Okuti

Okuti is a uniquely designed lodge that draws inspiration from the Maunachira River. The river flows in front of the camp, featuring abundant birdlife, fish and sandy river banks. It is an oasis of serenity and peacefulness. Okuti is built amidst the wilderness of one of Botswana’s prime game viewing regions, Moremi Game Reserve.

The accommodation at Okuti features five very spacious twins and double-bedded “Masasas.” Masasas are traditional ancient houses built from reeds. This exceptionally unique style and architecture are featured in all rooms and overlook the permanent Maunachira channel.

For families, the two-bedroom Masasas offer spacious bathroom facilities and luxurious amenities. All bathrooms offer an indoor and outdoor shower with spectacular views of the natural surround. The Masasas are connected by raised wooden walkways making all areas of the camp are wheelchair friendly.

Located within the heart of the famous Moremi Game Reserve, guests are offered an extraordinary game drives experience. All Ker & Downey Botswana camps offer vehicles with the perfect window seats for game viewing. There are only four guests allowed on a vehicle at a time and it is fitted with camera mounts perfect for photography enthusiasts. The Moremi Game Reserve has an abundance of wildlife, and its consistent year-round game viewing makes it ideal for repeat and first-time visitors to Botswana. Guests can also explore the Okavango Delta waterways by motorboat, and the areas open lagoons and winding channels make it a birder’s paradise, complete with herons and storks in the breeding season.

Okuti offers one of the best value safari experiences in the Moremi Game Reserve and Okavango Delta region of Botswana. It provides excellent game viewing due to its widely varied and protected habitats which support a huge variety of wildlife.

About the Okavango Delta

The largest inland delta in the world, the Okavango Delta is the most unexpected wonder – water present in a desert. The broad Okavango River sinks into the dry sands of the Kalahari Desert, creating a lush and waterlogged oasis with crystal clear lagoons and channels, reeded islands and fertile floodplains. Dubbed “the river that never finds the sea”, this magical oasis spreads over more than 15 500 km² (almost 6 000 square miles) and yet is so fragile that, if it were denied water for even a decade, it would revert to a semi-desert.

This breath-taking environment constantly adapts and changes with the ebb and flow of the floodwaters that seasonally inundate large portions of the Delta. Although dry for two-thirds of the year, during the winter months the rising floodwaters create a maze of marshes, small wooded islands and shallow lagoons. Water lilies and other aquatic plants flourish in the shallow water, while water birds inhabit the banks of papyrus. As relatively little water can be found elsewhere during this time, the wildlife is drawn to the clear waters of the Delta.

On the edges of the Delta, where land blurs with water, breeding herds of elephant splash gently through shallow channels, the long necks of a family of giraffe materialise slowly out of the Delta skyline and graceful sitatunga antelope hide in the reeds. It is a place where you can wonder at the antics of wild dog in the morning and cast a line for tiger fish in the afternoon, wake in the dappled shade of a forest and enjoy dinner beneath the boughs of a massive baobab at full moon.

Beautiful little reed frogs cling to the water grasses and a variety of incredible bird species make their appearance, from jewelled kingfishers and bee-eaters to ponderous herons and cranes and solemn-looking owls. Red lechwe scamper through the shallows and wild cat, serval and pangolin can be spotted at night, when the moon reflects off the backs of a family of hippo coming out of the water to graze, turning them into slabs of shining silver.

Wildlife

The Okavango Delta is home to a large number of species, including some that are specially adapted to the semi-aquatic lifestyle, like the elegant red lechwe and shy sitatunga antelope. Lion prides, cheetah, leopard and African wild dog may be encountered, while hippo resides in deeper channels and lagoons. Honey badgers are observed during daylight hours. Roan and sable antelope favour taller grass in open woodlands and families of dwarf and banded mongoose occupy large termite mounds.

Graceful giraffe, with their impossibly long necks, and herds of zebra can be encountered on the floodplains. Lion, as well as other predators, can also be found in the area, particularly in the drier areas. Although predominantly nocturnal and difficult to spot, leopard occurs in the dense forest are the water’s edge. The sparkling channels teem with a variety of fish, while hundreds of bird species, frogs and insects inhabit the reeded banks.