Tawana is open year-round, with each season offering its own character and opportunities for unique sightings.

While the game is plentiful year-round the dry months from July to October are peak season for game-viewing, as grassland waterholes dry up and animals are drawn to perennial water sources. Between June and September, the annual floodwaters of the Okavango delta reach their peak. With the Gomoti River flowing in front of Tawana, expect remarkable wildlife sightings in and around the camp.

The ‘green’ season from January to March sees the life-giving rains transform the landscape, delivering memorable sunsets and blue-sky days between short but intense downpours. While the game is spread more widely this is the perfect time for keen birders to visit, with the arrival of migrant species in the region.

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

Tawana’s unique location on the Gomoti River, surrounded by grassy game-rich floodplains, makes the camp a hotspot for wildlife. From the comfort of your suite, or the wide private decks, enjoy remarkable sightings of the wildlife that wander in and around – or sometimes right through! – the camp.  Daily game excursions are led by our experienced wilderness guides and trackers, many of whom grew up in the surrounding area. Experts in everything from botany and biology to local lore, these masterful storytellers bring the wilderness of Botswana to life.

At Tawana we pride ourselves on tailoring an experience unique to each guest, allowing you to curate and create the perfect safari experience. Depending on the weather, season and duration of your stay, you can look forward to memorable experiences including:

• Twice-daily game drives, departing in the early morning and late afternoon, set out to explore the beautiful landscape of the Moremi Game Reserve; a lush tapestry of shimmering lagoons, shallow pans, mopane woodlands and grassy floodplains. Look forward to remarkable sightings of antelope, predators, birds and large herbivores. Your experienced guides, will also point out the lesser-known residents of the Delta.
• The Okavango is renowned for its birdlife. Birding excursions, especially during the summer months, will introduce you to many of the 400 species recorded in the Moremi.
• Swop wilderness for wellness, at our stylish on-site spa. An extensive menu of facial and body treatments are offered.
• Work on your holiday fitness in the well-equipped gymnasium, or dive into the 16-metre outdoor lap pool.
• Discover a new perspective on the Okavango Delta, with a thrilling helicopter flight (at an additional cost). From above you will truly appreciate the network of watery channels that thread their way through the landscape.

Landscape

Covering nearly 5000 square kilometers [1900 square miles] of wilderness, the Moremi Game Reserve is the oldest protected section of the Okavango Delta, a  proclaimed World Heritage Site. It lies on the eastern edge of the Okavango Delta and was named after Chief Moremi of the Batawana tribe. Because this was ancestral land set aside for conservation it is designated as a game reserve, rather than a national park.

Tawana is located in the south-eastern sector of the reserve, immediately to the east of the famous Qorokwe and Chitabe Concessions. The camp is situated on the eastern bank of the Gomoti River, with views out across the river and surrounding game-rich floodplains.

At Tawana guests will awaken to a natural tapestry of sinuous channels, auburn plains and mature riverine forest. The sonorous calls of hippos ring out from the deeper pools in the Gomoti, while tawny grasslands meander between termite mound islands topped with rustling mokolwane and tsaro palms. Within this unspoiled landscape herds of antelope thrive, followed through the seasons by hungry predators.

Wildlife

The south-eastern reaches of the Moremi Game Reserve, in which Tawana is located, is renowned for its high concentration of wildlife, including healthy populations of key predators – particularly lion, leopard and African wild dogs – which are frequently sighted just meters from the camp.

The permanent waters of the Gomoti River ensure a wide variety of game is present in the area year-round. Look forward to sighting large herds of antelope, including the semi-aquatic red lechwe and shy sitatunga. Within the lagoons and pools of the Gomoti large pods of hippos make themselves at home, while enormous Nile crocodiles are often seen basking on the banks.

When the first summer rains arrive in November, breeding herds of elephants move into the mopane forests as the natural waterholes begin to fill. This ‘green season’ of summertime brings its own magic, transforming the Moremi into a lush green landscape. Summer is also the best time for birders, with the arrival of the summer migrants. More than 400 bird species have been recorded here, and throughout the year the waterways and grasslands ensure the Moremi is a twitcher’s delight.

Tawana is named in honour of Chief Tawana Moremi, the paramount chief of the Batawana tribe, whose forebears have been instrumental in conserving the wilderness of northern Botswana.

It was the current chief’s father and grandmother who in 1963 took the visionary step to set aside much of their ancestral hunting grounds to protect the wildlife and help establish the Moremi Game Reserve. Recognising Natural Selection’s commitment to conservation, environmental sustainability and community development, the current Chief Tawana chose to partner with Natural Selection in the construction of the camp, safeguarding these ancestral lands for future generations and providing much-needed social upliftment for the Batawana people.

In addition to providing vital employment and skills development in the region, Natural Selection will also be working closely with the women of the local basket-weaving centre to produce unique pieces for both the camp décor, as well as the on-site gift shop. We are also partnering with the nearby Shorobe community to build an early learning centre for preschool children.

The tribe’s rich cultural heritage and deep roots in the landscape also provided rich inspiration for architect Michael Kornmuller in the architecture and aesthetic of Tawana, resulting in a camp with an indelible sense of place.