Gomoti Plains Camp

This description was written by Amanda England, co-owner of Ethos Marketing who represents this camp, who recently visited Gomoti Plains.

We flew from London to Joburg and then onwards via an hour and a half flight on SAAirlink to Maun in Botswana. For the uninitiated, Maun is the tourism hub and main entry point into the Delta. Now it’s time to board your 12-seater bush plane for the 15 mins hop to Qorokwe Airstrip, which is a 45 mins drive from Gomoti Plains Camp. Flying above the delta we get our first glimpse of elephants and the massive network of waterways that characterise this unique part of the world.

Gomoti is a small luxury bush camp of only 10 expansive suites. These are really well spaced ensuring maximum privacy. They have both an indoor and an outdoor shower – quite the necessity when you want to cool down after a few hours in the unforgiving African sun. All suites overlook one of the many waterways, or channels as they are known, with lovely raised decks from which you can survey plenty of activity. During the afternoon I sat on my deck fascinated by a family of warthog digging a giant hole which the littlest kept sliding into! The main camp area has a stunning open plan lounge and dining area with a deck that stretches its entire length. It is from here in the morning that you leave to go out on your Mokoro boat trip. In the evening it is on this deck that you sit round the fire enjoying a post Safari G & T before dining communally under the stars.

Gomoti is located on its own private concession which means that you only see Gomoti vehicles out on game drives and that there will only be a maximum of 5 vehicles out at any one time. Game is prolific, and we had some incredible sightings which included a herd of around 800 buffalo and plentiful elephant, giraffe and plains game. One particularly special sighting was watching a rather nervous lioness trying to cross a narrow channel of water following her brother and mother. Gingerly putting one paw in at a time, she gave herself a fright at one point, and in turn gave me one too, but safely she eventually made the crossing.

Gomoti also offers you the chance to explore the Okavango Delta by boat – either a boat Safari or by Mokoro, the traditional boats that navigate the waterways. Here you encounter pods of hippo, crocodile basking in the sun and plentiful bird life. My special moment here was admiring an enormous hippo exiting the water in front of our boat. Far too quick and unexpected for my camera, but our guide Luckiem knew exactly what the hippo was planning and had positioned us perfectly. By Mokoro you are able to admire the water lilies up close, slowly opening in the warmth of the sunshine, the tiny frogs balanced on the reeds and the intricately woven webs.

You truly appreciate how stunning the Delta really is from the unique location which is Gomoti. Amanda's next stop is Machaba Camp!