Sky Beds

The 3 Skybeds rest on top of individual 5-metre high platforms and are furnished with a luxurious bed and soft and snuggly duvets and blankets. The bedrooms are located on the top (2nd) floor of the elevated platform, meaning that the only thing separating guests from the sky is a protective mosquito net. The top floor also includes a small seated area and table for guests to enjoy looking out over the waterhole and Khwai Private Reserve with a refreshing beverage. The 1st floor features a sheltered bathroom, consisting of an enclosed shower, flush loo, and private changing area.

Skybeds has a communal dining platform where guests can tuck into tasty meals cooked over a campfire by the camp’s expert chefs. Dietary requirements can be catered for if Skybeds is notified in advance of your arrival. Enjoy dinner and drinks under the stars, surrounded by the sounds of wildlife. There is also a campfire for morning tea and coffee, as well as sundowners in the evening.

Make the most of your time by enjoying an exciting game drive en route to the Skybeds camp. Drive past plains dotted with antelope, watch prowling predators and get up close to towering elephants and giraffe. Game drives let you see the wildlife as they carry out their daily routines away from the Skybeds waterhole, from the safety of the safari vehicle. The camp’s experienced guides will teach you about the extraordinary creatures that live on the Okavango Delta, and the journey across the bush gives guests a chance to get a feel of the sheer size of the reserve.

Visit the camp’s ground-level hide on the way to the Skybeds to gain a different perspective of the surrounding wildlife. Observe colossal elephants from below, and get a sense of their sheer enormity, before spending a night looking down on them from above. The hide allows guests to view the game completely undisturbed and provides amazing photographic opportunities.

Bush walks are available on request. Step out into the bush on your own two feet and explore the landscape with an experienced guide. Your guide will be able to teach you about the amazing animals that live on the Khwai Private Reserve, as well as how to recognise animal tracks and marks left in the bush. Travel across the plains, and sneak up on a variety of wildlife without the restrictions of a safari vehicle or the sounds of an engine.

Skybeds is a Natural Selection safari camp. Natural Selection supports the vision of the Botswana Community and Conservation Initiative (BCCI), which provides regional conservation and support for rural communities to develop sustainable land-use practices that promote conservation-based economic opportunities, facilitate landscape-scale wildlife movements, and provide for climate change resilience. Natural Selection has also partnered with Coaching Conservation ‘to provide local people with the critical information they need to stay safe and healthy during the pandemic.’

‘Over the last three years, 1.5% of every guest’s stay in [Natural Selection’s] camps has gone towards community and conservation projects. Combined with the direct contributions that [Natural Selection’s] camps make to local community outreach, this amounts to nearly 1 million USD of committed funds.’

Natural Selections has been working with the local Khwai Village in order to identify needs within the community and create solutions. Natural Selections have launched a number of projects to do this, such as the Feed A Child programme which provides schoolchildren with a healthy vitamin-rich meal at the start of the school day, setting up a pre-school in Khwai Village and providing an income for the teachers, supporting the village elders and disabled members of the community, and providing homes with electricity using solar power. Natural Selections’ initiatives not only help the local communities but inspires the local villagers to see ecotourism in a positive light, helping to prevent human and animal conflict.

The increase in the number of elephants in the Okavango Delta in recent years is a cause for celebration. However, for villagers along the Delta’s panhandle and outskirts, the sudden boost in elephant numbers means that their land is more likely to be trampled and humans may be at risk of fatal encounters. Natural Selection has recognised that transportation for local communities is a need, and they worked with EcoExist and the Okavango Community Trust to launch the ‘Elephant Express’ in January 2020. The ‘Elephant Express’ service transports children to schools safely, as well as helping patients get to clinics without the fear of crossing paths with a gigantic elephant.

Natural Selection ensures that 1.5% of your expedition fees goes to wildlife conservation. They also work with the local communities, governments and conservation organisations in order to help protect conservation areas, and sustain them. The camps that are built are subtle and blend in with the environment and the habitats that already exist there, causing minimal disruption to the surrounding wildlife.

Natural Selection started the Etosha Heights Rhino Protection program which is an anti-poaching group that monitor Rhinos, and ensure that poachers are unable to illegally hunt these endangered creatures.

‘We take rhino conservation extremely seriously, and the Etosha Heights team work tirelessly to safeguard the future of these bushveld unicorns and ensure that many more generations can enjoy watching them. Within the reserve, we have an anti-poaching camp and team that are dedicated to protecting the rhinos and preventing any illegal hunting from happening along the boundaries of the reserve. Our rangers are on the ground 24 hours a day and have completed an intensive training programme to ensure that they’re the best of the best. Combined with new state of the art anti-poaching surveillance technology, this team is a force to be reckoned with.’