All new at King's Pool

Introducing a brand-new camp (sort of!) We love hearing about new camps opening throughout Africa, as they appear to become more and more eco-friendly as the years go on, which is excellent news. A new camp fit for royalty is what we have been told…! I the words from Wilderness Safari’s, here’s what they have to say:

‘It was in 1976 that King Gustaf and Queen Sylvia, newlyweds, arrived in Botswana on their honeymoon. In an effort to escape the relentless paparazzi, they made their way to one of the remotest places within Botswana, close to Chobe called Linyanti. There they camped on the banks of a stunning oxbow lagoon and understandably, completely fell in love with the beauty of Botswana – a feeling that was mutual as the country fell in love with them too. Botswana named Queen Sylvia the Dancing Queen!

This love of the wild and totally unspoilt still lives on in within Linyanti, so when Wilderness began building this new camp, they aptly named it Kings Pool, with the stunning barge operating from its jetty called the Queen Sylvia.

It is a place of memories but also a place of migrations and movement. From meta-herds of elephant to the vibrantly coloured carmine bee-eaters. It is the centre of the centre of ancient paths that cross borders and even older tectonic plates, whose subtle movements below the earth’s surface create stunning vistas and was the cause of the Savute Channel.

The renewed King’s Pool Camp celebrates past and present, ancient craft and modern innovations, unique and truly original wildlife and the trails they tread.

The location of King’s Pool lies on the Linyanti Fault, ever changing, ebbing and flowing, creating stunning new landscapes yearly. It changes the flow of the direction of the river system that runs between Namibia & Botswana – the Kwando River turns east at an unusual angle of almost 90 degrees to become the Linyanti River. The movements of the Earth’s tectonic plates create a truly unique phenomenon – the Savute Channel appears and then disappears seemingly randomly. At present it flows strongly, providing much needed water for wildlife during these dry times and ultimately, exclusive viewing of exiting riverside dramas for anyone that stays at King’s Pool.

The expansive main area of King’s Pool is now in closer proximity to the water and offers many beautiful spaces and uninterrupted views of the oxbow lake for quiet contemplation or convivial conversation. Meandering from here is a path that takes you to an open air kgotla (boma) the perfect setting for fine dining under the stars.

Throughout the camp, the ancient Botswana craft of weaving is expressed in a number of architectural details – the imprint design applied to the camps screen walls, woven rope detail on vertical supports as well as on the balustrades.

Throughout the design keeps in mind with its commitment to operating with a light footprint – the new camp is 100% solar powered. As much existing material from walkways and flooring from the previous camp has also been reused to create screens and decorative wall detail.

It will be an adventure with a difference.