Where & when
The Okavango in flood
Though Xigera is truly a year-round destination, the seasons in the Okavango Delta are defined by water: either falling from above as rain, or flowing below in the annual floods. Though the winter months (April to September) are marked by clear skies and little rain, this is the time when the long-awaited floodwaters from Angola arrive to fill the Delta. With pleasantly warm days, but cool nights, this is the best time to visit for enjoying mokoro and motorboat excursions.
The green grass of summer
Summer, from October to March, is the ‘green season’ when dramatic afternoon thunderstorms soak the landscape, transforming the grassy plains into a verdant carpet of green.
The landscape is at it most scenic, though it can be extremely hot, with temperatures above 35°C. This is the best time for birding, with the arrival of summer migrant species.
A sense of time & place
Xigera Safari Lodge rests effortlessly in a remarkable corner of the Okavango Delta, amid the expansive wetlands of the Moremi Game Reserve. The area is clearly visible on satellite images as a hand-shaped emerald and sapphire smear of paint against the tawny canvas of northern Botswana.
The nearest major international airports are Johannesburg and Cape Town. Direct scheduled services land at Botswana’s Maun airport. From Maun, a scenic 25-minute flight by light aircraft will deliver you to the Xigera airstrip, a 10-minute drive from the lodge.
Unforgettable Africa
In an ancient land of water and wilderness, Xigera Safari Lodge occupies a spectacular location within a remote area of the world-famous Moremi Game Reserve, an area set aside to protect the Okavango’s most important wetland and island habitats. The Moremi Game Reserve was proclaimed in 1963 to protect the heart of the Okavango Delta. It takes its name from Chief Moremi III of the local Batawana tribe, and it was his widow whose concern over the impact of hunting led to the proclamation of the Moremi.
