Macatoo Camp

the classic equestrian experience in Africa

Macatoo Camp is located in the Abu Concession in the Okavango Delta area of northern Botswana.

This is an unusually simple and earthy camp by the standards of the Okavango Delta. It is centred on a large wooden-floored open-sided mess tent, containing the main lounge and dining areas. Out front is a lovely sandy campfire area, with a small swimming pool raised up on a deck to one side, all with views out over the nearby lagoon.

One aspect we always appreciate is the amount of wildlife that can come into camp. Here the main event are the elephants which often come into camp, notably for the jackalberry fruits around July time. One large bull known as Henry is a familiar feature and has even been known to sleep in camp from time to time.

Rooms

Guest accommodation is in six tented rooms, accessed by a network of ground-level pathways. These take the form of large Meru tents raised on low decks, with a nice verandah area out front, zipper doors into a cosy bedroom area. An indoor bathroom to the rear features conventionally plumbed basin, shower and toilet.

Activities

Macatoo Camp provides the following guided activities …

• Horse-back safari (min age 12)
• Vehicle safari
• Mokoro canoe safari (Jun-Aug)
• Motorboat safari (May-Oct)
• Walking safari
• Night vehicle safari

When it comes to trip shapes and durations in Botswana, most visitors combine 2, 3 or 4 lodges by light aircraft over 6-12 nights, one or two of which will usually be here in Okavango Delta, combined with the Linyanti Waterfront and/or Makgadikgadi areas.

These trips are often done in combination with further nights at the Victoria Falls and/or down in the Cape.

The usual stay duration in the area is 3-6 nights.

Seasonality

The Abu Concession offers reasonably strong wildlife viewing year round, but with considerable seasonal variations.

During the May-Sep cool dry season, the area usually experiences a strong and reliable flood during, creating a lovely network of floodplains, drawing in good numbers of herbivores and their attendant predators.

The Oct-Dec period marks the transition between the peak of the dry season and the start of the rains, when temperatures and humidities can become uncomfortably high. Before the rains, wildlife viewing around the remaining waterholes is intense. Once significant rain falls the wildlife disperses fast and becomes much more difficult to find.

During the Jan-Apr main season, the bush is verdant and beautiful, the animals are well-fed and there’s lots of wildflowers and baby animals around. The camps are significantly discounted and become increasingly attractive as the conditions improve through the period.

Getting there

Abu Camp can only be accessed by light aircraft into the nearby airstrip, which has daily flight connections with all other camps in Okavango, Linyanti, the main airport at Maun (for connections to Central Kalahari, Nxai, Makgadikgadi and Johannesburg) and north to Kasane (for connections to Livingstone and Victoria Falls).

From the airstrip it takes around half an hour by vehicle across some quite dry and unusually ordinary scenery until we start to approach the floodplains areas and arrive into the camp itself.

usually combined with at least one other camp in Botswana