Bushmen Plains Camp (Camp Ola)

Bushmen Plains Camp — also branded Camp Ola — is Botswana's first Bushman-owned safari camp, founded by Olatotse 'Ola' Sarefo, one of the first Bukakwe Bushmen to become a professional safari guide and the first Bushman elected to public office in Botswana, having served as District Councilman for the Guidigwa/Vumbura region. The camp sits in the Mapula and Sekwana concession (NG12) in the northern Okavango Delta, a 370,000-acre private wilderness with year-round water, permanent channels and open floodplains. It is classified as a mobile camp, relocating within the concession as conditions dictate, though never during a guest's stay.

Accommodation is deliberately small and simple: just four large Meru-style tents, each en-suite with flushing toilet and bucket shower (hot water provided), twin or king-size beds, solar lighting and a dressing area — no air-conditioning and no Wi-Fi. A central mess tent with its own veranda anchors the camp, built around a communal campfire used nightly for Bushman storytelling, music and cultural exchange with guides and visiting community members from nearby Guidigwa Village. Camp Ola is one of the very few camps in the Delta with access to the region's only hot-air balloon launch site, offering balloon safaris (additional cost, pre-booking required) from April to August.

Activities are guided by Bushman trackers and include day and night game drives with off-road access, mokoro excursions and boat trips along permanent channels, walking safaris, and dedicated cultural experiences — tracking, medicinal plant knowledge, traditional tool-making and storytelling. The area is noted for strong predator sightings: the Ash Pack of African wild dogs (20+ members) has denned in the vicinity since 2011, alongside a second pack (the Golden Pack) and two resident lion prides. The camp positions itself as a genuine, unpolished cultural-and-wildlife alternative to Botswana's more polished luxury camps, with authenticity and community ownership as its central differentiators for the DMC.

AT A GLANCE - Property type: Small, authentic mobile tented camp — Botswana's first Bushman-owned camp; located in a private 370,000-acre concession, relocates within the concession but never mid-stay - Rooms: 4 large Meru-style tents only, en-suite (flush toilet, bucket shower, hot water), twin or king beds, solar lighting - Max guests: 8 (4 tents x 2) — one of the smallest camps in the Okavango Delta - Children policy: Minimum age 6 years (per third-party trade listing; confirm directly with operator) - Key activities: Day/night game drives (off-road), mokoro & boat excursions, walking safaris, Bushman cultural experiences, rare hot-air balloon access (Apr-Aug, extra cost) - Facilities: Central mess tent with veranda, communal campfire, no air-conditioning, no Wi-Fi - Power/Wi-Fi: Solar lighting in tents; no Wi-Fi, no air-conditioning (per third-party listing) - Ownership/history: Founded by Olatotse 'Ola' Sarefo — first Bukakwe Bushman professional safari guide and first Bushman elected to office in Botswana (District Councilman, Guidigwa/Vumbura); Botswana's first Bushman-owned camp - Source: https://bushmenplains.com/ ; /about/ ; /okavango-delta/ ; /contacts/ ; okavangodelta.com/camps/bushman-plains/