Abu Camp

Named after the much-mourned and very special bull elephant, Abu was the original base camp when Randall Moore pioneered Africa’s first elephant back safaris in the Delta 20 years ago. Five years later, Elephant Back Safaris' tender won a concession on 500,000 acres of pristine wilderness in the west of the Delta and the camp was relocated to its present site – a grove of magnificent hardwood trees on the edge of a large lagoon with a resident school of hippos.

An imaginative use of canvas and pole in the design of the new dining and lounge areas has created a modern yet unique blend of sweeping lines in complete harmony with the surrounding wilderness. Each of the six en-suite accommodation units has its own distinctive furnishings and fittings, many of them antique, imparting an air of opulence amid the bush setting. Each tent, too, has its own private elevated deck sculpted around one of the lofty sycamore figs or jackalberry trees, with unobstructed views over the lagoon. [cont.]

Abu Camp is unique in the Okavango Delta in that it allows guests to interact with the resident elephant herd, meeting each individual and initiating a journey into the complex behaviour of the largest land mammal on Earth. Guests at Abu Camp are invited to become part of the elephant herd during their stay: watching the evening feeding, sharing the simple joy of a frolicking youngster, and accompanying them on foot as they move through the bush.

Abu Camp is not a place we use with any regularity - it is simply too expensive.