Leopards, elephants and brilliantly coloured birds steal the show at Sediba Sa Rona’s eco-conscious, community-based sanctuary
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The mokoro dugout ‘canoe’ sits low enough in the Khwai River that I can feel the passing reeds brush against the hull. My guide Inno — short for Innocent — poles through the channels with unhurried expertise, past lily pads, papyrus and overgrown grass. A Verreaux’s eagle owl hoots from somewhere in the leadwood trees. When hippos grunt and shift in the distance, Inno doesn’t flinch. They won’t venture this far in until after dark, he tries to assure me.
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I arrived at Sediba Sa Rona in southern Africa just a few weeks after it opened in March. For a newly minted safari operation, it has found its rhythm quickly.
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The lodge
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Sediba Sa Rona — Setswana for “Our Source of Water” — sits on the Khwai River in northern Botswana, in an expansive, community-owned concession in the Okavango Delta. As I flew in over its marshy floodplains at the tail end of the rainy season, it was clear the hulking elephants visible below were not going thirsty any time soon.
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The lodge is the first Khwai River property from Desert & Delta Safaris, built in partnership with local outfit Savanna Expeditions. Situated in a community concession, the people of Khwai hold the rights to the land and earn an income from safari tourism.
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The lion’s share of staff comes from nearby Khwai Village, many connected by family. Sitting down to dinner after the mokoro river ride, server Gigi asks warmly how it went; Inno is her brother, the other poler Ivan their cousin, and they’ve known these waters their whole lives, she explains. Staff members greet new arrivals with joyous singing, and, for me, it felt much like a household proudly welcoming guests to a new home.
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Wildlife moves through the property to its own schedule. Vervet monkeys frolic in the canopy of leadwood and fig trees during the day; bell frogs and the occasional hippo provide the evening soundtrack. On my second morning, I found a trail of deep hippo prints running directly past my tent door. Beyond fencing to deter the elephants, the animal kingdom has free roam. Guides are always nearby to provide an escort before dawn and after dusk when the local fauna is most active.
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Along the riverfront, 15 thatched-roof luxury tents sit on raised platforms at the water’s edge, glass doors opening onto private covered balconies that invite you to sit back and watch the river roll by.
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Sigourney Kinnear of South Africa’s Dakota Design brought the spirit of the landscape inside, drawing an earthy colour palette of greens and textures from the floodplains of the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Okavango Delta — of which the Khwai River is an outflow. Comfortable and inviting open-plan suites feel like an extension of the natural surroundings.
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It works beautifully.
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Kinnear has crafted refined interiors, skilfully creating a sense of luxury through craftsmanship and quality materials: Zambian teak floors, rain showers with natural stone tile walls, quality bedding cocooned beneath linen mosquito curtains and contemporary accent pieces come together under the warm lamp lighting.
