Macatoo Safari Camp

Macatoo Safari Camp is located in a beautiful position in the western part of Botswana’s Okavango Delta. It is one of the few camps in Botswana where guests can enjoy horse riding safaris, in addition to drives by open vehicle, walking and mokoro canoeing. The camp is set on an island, in front of which is a beautiful lagoon and then beyond that seemingly endless expanses of open plains, shallow waterways and woodland. The area has abundant plains game, particularly zebra, wildebeest, impala and other antelope including red lechwe which love the watery parts of the delta. There are also herds of buffalo, giraffe and some predators, as well as over three hundred and fifty species of wonderful birds.

Macatoo is primarily a riding camp with well schooled horses and the riding safaris usually take place early morning when riders can trot, canter and sometimes gallop across the plains, sometimes plunging into the shallow lagoons gaining a unique insight into your surroundings. Other animals are less bothered by your presence when you are on horseback and you might enjoy the thrill of cantering alongside a herd of zebra or giraffe. For riders who want a longer riding experience, it is also possible to camp out overnight in a more basic fly-camp.

Many riders have partners who do not ride and Macatoo also offers the chance to enjoy safaris by open vehicle, mokoro canoe and on foot with a well qualified guide, though in the overall balance of activity within the camp, the riding tends to come first.

The accommodation is in six spacious walk in tents with proper beds, safari furniture and en-suite w.c and shower, the whole thing set on a raised wooden deck. Macatoo provides good cuisine in the main dining lodge and there is also a small plunge pool where you can relax between safari activities.

Guests staying a little longer at Macatoo will usually have this opportunity to fly camp for two or three days. This gives you an opportunity to explore a more remote part of the delta with different landscapes and safari opportunities. The fly camp is set up in a more remote part of the reserve and you would sleep on stretcher beds, either in a dome tent or simply under a mosquito net open to the stars. There would be a bush shower and a long drop loo. The support team prepare delicious meals of a similar standard to those at Macatoo Main Camp and you can enjoy the marvellous sensation of feeling that you have Africa “all to yourselves”. While at the fly camp the guides, staff and guests usually take it in turns to keep an eye on the horses through the night, though this is not obligatory.

Read more about a luxury Botswana safari.