Meno A Kwena Camp

wildlife along the ephemeral Boteti River

Meno A Kwena Camp in the Makgadikgadi area of central Botswana.

This is a characterful little place, set in an excellent position high above the Boteti River on the western boundary of the reserve.

The camp name means ‘teeth of the crocodile’.

From the vehicle turnaround, we approach the lodge along a sandy pathway. The camp is centred on a large tented mess, which contains the main dining and lounge areas, as well as a small gift-shop. Out front there is a very pleasant campfire area, with a separate tented bar.

A little further on there is a couple of small tented lounges and a small swimming pool overlooking the river. During the dry season it is often possible to view large herds of zebras and elephants in the river below.

A short flight of steps leads to an excellent floating hide, from which it is often possible to get a closer view.

Rooms

Guest accommodation at Meno A Kwena Camp is in 8 tented suites which are nicely spaced along the ridge above the river and accessed along a network of sandy pathways. Each room is essentially tented, although the more recent ones are more like canvas structures rather than traditional Meru tents. The new rooms now have conventional indoor bathrooms, although the old outside bathrooms have been left in place in some cases as an additional feature.

Activities

Meno A Kwena Camp provides the following guided activities …

• Vehicle safari
• Motorboat safari
• Village visits
• Bushman walks

When it comes to trip durations in Botswana, most visitors combine 2, 3 or 4 lodges by light aircraft over 6-12 nights, often in combination with further nights at the Victoria Falls and/or down in the Cape.

Longer trips may include a camp in one of the desert areas, such as here in Makgadikgadi, in order to provide variation and contrast.

Most guests choose to stay at one lodge in Makgadikgadi, usually for 3-4 nights.

Seasonality

The area has converse seasons to the main safari areas of the Okavango Delta and Linyanti Waterfront.

During the May-Nov dry season, safari is focused on the desert experiences including quad-biking onto the pans, Bushman and palaeontological walks, visits to a habituated meerkat colony and game-viewing focused on a widely dispersed population of real desert specialists.

During the May-Jun transition season, temperatures can drop towards freezing during the night.

During the Oct-Nov late dry season and early green season, temperatures and humidities can become uncomfortably high in advance of the rains.

The Dec-Apr green season means the desert experiences take something of a back seat, in favour of more intense wildlife viewing, as summer rain showers cause very impressive clustering of migratory wildlife in the area.

It is the Dec-Feb green season period which threatens the greatest chance of more prolonged cloud and rain.

Getting there

Meno A Kwena Camp is usually accessed by light aircraft into the nearby Motopi Airstrip, which has daily flights to and from the main airport at Maun, for connections to camps throughout the Okavango Delta and Linyanti Waterfront areas, as well as long haul flights to Johannesburg.

The airstrip is alongside the main sealed road about 6 km west and the drive along the dusty track into camp takes around 20 minutes.

It is also possible to access the camp by private road transfer from Maun, a journey of around 2 hours, a journey of around 120 km, largely along good sealed roads. Although this is not aesthetically as good as flying in, it can work out a good deal lower cost.

usually visited in combination with the Okavango Delta area