Little Sable is open all year round and for very good reason. Although each month has its quirks and challenges, the wildlife watching is phenomenal in every season – and of course, we wouldn’t send you if we didn’t think it was worthwhile!

From May until early October, the Okavango Delta is in flood and this is the best time of year to get your water-based game viewing fix. The seasonal channels emerge and the waterways are glistening and full – the perfect conditions for a mokoro safari or a boat trip. This is also traditionally the ‘best’ time of year to visit: the skies are blue and full of sunshine, and the iconic wildlife is out in force.

In December, the sky begins to darken and the clouds become heavy with rain. The showers are, however, short and sporadic and certainly shouldn’t stop you from heading out on game drives or water activities. Game wise, the animals may be slightly more spread out but that certainly doesn’t mean they’re not there…

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

• Morning, afternoon and evening game drives.
• Punt through the waterways of Khwai on a mokoro (dugout canoe) excursion or boat trip (water levels permitting).
• Try your hand at a spot of fishing (01 Mar – 31 Dec); fishing is not permitted from January to February due to breeding season).
• Spend a night sleeping under the stars at the Skybeds platforms – it’s certainly a night to remember! (Must be pre-booked; Skybeds is only open from the 1st April to the 31st October).
• Visit one of our underground hides by helicopter for a truly up-close-and-personal encounter with the wildlife (this activity is at an additional cost. For a guaranteed hide visit, it’s best to book an overnight stay at Skybed’s or Hyena Pan).
• Go on a thrilling helicopter flight over the Okavango Delta (at an additional cost).
• Be part of the KPR Ranger Experience and spend time tracking predators, capturing data, patrolling and if time allows visiting conservation projects. This activity is at an additional cost and proceeds of this activity are allocated to conservation efforts in the concession.

Landscape

Little Sable is located in the Khwai Private Reserve, a 200,000-hectare area of pristine wilderness in the Greater Okavango Delta region. The reserve is bordered by Moremi to the south, Savuti to the north and the Khwai Community Reserve to the east – in other words, in the middle of some of the most famous and iconic game-viewing areas on the continent!

Up here, the landscape is truly iconic of the Delta: vast floodplains and sprawling grasslands meet patches of forested enclaves, and through it all runs an intricate network of channels and lily-filled waterways. It’s one of the most well-managed concessions in the area and with very few other vehicles (and people!) around, a safari in Khwai is a true wilderness experience.

Wildlife

The varied habitats of Khwai support an equally impressive cast of animals and all the stars of the wildlife show are present – as well as a few extra. The wetlands and rivers host impressive quantities of lechwe, hippos and crocodiles, whilst on dry land, big cats lurk along treelines and sometimes right through camp. Sable, roan, impala, and kudu dot the grasslands, alongside giraffe and zebra, an abundance of elephant and buffalo, and of course, the occasional jackal. The birdlife is fantastic and guests can expect everything from giant eagle owls to lilac-breasted rollers. Khwai also has an excellent reputation for the rarer species of the African savannah including wild dogs, serval cats, honey badgers, and the elusive pangolin. Binos at the ready!

Little Sable had its origins as a small photographic camp, Pangolin Camp, in the heart of the game-rich Khwai Private Reserve. The free spirited little sister to Sable Alley, it has been redesigned by the same interior designer Tracy Kelly, as a smaller version of Sable Alley with some similarity in design style evident.

Khwai Private Reserve* is a great conservation triumph and we are extremely proud of what we have achieved in the region, and helping us make the area such a success are our outstanding partners: the Khwai Development Trust, the communities surrounding Khwai itself, and Kevin and Shannon Lang.

*This concession and its eco-tourism (non-consumptive) designation, relies on the sustainable use of areas in which eco-systems are intact and, in the process, provides important refuge to countless species and biodiversity under threat, important corridors for migration as well as buffers between wildlife and surrounding land uses. It wasn’t always like this, historically it was utilized for hunting. The conversion from hunting to ecotourism was made a success story by Natural Selection and the KPR management team. At Natural Selection, we recognize the important role that eco-tourism plays in the protection of wilderness areas, and therefore continue to promote and expand our conservation efforts.