Wilderness Mombo
Wilderness Mombo is a luxury lodge located on the edge of Chiefs Island in the north-western corner of the Moremi Game Reserve in the Okavango Delta.
Wilderness Mombo very clearly offers two things. Firstly exceptional standards of safari accommodation, food and service. Secondly, excellent big game viewing. If you are looking for these things, then the only drawback is the extremely high price of Mombo.
Wilderness Mombo has recently been rebuilt and the new camp is genuinely impressive, certainly one of the top properties in Botswana accommodation wise. Service is excellent yet the camp does to a large degree maintain a safari ethos, and has not become too much of a hotel (though the days of it being a bush camp are long gone). Game viewing wise you can’t really go wrong at Wilderness Mombo, though we don’t feel that Mombo automatically offers better game viewing than other top game regions in Botswana.
Rooms
Wilderness Mombo, regarded by many as the premier safari destination in Botswana, accommodates up to twenty guests in nine spacious luxury tented suites (including one family tent with an additional en suite). Though technically tented, the rooms don’t feel like ‘tents’! All suites are raised off the ground on a wooden platform with an extended verandah and plunge pool (including safari chairs and sun loungers), plumbed en suite bathroom (flush toilet, double vanity, large copper bath and both indoor and outdoor showers) and a lounge area with bar and tea/coffee facilities. All tents have 24 hour power and charging facilities, ceiling fans, a hairdryer and the use of an iPad, Olympus binoculars, camera and carry bag. There is also a telephone in each which can be used to contact the the duty manager in case of an emergency. All tents are connected by raised walkways.
Central Areas
The central area consists of bar and lounge areas, indoor and outdoor dining and a boutique. There is a wellness centre with a lap pool, fully equipped air conditioned gym and spa offering a variety of treatments.
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 (the camp has a policy of just four guests per vehicle). 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 and there are no water-based activities.
Seasons
Wilderness Mombo is open all year round though the game viewing will be best from June to early November.
Lentorre Lodge accepts children of all ages and the two family villas are ideal for travelling with children (one is better suited for older children). With flexible activities and a swimming pool, the lodge would make a good choice for a family looking for a remote, relaxing and exclusive safari escape, though the game viewing experience is not typical as day time sightings of traditional big game are often challenging.
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.
