Tubu Tree Camp
Hunda Island, Okavango
Delta, Botswana
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TUBU TREE CAMP - OKAVANGO DELTA,
BOTSWANA
Tubu Tree Camp is situated in the Jao
Reserve, an area of 60,000 hectares, in Botswana's Okavango Delta. It
is built on a private reserve bordering on the Moremi
Game Reserve, to the west of Mombo, in the
western area of the reserve. Tubu Tree Camp offers both land and water
activities, depending on the fluctuating levels of the Okavango's floodwater.
This camp is built on the western side of a large island called Hunda
that has diverse vegetation ranging from dry Kalahari sandveld, through
mopane forest and riverine forest on the edge of permanent waterways and
floodplains. Tubu Tree is operated by Wilderness Safaris.
Accommodation 
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Map
Tubu Tree Camp is a traditional
style tented safari camp built on raised wooden platforms to take
best advantage of the beautiful view over the floodplains. The camp sleeps
a maximum of 10 guests in 5 large and comfortable tents. The tents have
a small and private deck in front, overlooking the lagoon. Each tent
has en suite bathroom facilities, with hot and cold running water, consisting
of flush toilet, hand basin, and private outdoor shower. The tents
include wooden door entrances and roll-down canvas on the windows with
large windows in the front for viewing. The tents are beautifully
decorated, using locally found materials and attention to detail is evident
in all the locally crafted furnishings.
The main dining and lounge areas
are also large tents on raised platforms, with an outdoor pub area
built under the canopy of a large marula tree. Complimentary laundry
services are provided.
Activities
Tubu Tree Camp offers game
drives with experienced guides in open 4 x 4 vehicles during the day
and night, as well as walking with an armed guide. When the flood is
in, boating, fishing and mokoro trips are also offered. Full day adventurous
transfers by mekoros can also be undertaken during the flood season,
to transfer to Jacana Camp - a water camp in
the eastern area of the Jao concession.
Wildlife
A variety of habitats ensures diverse and interesting
game viewing, as well as spectacular birding. Wildlife seen here includes
Elephant, Lion, Zebra, Red Lechwe, Giraffe, Tsessebe, and Wildebeest on
the floodplains. Kudu, Impala, Leopard and Bushbuck are also seen in the
forested areas. During the winter months, the water levels rise and the
floodplains become covered with water, permitting water activities. The
variety of bird life is impressive with dry land species seen on the large
islands and all the wetland birds seen on the floodplains and waterways.
The Owners
David
and Cathy Kays and their families, and Kingsley Mogalakwe are the long-term
leaseholders of Jao Reserve. The Kays are one of Maun's oldest families.
David's great grandfather first came to Ngamiland in 1887. In 1912
the Kays family settled in Tsau, at that time the headquarters of
the Batawana
tribe (Maun was not yet founded). When the Batawana tribe decided to
establish a new village at Maun and move its headquarters there
in the mid-1920's,
the Kays family moved with them. David's father, Ronnie, was instrumental
in advising the Batawana Tribal Authorities on the formation of
Moremi
Game Reserve and assisted in the demarcation of the reserve's boundaries.
Kingsley Mogalakwe is from a prominent and well-known Maun family.
His
uncle, Montsho Mogalakwe, was also instrumental in the formation of
Moremi Game Reserve and has now retired from service in Maun as
the deputy chief
for Ngamiland.
Like all families raised
in and around the Okavango, wildlife was in their blood, and they spent
most of their lives
out in the bush.
When they won the rights for the Jao Reserve in the recent tender
process, they were determined to make this Botswana's finest reserve.
They
turned
their backs on hunting, even though it is allowed in this reserve.
They are only the second reserve in Botswana not to hunt, when
hunting is allowed.
They have decided to focus all their efforts on developing Jao into
a superb photographic reserve, but in the process they lose about
US$300,000
in hunting revenue every year to ensure great game viewing and a
superb wildlife product in the long term. The
camps they have built ~ Jao, Kwetsani, Tubu Tree and Seba ~ are some of
the top camps in the Okavango.
Hunting
Kings
Pool Camp, DumaTau Camp, Savuti
Camp and Linyanti Tented
Camp in the Linyanti Wildlife Reserve,
as well as Kwetsani, Tubu
Tree, Seba Camp, and Jao Camps in the
Jao Reserve, have the right to hunt animals in their areas in addition
to running photographic safaris. They have deliberately decided
not to hunt and forgo about US$300,000 of revenue annually per
reserve. They are also involved in game counts and censuses to
help the parks build up a data base of the animals in the country.
Wilderness Safaris does not allow hunting in any of their operations
anywhere.
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