Introducing Great Plains’ Sitatunga Private Island Suite

March 2023…// Great Plains, the iconic eco-tourism company is delighted to announce the forthcoming launch of Sitatunga Private Island Suite, part of Botswana’s latest Okavango Delta water-based Réserve-Collection Safari Camp.

Slated to open on July 15^th, 2023, the two-bedroom Sitatunga Private Island Suite will open within the new Sitatunga Private Island Camp. Built on a raised, wrap-around railway sleeper private deck, the Suite can accommodate up to four adults (or two adults and up to three children) offering a total footprint of approximately 607m2.

Sitatunga Private Island Camp will provide guests with the most authentic Robinson Crusoe experience and a refuge for the soul in the Okavango Delta. As elaborated by Dereck Joubert, CEO of Great Plains Conservation:

“Sitatunga Private Island Camp is an extraordinary place. It is a private island and is one of the few locations where one can still see sitatunga, the rare aquatic antelope from camp and by boat, which is the main activity here in addition to walking. It is deep Okavango Delta and, as such, is rich in birding. Head out on a boat to view elephants, crocodiles, and hippos all day, every day. I know you will enjoy every moment of it, as I do”.

Dereck and Beverly Joubert have been pivotal in the interior design process, imbibing a sense of place and authenticity into the camp, with the giant bamboo fisherman basket structures of the suites paying homage to the Bayei people who historically occupied the area.

A true labor of love, all materials within the camp have been personally sourced by Dereck over the years and will be re-used to create Sitatunga Private Island Suite, breathing life into old treasures. The suites seamlessly blend into the natural landscape of the Okavango Delta, conjuring a strong imagining of its ancestral origins. As Joubert explains:

“Sitatunga Private Island Camp is very ‘Robinson Crusoe, desert island-ish’. It is designed with a ‘salvage’ inspired reference, complete with giant basket shapes as a nod to the Bayei and other local Okavango fishing ancestries. Thick shaggy thatch cover canvas roofs and walls. There is thick pole woodwork, feeling like masts salvaged from a shipwreck, but the very spacious inner floorspace is actually some of the largest we have ever built. Each suite is set up very high in the ebony trees, a traditional way to seek and find safety, take advantage of the views, and rest in the cool shade. And to spot sitatunga”.

Sitatunga camp will become a new destination of barefooted luxury for slow safari guests, with the opportunity to explore the Okavango Delta’s permanent channels by mekoro (canoe), stretch their legs on guided morning walks, take part in fishing or photographic safaris.

For those guests keen to unwind within their new home-away-from-home in Botswana, Sitatunga Private Island Suite offers yoga mats, light weights with in-room massages available upon request. A wine cellar and boutique are also available to guests within the camp.

Sitatunga Private Island Camp will house 8 people in total. Children must be aged 6 and upwards. All suites offer complimentary use of a professional camera and lens set.