Wilderness Mokete

The name Mokete means celebration or feast. It’s a place to feast on the unexplored and celebrate the untamed. Here the action never ends. You’re always on the edge of your seat. And yet you’re still peering through your fingertips, certain you don’t want to miss a thing. This is a place to be awed by the majesty of Africa with an unrivalled diversity of wildlife.

South of Chobe National Park, and east of Moremi Game Reserve, Mababe is the nearest water source for thousands of animals in the dry season. Its permanent marshland is fed by the perennial Mababe River and the seasonal draining of the Okavango Delta, linking to the Linyanti through the Savuti Channel, to create an enormous grassland where only one safari camp is found: Wilderness Mokete.

Pioneering Wilderness Mokete is a solar-powered tented camp, built in an intentionally minimalist style without forgoing any comfort. With only canvas between guests and nature, a stay at Mokete is an immersive feast for the senses. Due to the open layout and high density of wildlife, only guests 16 and older are permitted to stay. There is a swimming pool for warm afternoons and a Star Bed for cool evenings under the sky (from 2025).

Forget conventional safari times. We’ll pack you a bush lunch to enjoy with zebras and elephants, ensuring you never miss a moment of the action. In camp, sip on a sundowner overlooking the uninterrupted grassland, the curvature of the Earth discernible on the distant horizon. Or sit suspended under the stars for an alfresco dining experience, reminiscing over the marsh owls you spotted earlier.

Mokete is situated centre stage in a great wildlife theatre. In Mababe, the annual replenishing of the marsh dictates the wildlife movements, with herds in their thousands congregating in the dry season. It’s not uncommon to see 2,000-strong buffalo herds, hundreds of tsessebe, and especially dazzling, an extraordinary migration of zebra in December and in March. Following this great density of prey is a density of predators, with especially high concentrations of spotted hyena. Prides of lion, leopards, cheetahs, packs of wild dogs, bat-eared foxes, jackals, African wild cats and servals make up the predator population, hunting the marshes and mopane woodlands.

The mopane belt to the east of the vast plains and the edges of the marsh hosts an impressive number of bird species.

Lions are seen throughout the day, while a high density of hyenas constantly compete with other predators: cheetah, wild dog, bat-eared fox, jackal, African wild cat and serval. The mopane belt to the east of the great plains is home to leopard and numerous woodland species, while the edges of the marsh have prolific bird life. It’s a thrilling, non-stop show, and a photographer’s dream

Game viewing at Wilderness Mokete is unmatched, renowned for the mega herds that make their way across this private wilderness area. An immersive, exclusive and thrilling safari, it’s undoubtedly Botswana’s best viewing of game in numbers, followed by exceptional predator-prey interaction. Mababe’s distal lake is the closest water source for hundreds of miles. This puts Wilderness Mokete in a prime position for watching the never-ending wildlife show, drawn in huge numbers to the permanent water source and nutritious grassland of the Mababe Depression.

Wilderness Mokete offers exceptional and unconventional safari adventures, where time is dictated by nature, not the clock. In this part of Botswana, it’s not uncommon to see lions on the hunt on the plains during the day, which makes for exceptional photographic opportunities. Guests can choose to stay on a game drive as long as they please, or stop for a lazy bush picnic – or stay out with the predators late at night if they wish. Guided walks can be arranged, or guests may be tempted to spend an afternoon in the sunken hide, eye-to-toe with the elephants.

Guests may also enjoy a respectful visit to Mababe village for an authentic insight into the culture of the area. Listen to stories told by village elders, learn the art of tracking and basket-weaving, ancient practices in this part of the world. Soar over Mababe on a scenic helicopter flight (from 2024), and take in the vastness of this extraordinary concession.

About Mababe

Located between two national parks, Mababe spans more than 50,000 hectares on the eastern fringe of the Okavango Delta and the famed Moremi Game Reserve, to the south of Chobe National Park. Unique in Botswana, the area’s nutrient-rich grasses are fed with a constant supply of water, thanks to the Mababe River and the waters of the Okavango, which drain into the Mababe wetland. The result is an incredible environment, including three distinct habitats: grassland plains, mopane and acacia woodlands, and the marsh system fed by the Mababe River. This environment supports an exceptional ecosystem with impressive herds, an abundance of predators and an array of birdlife. Each year, the 2,600-hectare marsh is reinvigorated by the seasonal inflow, drawing wildlife from all directions in search of the life-giving water-source.