Xigera Safari Lodge Rebuilt Twelve Suites on a Private Okavango Delta Island

Xigera Safari Lodge sits on its own small island within the Moremi Game Reserve, deep inside Botswana's Okavango Delta, a UNESCO World Heritage wetland fed by rains that fall in Angola's highlands months before reaching the delta's channels. The lodge reopened in July 2021 after a complete rebuild on the site of an earlier camp, replacing it with twelve suites raised on stilts and linked by raised wooden walkways over the floodplain.

No roads, only water and air

Because Xigera sits within the delta's seasonal floodplain rather than on its drier fringes, there is no road access at all. Guests fly into a nearby airstrip by light aircraft from Maun, then complete the final stretch by motorboat or, water levels permitting, a traditional mokoro canoe poled by a local guide.

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A lodge built around African art

Xigera's rebuild placed a large working collection of contemporary African art throughout its public spaces and suites, commissioned specifically for the property from artists across the continent. The result functions as much as a small gallery as a safari lodge, a point of difference from the more conventional decor found in most Okavango camps.

Wildlife by boat and by land

Xigera's setting inside the Moremi Game Reserve gives it access to both classic 4x4 game drives on the delta's drier 'islands' and water-based activities that camps outside the floodplain can't offer, including mokoro trips through papyrus-lined channels and, seasonally, catch-and-release fishing on the delta's clearer waterways.

Flood pulse decides the season

Water levels in the delta vary sharply through the year, driven by the flood pulse arriving from Angola's highlands. Peak flood typically arrives between roughly June and August, when Xigera's waterways are fullest and boat-based activity is easiest, while drier months narrow some channels to walking or shallow-draft mokoro only.

Traveller tips

• The only way in is by light aircraft from Maun to a nearby airstrip, followed by a boat or mokoro transfer; there is no road access.
• June to August generally brings the fullest waterways and easiest boat-based game viewing, though wildlife sightings are strong through the dry season generally.
• With only twelve suites, Xigera books out well ahead of the June-October peak season.
• Light aircraft transfers typically enforce strict luggage weight limits, often around 20kg in soft-sided bags; pack accordingly.