Things to do in Botswana

Xugana Island Lodge: a haven in the heart of the Okavango Delta

You arrive by motorboat, skimming across the lagoon to see our staff singing and dancing on the jetty to welcome you…

By Collen Molefe

Guide at Xugana Island Lodge

Set on its own island above a deep-water lagoon, Xugana is one of the oldest camps in the Okavango Delta, having begun life as a hunting camp in the 1960s.

We’re a small lodge with eight suites, and although I might be biased, we’re often said to have the best location in the delta! The lodge is located on a private concession and offers beautiful views over the lagoon and forest, with most of our suites facing the water.

We try to offer guests a personal, friendly service from the start. You arrive by motorboat, skimming across the lagoon to see our staff singing and dancing on the jetty to welcome you.

The lodge is rustic in design; the suites have reed walls, thatched rooves and private wooden decks with tables and chairs overlooking the lagoon. Guests can sometimes see hippos bobbing above the water or crocodiles lazing on the surface. Elephants, zebras, lions, giraffes and many different species of antelope all call the area home too, as well as lots of different birds.

There’s a swimming pool in the gardens, as well as an open lounge, bar area and outdoor dining deck under a shady tree canopy. But the highlight for many guests is our floating deck, where you’re taken out in a boat to a pontoon that hovers above the water for a candle-lit dinner. It’s really peaceful, with the sounds of nature surrounding you and the water stretching out all around.

In addition to the floating deck dinners, we serve a continental breakfast on the deck every morning with cereal, toast, muffins, cheese and cold meats, then hot brunch with wine and beer, and high tea around 3pm. For dinner, everyone eats together on one big table while sharing stories from the day, tucking into a three-course meal with different menu options.

The activities are of course a big part of what we do. In the mornings, we take guests out on a motorboat, passing hippos and sometimes crocodiles to reach an island where we head out on a walking safari. Guests love this because they get to stop and look at the small things, learning about the medicinal qualities of plants and tasting marula fruit in summer.

We also do game drives in the delta, exploring the private concession surrounding the lodge by 4×4. But my favourite activity has to be the mokoro trips. We go out in a wooden boat, poling through reeds and waterlilies to spot elephants and other creatures like the painted reed frog, which is beautiful and changes colour depending on the heat. It’s an incredibly serene and relaxing way to see the delta, and I love sharing my knowledge with people who haven’t experienced this extraordinary region before – seeing their reactions as they explore its waterways is always priceless.

Available in these itineraries…

Itinerary

Best of Botswana and Victoria Falls
by Adele Jones

Length11 Days

Price range£6,895 - £9,675pp

Alfred & Collen Molefe

Collen grew up in the village of Mochudi, in the southeast of Botswana, and has been a guide at Xugana Island Lodge for four years. He takes guests out on game drives, walking safaris and mokoro trips around the delta, and enjoys sharing his love of nature and conservation with visitors.

Plan your holiday withAlfred&

Your journey will start with one of our UK team – someone like Louise, who's travelled extensively in Botswana. They’ll shape your ideas into the trip of a lifetime. But they won't do it alone. They'll draw on the expertise of our contacts on the ground, connecting you to the people who'll make your holiday one you'll always remember - the rangers who'll ensure you'll spot the best wildlife in Chobe, the village chiefs who'll give you an insight into local life and the helicopter pilots who can land you on an island in the Delta never visited by humans before.

Louise Dean

Africa Expert for Alfred&

When it comes to Africa, Louise is well versed. She’s flown into an empty Namibian beach to eat lunch on the aircraft wing, experienced Tanzania’s Great Wildebeest migration and listened to stories of the Anglo-Zulu War on the battlefields where it happened over a centennial ago. While she’s witnessed vast, incredible game including the last two northern white rhinos, it’s the people who she finds most inspiring; the native Maasai women whose lives are deeply rooted within the Olare Motorogi Conservancy and the local guides - resilient, highly knowledgeable, and ever smiling.
Harrison Mangwegape

Guide at Camp Xakanaxa

Harry was born in the Botswanan village of Thamaga, near capital Gaborone. He loved wildlife growing up and trained at the Okavango Guiding School in Maun to pursue his passion. He started working as a guide at Desert & Delta’s Savute Safari Lodge in 2010 and later joined Leroo La Tau in Makgadikgadi Pans National Park, before moving to Camp Xakanaxa.
Keitumetse 'KT' Mogale

Guide at Camp Okavango

Keitumetse has been guiding for 12 years. He grew up in the village of Mogotho in the Okavango Delta and began his career as a tracker. He now leads walking safaris and game drives at Camp Okavango and enjoys sharing his stories with guests from all over the world.
Florence Kagiso

Senior Guide at Chobe Game Lodge

Florence grew up in a farming family in the Okavango Delta and has been a guide at Chobe Game Lodge for 17 years. When she joined in 2004, she was the first female guide at the camp - she now mentors a team of 17 women. Her work was recognised in National Geographic Traveller’s recent Reader Awards 2021, where she won The Innovator award.
Andrew Baker

Founder and Managing Director of Helicopter Horizons

Andrew grew up in Zimbabwe before moving to the US to train as a pilot. Botswana had always held a place in his heart, so he began his aviation career as a fixed wing pilot in the Okavango Delta. He founded Helicopter Horizons in 2004, offering photographic flights - without doors - for organisations such as the BBC and National Geographic. The company now offer scenic flights for tourists in the Okavango Delta, Linyanti region and the Makgadikgadi Pans, as well as transfers between safari camps.
Ollie Maitapiso

Guide at Leroo La Tau

Ollie grew up in the village of Xaxaba in the Okavango Delta and began his career as a trainee poler in 1999, taking guests out on mokoro trips. He started guiding in 2004 and joined Camp Xakanaxa in the Moremi Game Reserve in 2007, before moving to Leroo La Tau in 2014.