Meno a Kwena is open all year round, and almost every month heralds a different highlight. During the dry season, from April to October, the Boteti River is the only source of water for miles around, and hundreds of animals, predators and prey, assemble on the banks, making for truly remarkable game viewing – and you don’t even have to leave camp! April is the culmination of Africa’s second largest mammal migration, and the wildebeest and zebra join the resident wildlife at the river in their masses. In the Makgadikgadi, the lunar-like salt flats glint in the sunlight and a haze shimmers above the ground. This is the desert in its most iconic state, and a jaw-droppingly magical sight.

As the clouds gather and the rains begin to fall in the wet season, the Makgadikgadi is transformed into a blanket of glittering, green grass. The beasties of the migration begin their journey back to the salt pans lured by the promise of nutrients, and to breed in the fertile environment. In fact, the entire area is transformed into a Garden of Eden that has to be seen to be believed.

Seasonality

• Green season: 10 January – 31 March
• Shoulder season: 01 April – 31 May | 01 November – 19 December
• High season: 01 June – 30 June | 01 September – 31 October | 20 December – 09 January
• Peak season: 01 July – 31 August

• Venture out on game drives in the Makgadikgadi Pans National Park, complete with bush picnics and chilled drinks.
• Enjoy cultural safaris and walks with the ancient Bushmen.
• Cruise along the Boteti River by boat (water levels permitting).
• Sleep-out under the stars in the heart of the Makgadikgadi Pans.
• View the wildlife at the river at eye-level from the floating game-viewing hide.

Landscape

Meno a Kwena is located on tribal land on the western boundary of the Makgadikgadi Pans National Park (MPNP), overlooking the exceptionally beautiful Boteti River. In the desert, water means life and the Boteti is the only permanent water source in the area, attracting a rich array of resident game and a procession of migratory wanderers. Meno sits almost exactly halfway between the unique Okavango Delta region and the drier southern regions, and it’s this excellent location that makes the camp truly special. Head into the Makgadikgadi Pans National Park, where baobabs stand like sentinels above the shimmering expanses of crusted salt, or discover Nxai Pan National Park, its endless landscapes dotted with umbrella acacias and clumps of mopane woodland.

Wildlife

If you were to go on a game drive around the Makgadikgadi Pans and look for a picture-perfect picnic spot, then it would be Meno’s exact location, perched above the river bend, gazing down at the wildlife. But when you’re staying at Meno a Kwena, game viewing isn’t just a snatched hour over lunch; it’s all day, every day. Just sit back on the veranda and watch the zebra and antelope from your cliff-top position (G&T optional). Meno also has a great mix of bush birds in camp, waterbirds by the river, and desert species as you head on a drive. The camp also has an abundance of owls including barred and Verreaux’s.

If you can drag your eyes away from the view, hop on a game drive to find desert-adapted animals that can’t be found elsewhere in Botswana. There’s antelope with comical twisted horns, and remarkable desert elephant. The rumble of hooves heralds the arrival of Africa’s second largest migration. A stonking spectacle of 30,000 zebra and wildebeest migrate across the Makgadikgadi Pans, alongside a scattering of other hooved beasties. As the pans dry from April onwards, the zebra complete their journey at the river in an explosion of black and white stripes, followed closely by the predators: lion with their impressive black manes, leopard and cheetah using the surrounding bushes as cover, packs of wild dog, and mischievous jackal. Wow.

Meno a Kwena is a place that’s steeped in history. This was the camp used by legendary explorers and crocodile hunters, back in the days when there were no vehicle trails across the Kalahari. Over the years, it’s been carefully refurbished, but the old-world charm and rustic quirkiness is as present as ever. You’ll find a roof fashioned from an old parachute, a lounge jam-packed with knick-knacks and trinkets from decades of travel, and an enormous crocodile skull to name but a few! This is a camp with heart, soul and a real flavour of Botswana.

In 2012, researchers discovered Botswana’s zebra migration. At Meno a Kwena, we’ve known about it for decades, and the arrival of the tens of thousands of zebra in a dazzle of black and white stripes is one of the (many) highlights of our year. The position of the camp, perched atop a cliff overlooking the Boteti, is quite simply the best spot in the area for migration viewing, and the sightings are astonishing. Spend your days lounging on the day bed or trailing a toe in the swimming pool whilst the action happens below. At night, retreat to the dining table for a feast of flavour, accompanied by flickering lanterns and stories of old…