*A version of this article originally appeared in the March 2023 Bush Telegraph newsletter. You can read our recent newsletters and sign-up to receive these in your inbox on our Bush Telegraph newsletter page.
Tanzania
Opened just last year, Usangu Expedition Camp has only four tents in the Usangu Wetlands, a remote area of Tanzania’s Ruaha National Park. At this intimate, seasonal camp with a deep focus on conservation, you can set up your own camera-trap on arrival, visit the nearby Douglas Bell Eco Research Station to see scientific fieldwork in action, use telemetry to track collared big cats, fly-camp in the “star cubes”, go on a guided walking safari, or take a leisurely boat trip along the maze of seasonal waterways.
Botswana
With just three, beautiful suites, Sitatunga Private Island Camp is set to be the Okavango’s most exclusive new retreat when it opens in July 2023. Hidden away in a pristine, deep-water area in the north-west of the Okavango Delta, this latest camp in the impressive Great Plains portfolio will have three large, elegant suites, including one with two bedrooms offering real seclusion and private guiding for a family or travelling friends. With water-based activities – boat safaris, mokoro trips and catch-and-release fishing – the primary focus (walking can be arranged but not driving), this is an incredibly peaceful wildlife-viewing location, and keen photographers, like camp owners Dereck and Beverly Joubert, will fall in love with the watery wilderness!
Another bijou Okavango camp on the northern fringes of the Delta, North Island Okavango also opens in June 2023, the latest addition to Natural Selection’s eclectic range of camps across Botswana. Offering safari activities on land and water, it promises wildlife viewing from the surrounding waterways, savannah plains and woodland in great numbers, with a variety of birds and animals. The camp itself is set on a tree-shaded private island with just three luxurious tents, each overlooking the lagoon.
Zambia
Tafika and Remote Africa’s South Luangwa walking safaris have been Expert Africa favourites since we started operating 25 years ago. The guiding is superb, the area beautiful, and the camps the perfect balance of rustic and comfort. This year, a new walking camp, Big Lagoon, has opened on the Chikoko Trails walking circuit. Expect neat grass rooms with huge picture windows overlooking the water, an ebony-shaded deck cantilevered over the lagoon for laid back birdwatching and delicious trademark food from the ground oven behind camp. All in the context of low-key, low-impact tranquillity and some top-notch guided walking to get there.
Namibia
Joining its sister property Etosha Oberland in offering relaxed safari comfort with a modern edge, Kalahari Red Dunes and Namib Outpost are old favourites, reimaged and completely rebuilt for this year. Opening in April 2023, Namib Outpost sits on stilts above the unearthly gravel plains with panoramic views and some serious hiking and horse-riding opportunities. The spectacular Namib-Naukluft Park is within striking distance, but the lodge retains a sense of real remoteness as a retreat from Sossuvlei’s busier areas. In a contrasting desert environment, Kalahari Red Dunes, set in the vibrant sands that the name suggests, will reopen in June 2023. With excellent marked trails across the undulating dunes, it’s a terrific spot to get active on safari.
Do get in touch with us to find out how any of these new camps can be incorporated into a tailor-made Expert Africa safari…we’d be delighted to help!
If you’ve been inspired and want to find out more, give us a call or enquire now to speak to an expert.
