Jao Camp

elegant hospitality and gentle safari activities

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

The camp is shrouded in lush tropical vegetation below mature leadwood and ebony trees and immediately feels very atmospheric.

Heading along the low board-walk, we first encounter two small swimming pool areas and a central campfire, above which towers the large two-storey main building. Downstairs is a quiet seating area, small library, gift-shop and wine cellar, the main event is upstairs, with an extremely comfortable lounge, bar and dining areas. Further facilities include an extensive gift-shop, a small gym and an outside dining ‘boma’.

The spa is often singled out for special mention by guests and we can personally vouch for the quality of the treatments.

The whole camp has a kind of Balinese theme, which is a little odd, but does add a touch of Zen style calmness.

One aspect we always appreciate is the amount of wildlife that can come into camp. The most obvious animals here are the baboons, which are often encountered along the walkways and will jump at the chance to get inside your room and wreck the place should you leave it open and unattended.

Rooms

Jao Camp has guest accommodation in seven rooms in two different specifications …

Suites : x5 : Large suite rooms for 1 or 2 adults.

Villas : x2 : These much larger villas contain two separate bedroom suites, with shared lounge outdoor areas, suitable for four adults. The villa comes with a private butler, safari guide and vehicle. The room is charged the same price regardless of whether there are 1, 2, 3 or 4 guests staying.

In all rooms, the nets over the bed are fitted with very discreet air-conditioning and heating systems, which can be a real bonus during the May-Jul cold season and the Oct-Dec hot season.

Activities

Jao Camp provides the following guided activities …

• Vehicle safari
• Mokoro canoe safari (May-Sep)
• Motorboat safari (May-Sep)
• Walking safari
• Night vehicle safari
• Sleep-out hide

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 Jao Flats area is 3-5 nights.

Seasonality

The Jao Flats Concession is particularly good during the flood season, not quite so strong at other times.

The May-Jun flood season is generally considered to be a great time to visit. Temperatures can drop towards freezing during the night, but this has little adverse effect on safari and most camps are significantly discounted during this period. During the high flood camps in the wetter areas are usually able to offer boating activities. The other camps continue to be able to offer vehicle safari, largely on Hunda Island, where leopard sightings are famously reliable.

The Jul-Sep dry season is the classic time to visit the Okavango Delta and is considered to be the best time for wildlife viewing. On the Jao Concession, the floodwaters recede and open up more dry land for vehicle safari, improving the reliability of sightings. There usually remains enough water for all camps to continue to offer boating activities, although this can start to become seriously limited into September.

The Oct-Dec hot season represents the transition to the start of the rains and temperatures and humidities can become uncomfortably high in advance of the rains. With the floods having receded in most areas, the wildlife tends to become very concentrated around the few remaining water sources, making for very strong wildlife viewing. Boating activities are now only possible in the limited network of permanent deepwater channels.

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

Jao Camp can only be accessed by light aircraft into the nearby Jao 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 is a short five minute drive down to the water and a further ten minutes by motorboat into the lodge.

usually combined with at least one other camp in Okavango