, yoghurt, fruit, toast and spreads were laid out for us to help ourselves to, along with coffee and tea.
When we returned from our game drive and boat trip late that morning, we were treated to a hearty lasagne, served with fresh salad, fresh bread and coleslaw. Delicious! You certainly won't go hungry here!
Dining style: Group Meals
Dining locations: Outdoor Dining
Room service: No - this is the bush!
Cost of meal e.g. lunch: Included
Drinks included: Drinks are included with the safari. However, due to limited cold storage, your drink preferences will be requested and noted before you depart.
Special interests
Birdwatching: Approximately 380 bird species have been recorded in this area, on our last trip, a few of the birds we spotted included black crake, white-faced duck, knob-billed duck, rufous-bellied egret, fish eagle, wattled crane, saddle-billed stork, African jacana, bateleur, brown snake eagle, tawny eagle, crimson-breasted shrike, as well as the ubiquitous blacksmith and crowned plover, francolin and guineafowl.
- See more of our suggestions of the best places for Birdwatching
Wildlife: A wide variety of plains game occurs in this area including red lechwe, buffalo, giraffe, zebra, blue wildebeest, reedbuck, duiker, waterbuck, steenbok, impala, tsessebe, and kudu. You are also likely to spot elephant and lion, and possibly cheetah and leopard if you're lucky. Wild dog does occur in this area but the pack has not been seen this year.
- See more of our suggestions of the best places for Wildlife
Children
Attitude towards children: Grant whole-heartedly welcomes families, and there is no age limit for his mobiles.
Age restrictions: There is no age restriction as such, but parents must be aware that there are dangerous animals in the area, and proper supervision of any children remains their responsibility.
Activities: Grant can usually arrange car seats and cots for young children, and also baby-sitting for an hour or two in the evening to allow parents some time to relax around the camp fire. These services must be requested in advance.
Children will particularly enjoy the boat and fishing trips which Grant can arrange.
Generally recommended for children: Yes, certainly, although please note that children remain the responsibility of their parents, and must be closely supervised. Most of the camps in Botswana are unfenced and dangerous game can wander through at any time.
Central communications
Communications: No mobile reception, no phone, no email! Consider yourself out of contact.
TV & radio: Certainly not!
Health & safety
Malarial area: Yes
Medical care: Grant is first aid trained and there is a comprehensive medical kit kept in camp and on the game vehicle. In the event of a medical emergency you will be transferred back to the nearest doctor in Maun.
Dangerous animals: High Risk
Security measures: You will be escorted to and from your tents after dark.
Extras
Disabled access: Not Possible
Laundry facilities: A limited laundry service is included.
Fishing on the Okavango Delta was fantastic
This section of our trip was the one we were the most apprehensive about and ironically it was our favourite bit of the holiday. Grant was an excellent communicator who taught us so much. He was wonde...
Useful links...
We want you to understand more about Santantadibe Mobile Camp. We're also confident that a trip there with us cost you the same or less than booking it any other way, even directly. So follow the links below.
Santantadibe mobile camping homepage Click here for more information on how the mobile camping safaris are run. The name of Grant's company is Okavango Voyagers.
