Kwetsani camp – Botswana

About

The Kwetsani Camp is a luxury treehouse camp that is in the center of the Jao Concession, West of Chief’s Island in Botswana. The camp offers 5 open luxury treehouse tents with connected wooden walkway experiences. It sits on a long narrow island covered with palm, mangosteen, and fig trees and is hidden beneath a canopy of trees. It offers a beautiful view of the surrounding floodplains. Floodplain ecosystems such as this one, are defined by their seasonal inundation and desiccation. They shift between phases of dry and wet. Kwetsani Camp offers both land and water activities depending on annual inundation levels. There are game drives in open 4×4 land rovers but in times of high water, guests are transferred by boat to game drive areas. Though night drives with spotlights allow you to view nocturnal animals you wouldn’t see during daytime drives like the aardwolf, spotted genet, and lesser bushbaby. The surrounding floodplains are home to several species that are only found in a few other places on Earth. Lion, leopard, lechwe, and tsessebe are among the major game attractions. Though, go a little deeper into the lagoons, you will find hippos and sitatungas. Some of these may even be seen from the treehouse tents. Along with the countries 75 large mammal species, one can see over 580 bird species in Botswana, a beautiful location for birding. Boating and the traditional mokoro canoe excursions also offer beautiful wildlife exploring and birding. One can spot wattled crane, a vulnerable species, hippos, slaty egrets, rosy-throated longclaws, Pel’s fishing owls, African skimmers, and many others. Owen traveled to Kwetsani camp in September 2016 and has photographed over 30 species of birds like the Bateleur, Hamerkop, and the Kurrichane thrush. The Kwetsani Camp is dedicated to the Jao village community and supports its community with various contributions like food, clothing, and support to the elderly.