If Duke’s Camp was a person, he’d be your most eccentric friend. No ordinary safari lodge, you’ll feel right at home in the camp’s playful tents which flutter like mirages over the wetlands of the northern Okavango Delta.
Location
Duke’s is hidden away on an island in an 89 000-hectare game-rich area bristling with large herds of buffalo and ellies.
Camp description
Open year-round, Duke’s Camp borrows its name from Sarefo ‘Duke’ Sarefo, a local tribal leader born here 80 years ago and who is the official custodian of this wild refuge. The wildlife viewing in the Okavango Delta is unmatched, but the under-canvas style at Duke’s makes it a grand spectacle. Romantic campaign-style tents have been thoughtfully positioned on raised wooden decks along a channel in a riverine forest of leadwood, ebony and the occasional giant sausage tree.
The camp’s eclectic style is one-of-a-kind, discreetly opulent – and surreal. Antique treasures are hidden in plain sight. It’s this type of theatrical touch that completes the experience, and there are many. There’s absolutely nothing stuffy about Duke’s. Peel back your tent’s vintage fabric walls to steal extraordinary game-viewing moments for yourself.
Delicious three-course meals are enjoyed alfresco or under a Persian tent at a long table adorned with crystal glasses and antique silverware. Meals are taken together, under the trees, where stories of the day’s adventures are shared – naturally only getting more colourful as the wine flows. Never a formal affair, you’ll feel comfortable right away in the company of your camp hosts, and other interesting characters from all over the world.
An immediate ice-breaker, the High Tea tent is a no-shoes zone. Here you sit on the floor, Moroccan-style, on colourful cushions enjoying tea or lemonade, and scrumptious treats, feasting like a king in a palace of pink.
In an adjoining lounge, a Curiosity Cabinet is filled with heirlooms from the camp founder’s past, and travels across Africa (just don’t lose anything, or you might be fed to something hairy!). Here you’re also in the right frame of mind to seriously lose yourself in the library packed with interesting books on African adventurers and their travels.
Rooms
Each tent is hidden in the trees, reached along a forested pathway of Kalahari sand, through a tunnel of trees redolent with fragrant wild jasmine. The exquisitely romantic tents are lined with colourful fabric and offer breath-taking views over the floodplain and seasonal lagoon. Just a thin veil between you and gatherings of grunting, squawking and bubble-blowing creatures.
The tents are cosy, but when you consider how large your separate bathroom is, and add your deck, there is more than enough room to swing a squirrel. The room is dominated by a beautiful, high-set Zanzibari four-poster bed, and while it doesn’t have Wi-Fi (neither does the camp), it goes one better with a small personal library and a drawer filled with games and cards.
Activities and experiences
In addition to game drives, the mokoro experience is a must. If you’re lucky, you’ll have West as your poler. He calls his mokoro a Subaru (with a maximum speed of 3mph), and is utterly charming. Expert guides, the polers have been cruising these waters since childhood.
Duke’s is the brother to legendary Jack’s Camp in the Makgadikgadi Salt Pan. Walking the talk of sustainable tourism, when Jack’s was rebuilt in 2019, they shipped all the original material up north to create Duke’s. Now that’s recycling!
At Duke’s, guests play, write, seek comfort, rest, and marvel at the passing wildlife parades. Wallow in the cool waters of the camp’s pool, enjoy daily game drives, or glide serenely around the Delta’s signature palm-fringed islands reclining in a traditional mokoro.
