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JAO CAMP

Jao Camp is situated on a private concession bordering the Moremi Game Reserve, right in the heart of the Okavango Delta. The area is comprised of a superb variety of habitats, which include permanent waterways and lagoons, open flood plains, and thick Kalahari soils; it is noted for its predators and, according to a 1999 survey by the Department of Wildlife, has the highest concentration of lion in Botswana.

Depending on water levels, Jao offers both land and water-based activities. Mekoro rides are a highlight, exploring some of the most beautiful and intricate channels and islands anywhere in the Delta.

Boating safaris are also highly enjoyable. Game drives are conducted year-round, their range being determined by the prevailing flood levels. Being outside the Moremi Game Reserve, night-drives are permitted at Jao, which allows guests to view nocturnally active animals. Jao is also one of the few camps in Botswana to offer full-day walking safaris. Jao is most appropriately classified as a 'combination' water and land camp, although water activities are probably its strength.

The camp itself is an architectural wonder, which plays in perfect symphony with nature. The result is simple, elegant, calming and inspirational. Jao's two storey common area resembles a wonderful open air museum, filled with pan-African artefacts. Downstairs, there is a sitting area and library moulded into the clay walls with chairs made from tree trunks, carved and polished into surprisingly comfortable works of art. Nooks and crannies dug into the mud walls hold chunky handmade candles. This area leads onto a lovely deck built over the flood plain which supports a swimming pool. Enormous wooden gongs hang on thick ropes from the trees.

Upstairs, the light colored thatch ceiling is high and lofty. Wind chimes hanging from its rafters made sweet music in the gentle breeze. Here you will find another sitting area replete with kilim cushions, deep armchairs and interesting objets d'art: a tray of antique east African pipes, a pot filled with Masaai spears, carved wooden bowls containing cleverly crafted balls of entangled twigs. There are plenty of enticing coffee-table books about African wildlife and culture to flick through at your leisure. The adjoining dining area boasts a long table hand crafted from soft wood, with hand worked intricate metal chandeliers and abundant candles.

Jao has only nine expansive canvas and thatch en-suite rooms, raised on high wooden platforms above the undulating palm carpet, overlooking vast flood plains. Each has a wooden deck which runs the length of the room, ending at a thatched sala from where you can rest, read, or simply observe life in the living Delta around you.

Jao offers probably the most romantic and sensual experience in the Okavango Delta. It combines a wonderful wilderness adventure with a spectacular camp and an ambience of sheer relaxation and tranquility.

Ecotourism angle

Until recently, the private concession on which Jao is located was used for hunting. When the contract with Botswana's Department of Wildlife came up for renewal recently, two local Maun families formed a partnership and outbid the hunters; the concession has now been turned over to photographic safaris. Officially, the concession is still classified as a dual purpose concession, and hunting is permitted by the Department of Wildlife. Such is the commitment of the new leaseholders to 'non-consumptive' forms of ecotourism, however, that they have voluntarily decided not to allow hunting, thereby foregoing about US$ 500,000 in annual income from hunting.

Wilderness Safaris (who manage the camp) also commits resources and time to doing game counts and censuses to help conservation authorities build up a data base of Botswana's wildlife, and is a major financial contributor to various private and non-governmental conservation projects. By staying at this type of private concession, guests are directly contributing to preserving the wilderness and wildlife in these areas because their fees are used to sustain conservation. What is more, photographic safaris are 'non-consumptive' so that, as the saying goes, you leave nothing but your foot prints, and you take nothing away but memories.

To find out more about Jao Camp, or to make a reservation, call on

27-11-463-7889 or email us.

LIYATSHWA SAFARIS PORTFOLIO - Okavango Delta