Tubu Tree Camp

Each safari tent is open-plan, with a modest, elegant atmosphere. Relax on the large, comfy bed whilst looking out through sliding doors onto your own private decking and the stunning vista beyond. Mosquito netting is provided hung around the bed, and each tent includes a desk. En-suite bathrooms come complete with an indoor and an outdoor shower and amenities include a yoga mat and some dumbbells. Guests can relax on their decking after an afternoons excursions with a tea or coffee from the included tea and coffee station and absorb the breathtaking view.

2 family tents are available at Tubu Camp, these are two adjoining tents with a large, shared lounge and decking area overlooking the stunning delta. Each tent has a separate ensuite bathroom, complete with indoor and outdoor showers.

Tubu Camp offers a large, communal dining area which is simply, but elegantly decorated with chandeliers and a large candelabra. Guests can eat dinner with a view of the glorious floodplains at sunset, basked in golden sunlight. There is a handmade bar, constructed from a sausage tree where guests can enjoy a pre or post dinner cocktail, relaxing into the atmosphere of the Okavango Delta.

Both day and night game drives are available at Tubu Camp, with a professional guide this is a perfect way to explore the floodplains and spot many species of wildlife in their natural habitat, including lion, leopard, elephant and giraffes to name a few.

Boat excursions are offered seasonally, jet down the crystal clear waterways keeping an eye out for Nile crocodiles or hippos. Mokoro excursions are also available seasonally, this is a more traditional way to explore the waterways and by gliding at a slower pace you may see reed frogs, or spotted-neck otters. See if you can catch a tiger, cat or Tilapia fish with an afternoon spent catch-and-release fishing, available seasonally.

Explore the surrounding grasslands on foot, following an experience guide. Follow animal tracks and see the animals at eye level, there is no better way to feel at the heart of the delta than to be present within nature.

Sleeping out under the stars can be arranged for guests. Enjoy the powerful experience of gazing at the start-filled sky, unpolluted by light.

For a once in a lifetime view of the Okavango Delta, take to the skies in a helicopter trip and view the delta from the air, with uninterrupted, breathtaking views. Chose to fly at either sunrise or sunset for the best photograph opportunities with the sunlights golden rays flooding the scene.

Wilderness Safaris partner properties all work under the sustainability ethos of conservation, culture, commerce and community. Pack for a Purpose is one of the community projects that Wilderness Safaris has partnered with, it is “a non-profit organisation that provides travellers with up-to-date information about required supplies for community-based projects.” With no one inhabiting these rural areas of Africa accurate recordings of species could not be undertaken.

Wilderness Safaris are present throughout the whole year which allows them to provide not just financial support but also logistical support to anti-poaching initiatives. Due to their presence wildlife numbers have increased dramatically with elephant, lechwe and puku growing markedly. The emphasis on ecotourism is changing lives “camps and lodges bring employment and training, opportunities for growth and travel, and exposure to another world.”

Wilderness Safaris created their own Trust in 2003, this is an independent entity that fund-raises for money to be put into various conservation projects. This engages with projects which can be beyond the scope of the areas in which Wilderness Safaris operate, ensuring that “conservation is a driving force in reaching more people, wildlife and places. “The Jao Concession, where Tubu Tree Camp is located, and the University of Botswana have created a committee hoping to “encourage better engagement between local communities and the Jao Concession, specifically regarding curbing poaching and over-fishing.”

25 different projects are funded by the Trust annually, the past 10 years seeing the Trust fund more than 100 different projects that were in 8 different countries in Africa. Whilst Wilderness Safaris contributes to these projects logistically, the Trust “is involved financially in the projects, supporting research, habitat management and community upliftment.”

Tubu Camp is powered by a hybrid system, which only needs to operate for 8 hours a day instead of 24 hours. To ensure waste water is clean before being allowed back into the environment the water is treated in an Above Ground Sewage Plant. This camp has very strict in-house environmental standards, “so only approved eco-friendly detergents and chemicals are used.” One of Wilderness Safaris aims is if their camps ever needed to be moved they could do so without leaving an imprint on the land, so all their camps are designed with this in mind.

Wilderness Safaris works in partnership with Save the Rhino Trust and three separate Namibian conservancies to help conserve and protect the rare species of the desert-adapted black rhino. These rhinos play a vital role in shaping the landscape of Africa, by grazing lawns and vegetation they help protect plant biodiversity and keep the plains hospitable to other herbivore species. Without them, whole ecosystems would begin to die out. Wilderness Safaris Desert Rhino Camp works specifically in partnership with Save the Rhino Trust and acts as rhino monitoring post, as well as a camp, to help increase rhino security in an otherwise unmonitored area.

Due to an increase in recruitment, Wilderness Safaris and their partners have “dramatically and sustainably increased the range of desert-adapted black rhino in the north-west.” Both the black and white rhino were declared locally extinct in Botswana in the early 1990s. Since then, Wilderness Safaris  have helped to restore these rhinos to the wild “in the largest cross-border move ever completed.”

This is an educational programme created by Wilderness Safaris which aims to educate and inspire the next generation of environmental leaders by teaching them life skills and environmental issues. This programme aims to “create a network of learning sanctuaries that uplifts and cares for our children and conserves the planet.” Great numbers of children are involved in these programmes, 2,500 children attend rural, school-based clubs per year; more than 300 children per year are granted a scholarship which pays for their education and Wilderness Safaris and their partner destination host annual camps, which more than 500 children attend.

Wilderness Safaris serves to protect and conserve the land in which they operate. The continent of Africa is unique, with over 1000 different mammal species and fauna and humans living side by side. With a commitment to ecotourism, they are helping to conserve biodiversity. Currently, Wilderness Safaris helps to protect over 2.5million hectares of African wilderness and in 2015 they were awarded a medal by the government of Botswana for Meritorious Service to the country.

One of the ways they try to protect the environment is by making sure their camps have a light footprint. Trying to achieve “purposeful luxury” their camps are all built with environmentally-sensitive architecture. Understanding the fragility of the wilderness they operate in, they make sure they minimise any negative impact they might have on the environment and the camps are thoughtfully placed in locations where they don’t take away from the wilderness of the area.

Wilderness Safaris have a commitment to community engagement in the areas surrounding their camps. Through community employment, Wilderness Safaris currently have more than 100 staff members from local communities throughout their camps, and with the average staff member supporting 7 other people each, 700 further people benefit. Community partnerships can also help to protect and conserve the land.

Wilderness Safaris Damaraland Camp is located in the Torra Conservancy, and through community work and ecotourism they protect around 350 hectares of land within the Torra Conservancy. As a result of this protected land the wildlife is prospering and “‘problem animals’ are now seen as a resource that can bring money into the community via ecotourism.”

With animals and humans living side by side there is a risk of human-wildlife conflict, and Wilderness Safaris seek to address this issue. The Skeleton Coast has seen its desert-adapted lion population grow considerably in the past 15 years. Lion mortalities are declining as attitudes in the community are changing due in part to Wilderness Safaris’ help. A research centre was built at Hoanib Skeleton Coast Camp for their Desert Lion Project, and the attention gained from an acclaimed documentary have helped local communities and guests understand the importance of the desert-adapted lions and a greater understanding has allowed rural communities to live peacefully with the lions.

Since 2012, plastic bottled water has been reduced. All guests of Wilderness Safari camps are given their own reusable water bottles to reduce the use of plastic bottles.