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Mbamba

Start Planning Your Safari

LOCATION:

Okavango Delta, Northern Botswana

NUMBER OF ROOMS:

12

PRICE RANGE:

US$ 960 — US$ 1,840 per night

DATES OPEN:

Opens April 2025 - Year Round

Start Planning Your Safari

LOCATION:

Okavango Delta, Northern Botswana

NUMBER OF ROOMS:

12

PRICE RANGE:

US$ 960 — US$ 1,840 per night

DATES OPEN:

Opens April 2025 - Year Round

Where the wildlife action never stops

Our new tented camp, brought to you by the Uncharted Africa team in the private NG12 concession in northern Okavango Delta, is where your wildlife adventure awaits. Located in an area that offers superb game viewing year-round, here the wildlife action never stops. Every bit a Ralph Bousfield camp, it offers a blend of remarkable guided wilderness experiences and a classic safari style.

The camp is in a superb setting where you’ll instantly be immersed into the Okavango Delta’s true wonder.  With some of the best safari guides in the business, and a variety of land and water-based activities,  you can look forward to a rewarding wildlife experience in this game-rich private concession. In-between action filled game viewing activities, relax around the camp pool or take a siesta in the comfort of your air-conditioned tent. This is an ideal camp for those seeking a deeper understanding of the natural world in a very relaxed environment.

Check Availability and Book

Why You’ll Love Mbamba:

  • This classically styled, under canvas camp sits in the shade of a stand of large leadwood trees in one of Botswana’s most game-rich and beautiful concessions, NG12, in the northern Okavango Delta.
  • Superb game viewing year-round. This private concession is home to an impressive density and variety of wildlife, including rare and sought-after species.
  • This is a camp that won’t disappoint when it comes to wildlife. The area around camp is known for its reliable predator viewing, especially for observing endangered African wild dogs and lions.
  • Every bit an Uncharted Africa camp, it offers a blend of exceptional guided wilderness experiences and classic safari style.
  • With top quality guiding on a variety of land and water-based activities this is a rich and rewarding wildlife experience.
  • Well suited for families and larger groups, this is an ideal camp if you’re looking for comfort, affordability and an epic wildlife experience.

We recommend booking Mbamba as part of a complete Natural Selection safari, but if you want to book it separately or just check availability, click here to select dates and book.

Interested in learning more about the prices? View Rates

Mbamba

Mbamba Accommodations

Designed in the iconic Ralph Bousfield safari style, Mbamba offers 12 stylish canvas tents (4 double, 6 twin and 2 family), carefully positioned under the shade of an impressive stand of large leadwood trees. The cool air-conditioned tents are on slightly raised wooden decks and revel in the much-loved Bousfield vintage safari aesthetic of plush fabrics, mahogany sideboards, Persian rugs and romantic four-poster beds, all infused with a yesteryear charm. Each tent offers spacious en-suite bathrooms and a private veranda that sits elegantly under the bows of the trees to offer respite from the heat, and stunning views of the Okavango Delta.

The main mess area at Mbamba is a delight with its draped fabric and collections of ancient artefacts. Relax in the two lounges where you can spend your time perusing the cabinets or grabbing a drink from the well-stocked drinks cabinet, read a book from the small library or relaxing around the camp swimming pool. Meals are served family-style at the long table. Dine under the stars or under canvas, followed by stargazing around the firepit before saying goodnight.

Accommodation & Amenities

  • There are 12 tents: 4 doubles, 6 twin and 2 family units
  • En-suite bathrooms with indoor shower
  • Overbed cooling system, mosquito net and standing fan
  • Swimming pool pavilion
  • Power: 24-hour electricity in all guest tents (100% solar-powered)
  • Wi-Fi available: Yes (in the main area)
  • Hairdryers: No
  • Complimentary laundry service
  • Child Policy: Children from 6 years are welcome
  • Disabled access: Please enquire with reservations

When to Visit Mbamba

Mbamba in the Okavango Delta is open year-round, with peak season being between April and October. During these dry winter months, water from the Angolan highlands arrives and water levels in the Delta are high, offering the best conditions for mokoro and boat activities and exceptional game viewing opportunities as wildlife is drawn to the water from the surrounding dry areas. The mild daytime temperatures and clear skies make it the ideal time to visit the Delta for a memorable safari experience.

In October, the landscape transforms into a lush green paradise as the ‘Green’ season begins with afternoon thunderstorms and rising temperatures. While water levels start to recede, Mbamba’s location ensures access to perennial channels for mokoros and boat safaris most of the year. Summer months also bring prime bird-watching opportunities as migrants from central Africa and Europe fill the bush with their melodious songs.

Seasonality

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

Mbamba Activities

The wildlife viewing action never stops around Mbamba, with a variety of land and water-based game viewing activities to get you closer to the action, showcasing the best of the Okavango Delta.

  • Game drive through this rich habitat, binos at the ready, in search of lion, wild dog, leopard, cheetah, elephant, sable and the rare sitatunga antelope. The area is known to be a top denning area for wild dog, with a high concentration of lion.
  • Head out just before dark on a night drive to observe the nocturnals in action. With a high-voltage red filter spotlight you’ll be able to see just what makes this area tick in the dark.
  • Explore the waterways, viewing the wildlife at eye level on a boat or traditional mokoro safari gliding through the lily-filled channels (Please note that water activities are subject to water levels and may be limited in low water season from October to January).
  • Tick off some of the Okavango specials from your bird-list. The Okavango Delta is a haven for birders, with more than 350 species spotted in the region.
  • For a different perspective get a bird’s eye view over this beautiful wetland on a helicopter flight (at an additional cost). Or take a visit to the Tsodilo Hills, a fascinating World Heritage Site that is located just 30 minutes from camp by helicopter. With over 4,500 individual Bushmen paintings, Tsodilo is a treasure trove of ancient rock art with some of the highest concentrations in the world dating back between 800 to 1300 AD.
  • In-between all the adventure the camp swimming pool is the perfect relaxation spot. A book, binos and a cool drink are a prerequisite.
  • The guiding team at Mbamba are some of the best in the business.Trained by the safari legend Ralph Bousfield, winner of the Tatler Travel Best Safari Guide in Africa Award 2023, their knowledge and understanding of this area is guaranteed to get you closer to the action and will give you a deeper understanding of the natural world.

Mbamba Landscape & Wildlife

Landscape

Mbamba is situated on a 220 000-acre (89 000-hectare) concession in the northern sector of the Okavango Delta, located just north of the iconic Vumbura and Duba Plains, and adjoining the renowned Moremi Game Reserve. The unusually large size of the concession, coupled with limited human impact and a vast abundance of wildlife, ensures a stay at Mbamba is a rare opportunity to enjoy a wild and untouched corner of the Delta.

The camp itself is pitched under a stand of large leadwood trees and the surrounding landscape of tawny grasslands interwoven with shimmering channels, ancient woodland and ilala palm-islands is beautifully pieced together to create a wildlife utopia.

Wildlife

Where the prey goes, the predators will follow. And with the high carrying capacity of this concession guests can look forward to impressive wildlife sightings throughout the year. Lush grasslands sustain large herds of herbivores – including African buffalo – while the Okavango’s iconic elephants are here in abundance, with guests often enjoying thrilling sightings on vehicle, mokoro, and boating excursions. Unlike many parts of northern Botswana, even during the green season months of November through March big herd numbers continue to be seen.

This diverse habitat is also exceptional in its ability to sustain a diversity of wildlife, including rare and sought-after species. Healthy populations of herbivores are common, including the seldom-seen sable antelope, leopard and the smaller carnivores including serval and caracal. This corner of the Okavango Delta is said to have some of the highest concentrations of lions in the Delta, where prides are known to hunt big prey, like buffalo and hippo. It is also particularly renowned for observing endangered African wild dogs with a top denning area close to camp and frequent sightings to observe their pack and hunting behavior.

The birdlife in this region is equally remarkable, with more than 350 species recorded in the region, including the endangered wattled crane, black crake, Hottentot teal, carmine bee-eaters and the Pel’s fishing-owl. The distinctive cry of the African fish eagle serves as the background music for many a game drive, as twitchers tick dozens of new species off their life list.

Mbamba Story

Mbamba means ‘hello’ in Botswana’s Bukakhwe San Bushman dialect and is a very appropriate name for this welcoming new tented camp. Part of the Uncharted Africa portfolio, Mbamba joins Duke’s Camp and Duke’s East in the NG12 concession in the northwestern region of Botswana where the Okavango River begins to spread out, creating the world’s largest inland delta.

Every bit a Ralph Bousfield safari style camp, with its mahogany furniture, lofty glass cabinets filled with treasure troves of collectables and curiosities, iconic interior tent linings, four-poster beds and Persian rugs, Mbamba has carefully been positioned under the shade of an impressive stand of large leadwood trees. And for good reason. Ralph Bousfield most certainly knows what he’s doing when it comes to placing his camps in prime wilderness locations offering guests an abundance of opportunities for wildlife viewing. Being one of Africa’s most sought-after safari guides, we will undoubtably take his word for it.

The Scratching Post

Nature Notes and News From Africa

Keeping Cool in the Bush

Pru Allison| December 09, 2024

The action heats up quickly on safari, and so do the temperatures. This is particularly true in Botswana where the summer months of October, November and December can see the...

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World Wildlife Conservation Day and International Cheetah Day

Pru Allison| December 02, 2024

In the world of conservation, life’s always busy, but today really takes the biscuit, marking both World Wildlife Conservation Day and International Cheetah Day. Conservation is in our DNA and...

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Sustainability and Natural Selection

Pru Allison, Jennifer Lalley & Murray McCallum| October 23, 2024

At Natural Selection, sustainability is woven into our DNA. As we celebrate World Sustainability Day, we reaffirm our commitment to environmentally conscious tourism practices that benefit our communities, conservation efforts,...

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