Wilderness Mokete

How Northern Botswana’s Evolving Landscape Became a Haven for Wildlife

"Set in the Mababe Depression, this small, off-grid tented camp puts guests startlingly close to big-game action: "If the lion charges us, stay seated," whispered my safari guide, Jonah Seboko, his gaze fixed on a large adult male only a few feet from our car. Just after sunrise, we had peered through blades of golden grass and spotted a male and female lion devouring an adult buffalo. "Some of these animals have never seen a vehicle before," said Seboko, who has been working at the camp since it opened in July of last year. The property has leased a 193-square-mile private concession that was formerly used for hunting and, as Attorney Vasco, community relations manager for Wilderness, put it, "The Mababe Depression is the only place in Botswana where you can see buffalo herds of this size and where witnessing kill action is almost guaranteed." Vasco also emphasized conservation goals: "We want to protect these mega herds from hunting and human-wildlife conflict." Guests arrive by private helicopter or by road from Maun. To minimize impact on the reserve the camp has just nine tents and is entirely off-grid: electricity is supplied by solar panels and wastewater is carefully recycled. Rooms, which all have small plunge pools and private decks, are designed in a more minimal style with accents like white canvas, brown leather, and rope that blend with the grasslands' tones; all rooms have retractable roofs. Meals are communal and rustic — on my visit we returned for a dinner of beet soup, a stew made from kudu, and bread-and-butter pudding served buffet-style in the communal tent — and nights are vividly immersive, with the author noting an elephant chomping on a mopani tree outside the tent and the occasional roar of a lion." - Jessica Vincent