Sandibe Safari Lodge

Sandibe is located on permanent channels in the Okavango Delta, adjacent to Botswana's world-famous Moremi Wildlife Reserve, and is surrounded by a tapestry of habitats that support a great diversity and abundance of life. The Okavango delta, with its filigree of channels and islands forested with palms, and Sandibe Safari Lodge, work together in perfect harmony. Sandibe was created in awe of the Okavango's magical beauty and was built with a commitment to "treading lightly on the earth."

Sandibe is clocated in a drier part of the Delta, where there are more islands and fewer channels. With more land, there are more large animals, and the Moremi Game Reserve and surrounding area (including Sandibe) is one of the most game-rich parts of Africa. The Sandibe concession is well known for its diversity and volume of wildlife, and a particular highlight is the large herds of buffalo (often in excess of 1,000 animals) which move through the area, with predators in tow.

Game-drive safaris at Sandibe are conducted in specially adapted open Landrovers carrying a maximum of eight guests, with professional guides and trackers to help find animals, and then provide interesting background information and facts about Africa's spectacular wildlife. Because Sandibe falls outside the boundaries of the Moremi Reserve, activities are not limited by the Reserve's regulations, and the lodge also offers night drives to view nocturnal species, and bush walks. These interpretive bush walks with your guide provide a deeper and more 'hands-on' insight into the many intricate eco-systems of the African bush.

All guides and trackers are carefully chosen for their knowledge and experience of the bush, and receive extensive training to ensure that your encounters with the African wilderness are exciting, informative, and safe. In addition, Sandibe offers Makoro rides through the Okavango Delta's filigree of networked channels and islands, providing for the most intimate and unobtrusive way of experiencing this great natural wonder.

Each of Sandibe's eight chalets has been positioned to embrace the presence of special trees and natural features such as termite mounds and age-old elephant crossing points. The chalets are sensitively designed to invoke the mood of the forest. Walls have become airy screens, allowing the gentle Okavango breezes to cool the rooms, which are decorated in a rich and sensuous fusion of colours and textures, from leather to silk and rough hewn wood. Private verandas and decks are idyllic vantage points in this bird watchers paradise.

At the heart of the camp, within a leafy bower, a soaring abbey of trees forms the central living and dining area with a quiet deck affording views across the watery labyrinth. The forest provides privacy for an unobtrusive swimming pool. Dining at Sandibe is a pleasure and bush picnics in surprise settings are de rigueur. An night, golden light pours out onto the leaf strewn forest floor as the fire and a constellation of candles halo a table, anticipating a banquet of pan-African cuisine and fine wines on the return of guests from their evening game drive.

Sandibe is a delightfully complementary, tranquil and inspiring base from which to explore the miracle that is the Okavango delta.

Conservation Dimension

Prior to being leased by &Beyond in 1998, the Sandibe concession was used for big game hunting. The risks involved in putting up the capital to outbid the hunters for the concession, and then dedicate the area to non-consumptive photographic ecotourism were enormous, but &Beyond's long-standing dedication to nature conservation was decisive. Sandibe has subsequently been modelled on the so-called 'Londolozi model': "Our goal is to create a model in wise land management, integrating international travelers and rural people to their mutual benefit and demonstrating that wildlife can be used on a sustainable basis by all."

&Beyond has used its presence across Africa to translocate game that is abundant in one area to other areas where these species have become rare or extinct. It is also highly respected across Africa for its efforts at community empowerment through its Rural Investment Fund. The programme's goals are to facilitate social and economic infrastructure; to promote sustainable usage of available natural resources and to encourage the establishment of small enterprises linked to eco-tourism.