Our beautiful lodge Tawana has quickly taken its place as one of the Okavango’s foremost luxury properties, but there’s far more to Tawana than style and finesse – it tells stories of this area and those who’ve shaped it.
The lodge was designed in celebration of the Batawana people and three of their leaders: Elizabeth Pulane Moremi, regent queen of the Batawana from 1946-1964 who played a crucial role in creating the Moremi Reserve to protect wildlife from over-exploitation, her son Letsholathebe II a Moremi who became Chief in 1965 and his son Chief Tawana Moremi who is currently the paramount chief and a partner in the development of this lodge.
Throughout Tawana there are aesthetic nods to the area’s culture and ancestry, making this remarkable destination both beautiful and meaningful. At the entrance to Tawana there are three locally made steel statues depicting Regent Elizabeth Pulane Moremi, her son Chief Moremi and his son Chief Tawana.
There’s also a distinctive tunnel at the entrance to the lodge, which was constructed to resemble a traditional fishing basket. Then there are the guest suites. The rooms are laid out as three interlinking rondoval hut shapes with thatch rooves to represent the layout of a traditional village homestead.
Over in the library space, you’ll find a pair of custom designed ‘royal’ chairs. More art than functional furniture, these chairs represent the two key features of the Okavango Delta – its waterways and its islands. The colour scheme of Tawana also ties into its surroundings, reflecting the Delta’s greens, blues and straw beige hues.
“The concept was a contemporary interpretation of local vernacular mud-rendered thatch villages,” recalls architect Michael Kornmuller. “(the design comprises) fragmented organic shapes and forms to soften the buildings into the landscape and fit snugly amongst the canopy of trees.”
Tawana was in fact, built around the trees, and not a single one was removed. From design to post-build finishing touches, utmost respect was shown for this precious and fragile environment.
“The positions of the major trees largely dictated where we could build and, particularly where the main area is concerned, informed the eventual aesthetic envelope and layout of the buildings,” Michael agrees. Those same trees are now painstakingly protected from elephants, and the lines of the lodge are curved to leave the trees ample space. Visually too, the thatched roof makes Tawana less intrusive in its environment.
It’s not only the flora that was given careful consideration through the design process, but the wildlife was also a priority. The walkways are raised up from the ground, allowing animals to move freely through the camp and there are elephant crossing points along its length.
Sustainability pervades Tawana. The whole lodge is solar powered, and the flooring is made from the recycled cork of wine bottles. All the wood that’s used in the lodge comes from plantations rather than forests and the furniture is fashioned from sustainable acacia. Only the most efficient electronics are used, and all the fittings, soft furniture and linens were sourced from Southern Africa.
Tawana is a lodge truly born from the area’s heritage, that paves the way for its future.