Bushman Plains Camp

Accommodation is comprised of four large Hemingway-esque Meru A-frame tents, slightly elevated above the ground on timber decks. Measuring 32 metres square, this lofty walk-in tent provides an airy retreat from the extreme heat and cold of the bush.

The ripstop canvas floor lies over fine sands, massaging your soles as you traverse the interior. Complete with an en-suite bathroom, a flush toilet, a fan, gravity-fed bush shower (hot buckets provided on request) and wardrobe, this unit provides a comfortable and atmospheric lodging for all seeking a well-rounded, value for money bush experience. A solar inverter provides 24-hour electricity for lights and charging batteries.

Amenities Include:

• En-suite Bathroom
• Alfresco bucket shower
• King size or double beds
• Veranda
• Lounge area
• Fan
• Safe
• Complimentary laundry service

Begin your day with breakfast alfresco with an alluring buffet of freshly baked muffins, yogurts, cereals, oatmeal and peanut butter – providing you with the energy needed for a day’s activities. Lunch is comprised of casual, self service cuisine, ranging from hearty meals, lite bites and a variety of refreshing beverages.

A lavish three course meal is served in the evening, predominantly featuring western style cuisine. However, should you seek a taste of authentic bushman cuisine, the camps talented assembly of chefs and catering staff source a range of local flavors and ingredients to produce a variety of indigenous dishes such as kudu stew and eland tenderloin for you to enjoy.

The camps central mess tent provides an open-air dining area and a veranda for lounging and socialising. Central to bushman culture is the campfire, where people gather around the night sky, sharing ancient stories and reminisce on the day’s adventure. With all-inclusive rates, you’re free to enjoy a range of locally sourced beverages and cuisine throughout your stay at no additional costs.

Set forth in exploration of delta lands with experienced bushman guides and trackers in open 4×4 safari vehicles for the game viewing experience of a lifetime. The San-Bushman, descendants of indigenous hunter gatherers, familiar in all aspects of the land and wildlife deliver a safari experience like no other.

All the big cats await you, including countless staple safari mammals and creatures – the Big 5 being just the tip of the iceberg. Not just limited to the confines of your safari vehicles, you’re free to join your tracker on the land, searching for telltale signs of animal life. Night drives provide new levels of depth, with opportunities to view the wealth of nocturnal creatures that rise in the night, hunting for prey and rearing to play.

Private safari vehicles are available for hire, facilitating spotlight-lit evening drives for those seeking a comprehensive game viewing experience.

Guided game walks allow you to take in the sights and sounds of the Okavango at a more intimate and leisurely pace than is applicable with other modes of safari game viewing. Seasoned bushman guides – armed in case of emergency, will lead you safely through the undisturbed delta flat and wetlands while brushing elbows with scores of exotic, thriving game populations. Walking safaris are tailored to guest fitness and serve as one of the most versatile camp activities, with no two walks the same.

A helicopter excursion to Tsodilo Hills is a remarkable, culturally enlightening experience that will serve as the jewel in the crown of any safari expedition. An estimated 4,500 rock paintings dating back as far as 24,000 years is difficult to comprehend, with signs of human life dating back 100,000 years, this sacred and spiritual place is believed to be the birthplace of humankind, facilitating ancestral heritage dating back further than anywhere else in the world.

On this half-day excursion to this UNESCO World Heritage Site, you will be privately guided by a San Bushman as you hike among the rock art and enjoy a picnic lunch. Transit to and forth facilitates astonishing ariel safari viewing, enabling sights from high above the delta, allowing you to experience stretching Okavango vistas like never seen before.

Okavango birding is a unique and insightful experience that attracts wildlife enthusiasts and birdwatchers alike from all around the world. Over 450 species make for a unique and unparalleled viewing experience.

Knowledgeable bushman guides, familiar with the many indigenous birds and their beckoning calls will familiarise you by pointing out different species as you progress. Some of the rarer avian species include the illusive Pel’s fishing owl, endangered wattled crane and the majestic African fish eagle.

Hot-air balloon safaris are few and far between, vacant even amongst many of the infamous retreats that speckle the landscape of the Okavango Delta. This unique and atmospheric excursion across delta skies is not to be missed, presenting the opportunity to view herds of mammals pass beneath you, viewing the expanse of merging ecosystems and immersive landscapes from your exclusive viewing platform high in the sky.

Hot-air balloon excursions are accessible via external camp location and come at additional fees. Hot-air ballooning is available from April – September and must be booked in advance. Four-person maximum capacity per balloon.

Embark on tranquil, culturally enlightening water-bound excursion that see’s you silently glide across open delta channels in a traditional style African dugout canoe (mokoro) as you pass scores of aquatic creatures and vegetation.

Drifting calmly onward through the atmospheric scenery of Okavango waterways will reveal intricate waterlilies, papyrus grasses, brightly coloured frogs, kingfishers and dragonflies, including predator and prey alike that rear in close to feed on the reeds and drink from river waters.

Catch and release fishing is one of the many water-based activities offered at Bushman Plains Camp. Situated within the Sekwana Concession, the near endless expanse of winding delta waterways, rich in tilapia and spotted and silver catfish offer ideal conditions for avid fishers to cast a line and unwind amidst the backdrop of the Okavango landscape. Avid fly-fishers are advised to supply their own equipment.

Feel the intimacy of nature as your personal San Bushman guides take you on a walk through the heart of the wild. You will have the chance to hone your tracking skills with the passing down of ancient knowledge. Grow your knowledge of indigenous flora and their practical and medicinal applications, as well as a variety of survival skills and the hidden features of the land for you to put to the test.

The San Bushman are descended from indigenous hunter gatherers who are members of various Khoe, Tuu, or Kxʼa-speaking native groups whose territories span Botswana, Namibia, Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Lesotho.

The San’s knowledge of the land and wildlife is incomparable to that of any other peoples, and their mastery of the Southern African landscape is highly sought-after within the ecotourism industry. Following the integration of the remaining San Bushman tribes into villages in the 1980s, much of the culture, knowledge and identity of the bushman tribes faced an unprecedented decline.

Bushman Plains Camp is operated and predominantly owned by indigenous San Bushman people. Having grown up on the land, with skills and attributes garnered through the passing down of countless decades of oral tradition and testimony, these experts of the wild proudly stand as the latest generation of bushman and seek to share their exploits for the benefit of the land and the survival of their culture.

As a predominantly bushman owned company, bushman plains camp provides employment opportunities for the latest generation of bushman and facilitate the use of their land-based attributes and knowledge to provide them with career prospects and a source of income. Not only does this empower an entire generation of indigenous peoples with financial prospects, but also immortalises the San Bushman culture by sharing their knowledge and practices with the world.

In keeping with sustainable ideology, Bushman Plains Camp utilises solar power energy wherever possible in the maintenance of the camp, its facilities and amenities. A cutting-edge solar inverter system is used to provide electricity for camp lighting and the charging of batteries.

Such initiatives aid in the reduction of carbon emissions as they negate the overall reliance of none-ecologically friendly power sources such as conventional diesel-powered generators, thereby minimising noise and air pollution while decreasing the impact on local ecosystems and habitats.