Giraffe Conservation Research
Supporting giraffe conservation by understanding their movements, habitats and behaviours, and reducing conflict across landscapes shared with people and wildlife.
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In the southern reaches of the Okavango Delta, where the Xudum River’s crystalline channels wind through one of Botswana’s largest private wilderness concessions, a new safari camp is taking shape: Mokolwane Plains.
This contemporary under-canvas camp is enveloped by 200,000 hectares of predator-rich wilderness. It’s a landscape famed for its leopard population – both ‘Big Cats 24/7’ and ‘Living with Leopards’ were filmed here – where clear channels, grassy floodplains and lush riverine forests support exceptional wildlife sightings year-round.
Mokolwane Plains shares this pristine corner of the Okavango Delta with only one other camp, the traditional-style Mokolwane, and has been created with a singular purpose: to bring guests closer to the rhythms of the wild and to offer exclusive access to one of Botswana’s largest private wilderness concessions.
Mokolwane Plains is scheduled to open in July 2027
As with all Natural Selection camps, Mokolwane Plains has been conceived with a purpose that extends beyond the guest experience. Its arrival brings increased investment in the protection and understanding of this vast wilderness, supporting wildlife monitoring and proactive conservation across the concession.
Working closely with a wildlife protection NGO and the Botswana Defence Force, the camp is supporting a dedicated ranger camp and vehicle, alongside ongoing monitoring of the species that make NG29 their home. Beyond the concession, Mokolwane Plains is also funding research into the movement ecology of southern giraffe in Botswana.
And because the future of wild places is inseparable from the people who live alongside them, the camp will also support conservation education in local villages as part of Natural Selection’s ongoing commitment to enabling coexistence between people and wildlife and empowering communities
NG29, situated in the southern reaches of the Okavango Delta, is one of Botswana’s largest private concessions – a vast, remote wilderness offering exclusive access to extraordinary habitat.
The ecosystem here is exceptionally diverse. Crystalline lagoons and winding channels weave between reeded islands, fertile floodplains and open grasslands, while riverine forests and pockets of mopane woodland create an ever-changing landscape. Ancient leadwoods, mangosteens, marulas, sausage trees and wild sage dot the concession, each habitat supporting an extraordinary variety of birdlife and wildlife.
This diversity is reflected in the sheer abundance of animals and with only two camps across 200,000 hectares, NG29 remains wonderfully quiet and largely unexplored – a rare stretch of the Okavango where you can experience the wild with very little between you and it.
Mokolwane Plains is a rewarding safari destination year-round, not only during the Okavango Delta’s peak flood season (May-July). The diversity of habitats supports abundant resident wildlife throughout the seasons, while changing water levels continually reshape the landscape and the opportunities for guests to explore it. Game drives and bush walks remain the heart of the experience, complemented by boat safaris and seasonal mokoro excursions when water levels allow.
The notion of immersion underpins the architectural language of Mokolwane Plains, which will open with five spacious under-canvas suites. A family suite and a private villa will follow later in the year.
Mokolwane Plains reimagines the classic safari tented camp in a contemporary, light-touch style, with organic forms, elevated canvas structures and sweeping views that bring the Delta into every space. Natural materials, soft lines and generous views create an effortless connection between camp and wilderness. Guests are encouraged to become more conscious of the landscape and wildlife around them, from walkways that gently ramp down to allow elephants and other animals to move through, to paths that weave beneath the shade of leadwoods, jackalberries and sausage trees, revealing different views of the Delta along the way.
Each spacious guest suite comprises three interconnected pods that adapt to the landscape while preserving shade, privacy and views east across the Xudum River. Offering 100 square metres of interior living space, the air-conditioned suites flow easily from lounge to bedroom and out onto generous private outdoor areas, where shaded salas, daybeds and heated plunge pools invite guests to spend as much time outside as in. En-suite bathrooms include both indoor and outdoor showers.
At the heart of the camp, the communal spaces draw inspiration from the riverine canopy. Soaring canvas and curved forms wrap around an existing fig tree, opening towards the floodplain to offer panoramic views across the Delta. An interactive show kitchen brings guests closer to the culinary team, while a private dining room and temperature-controlled wine cellar provide the setting for intimate meals and curated wine pairings. An 18-metre swimming pool, spa and gym offer space to unwind between safari activities. As evening falls, an elevated fire deck extending over the water becomes a natural gathering place – somewhere to swap stories, look up at the stars and listen as the Delta comes alive after dark.
The Xudum concession is one of the Okavango Delta’s richest wildlife destinations, renowned for its exceptional predator densities and vast herds of elephant and buffalo. Home to Africa’s third highest recorded densities of leopard, it offers some of the continent’s most rewarding wildlife encounters.
Alongside resident leopard, healthy populations of lion, African wild dog, spotted hyena and cheetah thrive, supported by an abundance of prey. Thousands of elephant move through the concession each year, while giraffe, zebra, wildebeest and an impressive variety of antelope – including kudu, red lechwe, tsessebe and bushbuck – complete the picture.
The diversity extends far beyond the larger mammals. Bat-eared foxes, black-backed and side-striped jackals, African wildcats, honey badgers, meerkats and mongoose are regularly encountered, while after dark the bush comes alive with elusive nocturnal species such as aardwolf, aardvark, porcupine, civet and genet.
Bird enthusiasts are equally well rewarded. More than 400 species have been recorded here, from Pel’s fishing owl and wattled crane to martial eagle and spectacular flocks of quelea pursued by agile falcons overhead.
Get access to a range of experiences that can be enjoyed during your stay
When you visit, you will be directly supporting the following Natural Selection conservation initiatives:
The NG29 concession reveals everything we, as a safari company, believe makes the Delta extraordinary. Wildlife flourishes here, ancient riverine forests stand undisturbed and the Xudum River shapes the landscape with quiet certainty. Guides know it instinctively. Season after season, without fail, it delivers.
So when it came to creating Mokolwane Plains, the question was simple – how could we create a camp that truly belonged to this exceptional place? We wanted the landscape to write the brief.
Decades of creating conservation-led safaris have taught us that the best camps bring you closer to the wild while asking as little of it as possible. Mokolwane Plains was conceived around that belief – to tread lightly, immerse deeply and make every stay matter.
Designed by award-winning Studio Alexander, the camp reimagines the classic safari tent through a contemporary, light-touch architectural language. Before a single pole was raised or a canvas stretched, two things had already determined the design – the light and the river. Everything else followed.
For architect Jack Alexander, the idea was to build a lodge that became a bridge between the Delta and the guest, not an object competing with it. That thinking shaped every decision.
The same philosophy continued indoors. For interior designer Andrea Kleinloog, the intention was to create something that felt unmistakably part of this place. Canvas is celebrated rather than concealed, while natural textures, timber and handcrafted furnishings take their cues from the Delta. Botswana-based artisans bring local craft, stories and creativity into the spaces, while filtered sunlight and river reflections are part of the interior design.
But ultimately, the design comes back to one thing – the place itself. Mokolwane Plains exists not only because of the exceptional wildlife found here, but because this is a wilderness worth protecting. Our role is simply to help people experience it, understand it, and care about what happens to it next.