Maxa

Maxa in north-eastern Botswana is refreshingly removed from the better-trodden circuits of the Okavango Delta. The camp is located within the world’s largest land-based conservation area. Out here, the Delta feels bigger and wilder. Some of Africa’s largest elephant populations cross the open grasslands. The camp itself overlooks wide, hippo-filled waters at the source of the Selinda Spillway. You don’t come to Maxa to tick boxes – you come to explore the wild deeply, fully immersed rather than merely observing from the sidelines.

Mornings might begin on foot, tracking across sandy ground with a guide, reading fresh tracks and pausing at the edge of seasonal pans. Later, you trade dust for water as you glide through reed-lined channels by mokoro (seasonal) while kingfishers flash overhead. When nature drives extend into the evening, the Delta changes tempo and nocturnal species emerge. You’ll be one of the few people to explore this corner of the Delta, situated within the immense KAZA Transfrontier Conservation Area.

At the heart of the camp stands a large termite mound. Once helped to form the island itself, it now houses a wood-fired oven where fresh bread and delicious slow-cooked meals emerge throughout the day. Meals are often shared around picnic-style tables in a courtyard of soft Delta sand, sometimes beneath the shade of the Ebony trees, sometimes under a sky bright with stars. A cosy cargo-net hammock overlooks the lagoon. The stretch-canvas tents, including one family unit, offer indoor en-suite bathrooms as well as outdoor open-air bathrooms. Enjoy access to a library and editing workspace, with Wi-Fi available. Maxa welcomes children aged six years and older.