Xigera Safari Lodge

Xigera stands deep in the permanent channels of the inner Delta, where there is water all year. After Mombo's open floodplains it feels like a different country. The lodge has 12 suites raised above the floodplain among the channels, and it is built around a collection of African art and design.

We use it for that contrast, and for the art. One afternoon you walk through the collection with the team who put it together, and hear how the commission programme brings work from artists and craftspeople across Africa into the camp. It is worth doing even if you came only for the animals.

The mornings belong to the water and the islands. You go out by boat or by vehicle, depending on what the flood allows that season, with your own guide, and you are back for lunch when you want to be.

It suits guests who like design and good rooms as much as game drives, and anyone who wants to see the Okavango at water level rather than from the floodplain. Three nights is the right length between Mombo and Jao.

A Cessna Caravan brings you the short hop from Mombo. When you leave, a helicopter takes you on to Jao, flying low over the Delta so you can see the channels, the palm islands and the hippo paths cut through the reeds before you land.

Good to know

• Xigera is in a malaria area. Speak to your doctor before you travel.
• How much is done by boat depends on the flood. Water levels change through the year.
• Pack soft bags; you leave by helicopter.

Country: Botswana