Nature safari camps: Camps & lodges that bring you up close to nature

Unique safari experiences

And when you do want to get out and about and meet some more of the inhabitants of Zimbabwe’s famed Hwange National Park, or the boundless Busanga Plains of Zambia’s Kafue National Park, the Wilderness safari experience isn’t just about hopping on a game drive vehicle and settling down for a ride.

Our Wilderness experiences are designed to take you out of your comfort zone and further immerse you in nature. Imagine enjoying a bush brunch in the shallows of an Okavango Delta floodplain, the water gently lapping at your bare feet, or settling down on a blanket for a picnic and sundowner with nothing to see for miles around except endless grasslands and herds of zebra.

A tactile & sustainable safari environment

Back at camp, the connection to the world around you, perchance the very reason that you came to Africa in the first place, continues through clever design. Take a closer look at some of the details on the hand-dyed cushions, and they’ll reveal themselves to have been cut from old game-drive vehicle tyres. Put your drink down on a coffee table and wonder if the inlay better resembles a waterlily, or the footprint of an elephant, both visible in abundance just a few metres away. Or take a closer look at the chandeliers and you’ll see the resemblance to local traditional headdresses.

It's about thoughtful details and bespoke pieces dotted throughout our camps that pay homage to the surrounding environment through patterns, textures and colours, while also celebrating a sense of place and culture.

Moreover, it’s also about sustainability. Along with our efforts to minimise waste, reduce water usage, and increase our reliance on solar power, we have a long-standing ban on concrete in our camps. What this means is we have flexibility to build around trees or existing natural structures, incorporating them into our design and ensuring that wildlife is never denied access. This also means that should our camp need to be disassembled or relocated, it can be done at any time with minimal disruption to the environments in which we operate.

Experience wildlife in our luxury Botswana safari lodge

Take a look at one of our newly refurbished camps, like Wilderness DumaTau, and you’ll see what we mean. This camp boasts an extraordinary lagoon-side setting, which regularly attracts herds of elephant and other wildlife, and has a floating deck and fire pit in the lagoon. The tents have been orientated to offer expansive views out over the water, the pool at the Osprey Retreat wellness area has been carefully aligned so that it appears to merge with the waters beyond, and the hand-painted tiles on the main bar trace out a map of the Linyanti Wildlife Reserve, where the camp is situated.