Setting the Scene
The formation of the Delta is often compared to a left hand sprawling out (not an exact science) – which is either completely useless information to you, or a good indicator of where you are in the world. Mbamba sits at the thumb knuckle, in the ever-so-wild NG12 concession. A web of winding sand paths will lead you to a scattering of scalloped green tents that seem to magically materialise from the green abyss. Sitting pretty beneath a canopy of towering leadwoods, you very quickly feel ant-sized staring up at the grandiosity of the trees and the perfectly draped main tent in the shade below. The kind of arrival that makes you want to whip out a leather-bound journal.
Cool Camping
Designed in the classic Uncharted Africa style, these tents could’ve been plucked straight out of an Agatha Christie novel. Raised wooden decks, Persian rugs, brass lamps, mahogany sideboards, paisley prints and a four-poster bed with curtains to tuck you into a delicious slumber cocoon. With the over-bed cooling system, the best sleep of your life becomes more inevitable with each night that passes. Wake up to wafts of coffee and fresh coconut biscuits delivered to your door (the only thing that could possibly get us out of that bed!). What else? An outdoor and indoor shower, take your pick! And a private veranda to take in the Delta view – this is living!
Wild Origins
Mbamba didn’t just appear (duh). It was built on the back of one of safari’s greatest origin stories – Jack’s Camp. If you don’t know it, do a quick Google – it’s pretty legendary. Royals, the inconspicuously famous, the well-travelled and the well-pearled have all graced the antique-lined drawing rooms of Jack’s. If only the orange canvas walls could talk! A bit of chopping and changing, and the tents have since musical-chaired their way up the map from the Makgadikgadi salt pans all the way to the Delta. From Jack’s, to Duke’s, and now, Mbamba!
And what a place to land! NG12 encompasses the upper reaches of the Selinda Spillway, connecting the Okavango Delta and the Linyanti River, which is a long way of saying it’s properly flippin’ wild. Elephant corridors, hippo highways, roaming grounds for big cats and wild dogs, all set among the completely magical twisting lily-lined channels of the Delta.
NG12 is a community concession, meaning that all things wild must live in harmony with the surrounding communities. The villages of Eretsha, Betsaa and Kombo sit just beyond the tree-line, and that relationship is one the camps here take seriously. Most of the guides and staff who’ll share Mbamba with you grew up in these villages — people who have called this land home since the day they were born. Your visit, in more ways than one, gives back. School supplies, the Elephant Express bus, and human-wildlife conflict programmes are all part of the impact your trip is making.
Food Philosophy
Mbamba runs on a simple philosophy — eat well, eat together, eat outside wherever humanly possible. On that note, we prefer our brekkie on the go! Boiled eggs, sausages, yoghurt and muesli, best served under a jackal-berry tree with a bush coffee to wash it down. Lunch is served at a long table, family-style, and is delightfully unhurried – fresh and light, leaving enough room for a poolside beer. Dinner summons you to the orange glow of the main tent for another delish long-table meal. Think Okavango bream or a good old steak (don’t fix what isn’t broken). And for the chilli lovers at the table — you’ve got more than a good selection (and PiliPili hoho) to choose from. Of course, the in-between moments are full of tea, snacks, sundowners, the lot! Mbamba is no exception to the eating safari.
One more thing
The whole point of being here is to spend as much time in the bush as possible! Mornings begin under lavender skies, while your guide reads the night’s gossip from the ground. Who came through, who chased who, and who was responsible for all that noise at 2am? When you’re not on a game drive, spend the afternoon in a mokoro, floating over lily pads and past dramatic old leadwoods whilst your poler narrates a world most people never even get close to. And when you need a moment to simply be — Mbamba obliges completely. Lounge by the pool. Browse the ancient artefacts. Read a book you’ve been meaning to finish for two years. Nap shamelessly. Or do what many guests do best — sink into your veranda chair and stare longingly into the distance.
