Designed by architects Silvio Rech and Lesley Carstens, a flagship Wilderness Safaris property, and located in Botswana’s Moremi Game Reserve, on Mombo Island, Mombo Camp is a luxury camp of the first order.
Overview
Situated overlooking Moremi’s largest floodplain, in and among a mixed grove of wetland trees, raised, spread over a relatively large area and connected by a series of wooden walkways, Mombo Camp is a wood, thatch and canvas build consisting of a shared area and nine luxury tents.
The main lodge includes a dining and seating area, library, bar, multiple verandas, boma, pool and fire pit. Characterised by makuti roofing, open sides and polished mahogany floors, and dominated by a couple of enormous sofas, chunky coffee tables, colonial-style travelling chests and one or two well-worn armchairs, the seating area is extremely welcoming; just the place to while away time reading, exchanging notes with fellow travellers or simply looking out across the floodplains.
Food & service
Dining at Mombo Camp is a communal affair, and takes place either inside, at a silver service laid table, or outside, on the veranda, in the boma or around the pool. Meals can also be taken in the privacy of one’s own tent. The food is fantastic, as is the service, from dining room floor to tent assistant to guide.
Rooms
Accessed by walkways, beneath which animals freely wander, the en suite tents are deeply luxurious. Each possesses a double/twin bed, private lounge, balcony, bathroom and changing/storage room. Large, airy, beautifully designed, and furnished with comfortable seating, mahogany writing desks, leather benches, and lampshades fashioned from guinea fowl feathers and porcupine quills, the sleeping room’s a real delight.
Equally fine, the bathroom is enormous and contains a double-headed shower, twin sinks and flush toilet. A door leads to an outdoor showering area. Each room of Mombo Camp comes with the usual amenities – safe, net, coil, spray – and bespoke toiletries. Please note that there is no Wi-Fi in the camp.
Activities
Activities include wildlife drives, rhino conservation talks, photography and sundowners.
Impact
Conservation
The Botswana Rhino Reintroduction Project is an ongoing initiative between Wilderness Safaris and the Botswana government which began in 2001. Since then, core breeding herds of both white and black rhino have been returned to the wilds of Botswana.
In keeping with Wilderness’ objective of reducing energy consumption and fuel use at all its camps, this camp is 100% solar-powered, with electricity and hot water provided via solar panels and inverters. Moreover, Mombo Camp is managed and monitored against very strict in-house environmental standards, so only approved eco-friendly detergents and chemicals are used.
Community
Wilderness Safaris supports Children in the Wilderness, a programme which provides educational life skills and environmental awareness for children who live in villages close to conservation areas. CITW has benefited over 15,000 children from seven African countries.