Xigera Camp in the Okavango Delta
Xigera Camp (pronounced Keejera) is located on a riverine island right in the heart of the Okavango Delta. This part of the Moremi Game Reserve is a true wetland paradise, with Xigera surrounded by deep channels and lush vegetation.
Xigera Camp consists of ten luxuriously furnished tented rooms – each with en-suite facilities and an outdoor shower. Raised on wooden platforms and walkways, each tent offers superb views of the seasonal Okavango Delta floodplains and the lagoon. The feeling of living in the midst of a riverine forest is one of the features of Xigera Camp.
Meals and evening drinks are enjoyed in the lounge, pub and dining area overlooking a permanently flowing channel or under the stars in a traditional African boma. For those hot days there is a small plunge pool in which to cool off.
Guests are sometimes treated to close-up views of lion or leopard using the footbridge connecting the island to the next! The camp “newspaper” (a sand pit built into the bridge to capture paw prints) is “read” each morning and provides information on unseen nightly visitors to camp.
Permanent water year-round allows an unparalleled variety of activities such as mokoro trips, game drives and motorboat outings. This is the only camp in the area – ensuring total privacy.
A mokoro ride is mandatory. On this traditional dug-out canoe, the only sounds are the rustling of the wind through the reeds, the lapping of the water against the boat, and the call of the African Fish-Eagle. The blue of the sky is mirrored in the water, broken only by large round water lily leaves and their stunning purple and white flowers.
When water levels permit, game drives are an attraction. During drier years, drives are available throughout the year, but if there has been a very high flood, drives take place only from late September to April.
The Camp is a delight for birdwatchers, with Pel’s Fishing-Owl, African Skimmer, Slaty Egret, Wattled Crane and a host of raptors, other waterbirds and colourful kingfishers to be seen. An abundance of wildlife includes red lechwe, lion, and spotted hyaena.
Facts: Type: Summer – 60% water activities, 40% game drives; winter – 80% water activities, 20% game drives, (whilst the emphasis at Xigera is on water activities, game drives are offered all year round). Good multi-activity camp.
- No night drives at present
- Game drives via 3 x 10-seater open Land Rovers each accommodating a maximum of seven guests, allowing all guests an outside seat.
- Water game viewing via mokoro (eight mokoro with each seating two guests)
- Power boating, seasonally available depending on water levels (1 x 8-seater boat)
Xigera Camp Game Viewing
The Camp is positioned on the extreme western boundary of the Moremi Game Reserve, placing it at the very centre of the Okavango Delta alluvial fan. This magnificent area epitomises the permanently flooded section of the Okavango Delta: with palm-filled hardwood islands, hardwood riverine forests, a multitude of clear water channels and expansive flood plains.
Although Xigera is considered to be a permanent water camp, one may be surprised by the presence of lion, leopard, hyaena and buffalo on the islands. These animals will happily wade and swim between islands in search of food.
This is the land of the sitatunga antelope and Pel’s Fishing-Owl. Water birds are also seen in large numbers including Rufous-bellied Heron and the secretive White-backed Night-Heron. Papyrus swamp specialists include Greater Swamp-Warbler, Coppery-tailed Coucal and Luapula Cisticola. Birding around Xigera and on other islands is also extremely productive for specials like Brown Firefinch, Swamp Boubou, Hartlaub’s Babbler and Western Banded Snake-Eagle. A displaying African Goshawk can often be seen in the morning.
One of the great secrets of the Xigera Camp is the presence of Okavango-born tribesmen as guides. Some of these men were born a stone’s throw from the present location of the camp and know every turn and tree in this magical wetland.
