Wilderness Little Mombo
Wilderness Little Mombo is an intimate luxury lodge situated next to the main Mombo Camp, on the edge of Chief’s Island in the north west of the Moremi Game Reserve.
Wilderness Little Mombo is the smaller and more intimate sister camp to Wilderness Mombo Camp, regarded by many as the premier safari destination in Botswana. Like its sister, Little Mombo offers the same outstanding levels of accommodation, food and service and superb big game viewing. Little Mombo, however, with just four rooms, offers an even more exclusive experience for those who want a small and personal camp. It works perfectly for groups of friends and extended families wanting a very exclusive space for a private safari. However, be warned, Little Mombo commands a serious price tag.
Rooms
Little Mombo has just four suites of exactly the same standard as Mombo and is located just next door. Each spacious suite comprises a separate lounge with comfortable leather sofas, a fully stocked bar, Nespresso machine and facilities for making tea and coffee at any time of day. The sleeping area has either twin or double beds under mosquito net drapes. A small vanity station leads through to a large bathroom with lots of wardrobe space, his and hers basins, a double shower, separate toilet and enormous bath. There is also an outdoor shower. All the rooms in the suite have sliding doors leading on to an extensive deck. The configuration differs in each suite but each one has sun loungers, a sunken sofa, swing day bed and private plunge pool. A pair of Olympus binoculars, an Olympus camera and carry bag are provided in each tent and camp management will provide an SD card for your use. An exercise mat and weights are also included in each suite.
Central Areas
The central area is private to guests at Little Mombo and consists of a bar, lounge and dining area and library. There are also outdoor dining decks and relaxation areas with a small central pool. Towards the main camp you will find the wellness centre with a lap pool, fully equipped air-conditioned gym and spa offering a variety of treatments (shared with guests from Mombo main camp).
Facilities
Wi-Fi – Yes
Power for charging – Yes
Swimming pool – Yes
Habitat & Wildlife
The Mombo Concession is reputed as being one the of the best game viewing areas in the Okavango Delta, and is home to the big five (elephant, lion, leopard, buffalo and rhino) as well as a wide variety of plains game, other predators such as hyaena, cheetah and wild dog, and nocturnal species such as aardvark, aardwolf, honey badger, genet, serval, African wild cat and porcupine. The birdlife is excellent too.
The camp is located on the edge of Chiefs Island, within the Moremi Game Reserve. The reserve covers some 487,000 hectares of the Okavango Delta region (roughly half) and was first proclaimed in 1963 in an effort to control the decimation of game through big game hunting.
The Moremi is one of the most beautiful game reserves in Africa – an area of mopane woodland interlaced with giant fig and knobthorn trees, open floodplains and river courses. Animals commonly seen in the area include elephant, buffalo, hippo, crocodile, lion, leopard, cheetah, wild dog, red lechwe, tsessebe, impala, reedbuck, zebra, kudu, giraffe and wildebeest. White rhino were re-introduced to Chiefs Island a few years ago, whilst Sable and Roan antelope can also be seen, as well as a variety of smaller mammal species, including nocturnal species. The birdlife of the region is equally spectacular with notable ‘ticks’ being wattled crane, slaty egret, Pel’s fishing owl, purple gallinule, African finfoot and lesser jacana.
Activities
Game viewing drives are conducted in open four-wheel drive vehicles during the day, there are no water-borne activities. Whilst the camp obviously has an exceptional reputation for game viewing, please note that being within the reserve vehicles cannot (should not) leave the designated tracks. Bush walks and night drives are prohibited for the same reason. There are two elevated hides around a 30 minute drive from camp that can be used seasonally for a different game viewing experience. Scenic helicopter flights can be arranged at extra cost. Guests also have the option (at an extra cost) of arranging an excursion to learn more about CLAWS (Communities Living Among Wildlife Sustainability – an organisation focussing on reducing conflict between people and predators) or a “Life With Elephants” village visit with EcoExist (an NGO aiming to reduce conflict between people and elephants.
Seasons
Wilderness Little Mombo is open all year round though the game viewing will be best from June to early November.
Children are accepted from the age of 13 upwards (unless the whole camp is booked exclusively) and there is no family accommodation at Little Mombo, so the main camp would make a better choice for families wanting to be all ‘under one roof’. While the affordability may not be appropriate for many families, there is no doubt that Little Mombo would make a fantastic camp for larger families travelling with older teenage children who wanted to book the camp for a private extended family safari holiday.
Wilderness Safaris established the Children in the Wilderness programme (CITW) focusing on the children from villages close to the remote areas in which they operate, educating them in environmental awareness and training them in the life skills needed to care for and nurture their natural environment. Some of these programmes include operating annual camps for up to 30 children at a time in their lodges, running regular Eco-Clubs in rural schools, Youth Environmental Stewardship (YES) which mentors particular children who have shown a strong interest in their environment and scholarship programmes for primary, secondary and tertiary education.
The Wilderness Wildlife Trust is involved in conservation, anti-poaching, community empowerment and education. The Trust has many projects throughout Botswana (Wildlife Research Increasing Capacity), Namibia (Desert Dwelling Giraffe Study), Zimbabwe (Hwange Elephant Movement Study), Zambia (Zambian Carnivore Program), Malawi (Mobile Response Unit) and Rwanda (Shoebill Arial Survey).
In Botswana, Wilderness Safaris has been working in partnership with the government since 2001 on a Rhino Reintroduction Project which has seen both black and rhino successfully returned and reintroduced.
Mombo is 100% solar powered and has a reverse osmosis water filtration system providing drinking water to guests and therefore reducing the need for bottled water. Eco friendly detergents and chemicals are used in all Wilderness Safaris camps, adhering to strict in-house environmental standards.
