Sanctuary Stanley’s Camp

Each tent is airy and bright, wooden floors make the tents feel traditional and authentic. As well as the large, comfy bed in the centre of the tent, there is also a dressing table and a writing desk. All tents come with ensuite facilities including an indoor shower and rooms include amenities such as a compact gym, yoga mat and a mini bar. Guests can relax on their own private decking, laying in their hammock looking out over the stunning vista with a morning coffee or tea from their own coffee station.

Dinner is served in the main building of the camp, which overlooks the game-filled delta. Guests can arrange a romantic, private dinner on their own room decking or by the pool. The camp also features a sociable bar where guests can wind down and relax after a long day of game spotting and water excursions.

Breakfast is available bush style at Sanctuary Stanley’s Camp. Full English and continental breakfasts are available and guests can dine surrounded by the sights, smells and sounds of the bush whilst it’s coming to life. A unique experience that Stanley’s Camp can offer guests is a gentle lunch on the water. Enjoy freshly prepared food whilst dipping your toes in the cooling shallows of the Okavango Delta.

Let the Okavango Delta surround you on a morning or evening game drive in an open sided 4×4 vehicle. See if you can spot lions, elephants, giraffes, or zebras, just to name a few of the local wild animal species. Being situated on a private concessions gives the opportunity to see these animals up close, accompanied by professional guides.

When the delta is flooded, experience the surrounding narrow channels only accessible by mokoro boat. Glide serenely along, and get close to life in the water keeping an eye out for local fish and Nile crocodiles in the traditional way to explore the water.

In the perfect safety of an experienced ranger, explore the bush and the local wildlife on a walking tour. Being located on a private concession allows guests a closer look at the wildlife of the bush, with over 400 species of birds local to the area, see if you can spot the slaty egret or the African skimmer.

Rhinos are still under huge threat from poaching due to the persistent belief that powdered rhino horn can be used as a medicine, so “Sanctuary Retreats has partnered with Rhino Conservation Botswana Defence Forces and others to translocate 20 rhino, both black and white, from South Africa to Botswana where they will be safer from poachers.”

This project focuses on educating the local Botswana youth on the elephants importance in the ecosystems to help curb the ongoing struggle between humans and elephants. Sanctuary Camp guests and local school children can interact with the elephants during excursions meant to introduce the local children to the animals. “With a new understanding and appreciation for the elephants and their place in the local ecosystem, the children feel inspired to protect their future.”

Since the opening of their first camp in Kenya in 1999, Sanctuary Retreats have been committed to responsible tourism and conservation. They aim to create long-lasting relationships with local communities and select projects based on this potential. Working closely with communities to improve their well-being they identify “long-term, viable and self-sustaining projects that will have the support of our staff and visitors.”

Sanctuary Retreats supports the Dipetsana women’s bike shop. This employs five local women in Kasane, Botswana – they were trained how to be mechanics and given business skills – so donated bikes can be sold to members of the community who need to travel such as health care workers and students. Donated bikes have been collected from the US, UK and Australia. This enterprise empowers these local women and provides them the opportunity to earn an income whilst helping their community. Similar enterprises such as this bike shop are supported in Uganda, Tanzania and Zambia.

Sanctuary Retreats work closely with Maasai communities in Kenya to help positively impact education, by building classrooms and sponsoring student school fees, developing community enterprise and encouraging conservation. They also have an initiative to introduce sustainable means to acquire clean water for local school students, with a similar initiative in Zambia and Tanzania too. Sanctuary Retreats have partnered with local schools in Tanzania, close to Tarangire National Park to provide “education and support for the next generation of conservationists.”

Another school that is being supported here is Ilboru School for children with special needs. In Uganda, Sanctuary Retreats works with the Uganda Nursing School Bwindi and helps to invest in and provide scholarships for students who will be the area’s future nurses and health care workers. The Waiting Mothers’ Hostel has been expanded with Sanctuary Retreats help, this provides vital support for expectant mothers by giving them a safe space to stay in the later stages of their pregnancy. Local businesses have been supported in Zambia with eight local female artisans working in Sishemo Bead Studio in Nakatindi.

Through this, these women have a chance to improve not just their own lives but also their families. Sanctuary Retreats works more widely within the village of Nakatindi in Zambia, supporting their primary school by providing school lunches, refurbishing classrooms and building a medical clinic in 2013.