Okuti Camp is just 15 minutes from the airstrip so not long after you land, you are welcomed at the camp by half a dozen staff singing their welcome to you while they dance. Lovely!
Okuti is quite big compared to some of the other camps we stayed at but that didn’t take anything away. The ‘tents’ are very spacious and well appointed, and one thing that I really liked was the choice of an outdoor or indoor shower – even in the extreme heat of the afternoon an outdoor shower will cool you down and make you feel better. From our deck in the evenings we sat and watched the fireflies and listened to the hippos talking to each other. We had two very restful nights here as the camp is surrounded by fences and so the elephants stayed away.
As with everywhere we stayed in Botswana, the staff were excellent, and committed to making sure that all guests enjoy their time there. Our guide, Solly, (or King Solomon as he introduced himself) was brilliant – he had a great sense of humour and was very good at spotting game that the rest of couldn’t see at all, including a leopard in a tree – it was the highlight of that game drive. Solly is well known – we visited two other camps after Okuti and everyone at both of them knew him. Each guide only looks after two groups, maximum 6 people, which works extremely well.
The meals were excellent, there was a full range of drinks in the fridge except for cider which would have been lovely in that hot weather. The sundowners were exceptional as Solly found some beautiful locations to watch the sun set, and the game viewing was also very good. There is also the option to go out on the delta in a boat, and we did this one evening – we saw elephants crossing the water, plenty of hippos and colonies of birds as they settled down for the night, all in the same area.
No wifi at Okuti but there is a computer in the lounge where you can check world events and emails if you wish. The lounge is well situated to catch any breezes and has big overstuffed sofas, just made for relaxing with a cold drink on a hot afternoon.
One small thing is that the safes are not the modern type, they unlock with a key, which would be fine except that we found it impossible to take the key off the ring which also had the room key, which is left with the staff when you go out for your morning activity. It would be good to have the peace of mind that no-one could access your belongings in the safe and I recommend that this issue is addressed.
I highly recommend this camp – we felt that we were living in the lap of luxury, and knowing that we would not be visited by elephants overnight was great.