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PELO CAMP – JOA CONCESSION – OKAVANGO DELTA
Pelo is a Wilderness Safaris Camp set in a remote private concession in the Okavango Delta. The word Pelo in Setswana means ‘heart’ – a name inspired by the distinct heart-shaped island on which the camp is built. This is the true Okavanog Delta – remote, genuine, and wild.
Pelo is primarily a water and walking camp – activities include exploring the channels by speed boat, experiencing the Delta by mokoro, walking safaris and fishing.
LOCATION
The camp is set in the private Jao Concession in the Okavango Delta.
CAMP
Pelo’s main area has a tented dining area and lounge under impressive wild date palms, jackalberry and Natal mahogany trees. The camp has a plunge pool allowing you to keep cool while watching wildlife in the Delta. There is also an outdoor boma area and a raised lookout deck perfect for sundowners.
The five intimate guest tents all with a covered front veranda have en-suite bathrooms with both indoor and outdoor showers. The camp’s low impact, carbon-neutral activities allow unobtrusive wildlife viewing and a sense of being at one with nature.
Pelo is an excellent example of a light-footprint camp, built using natural materials, operating on 100% solar power, and offering low-impact, carbon-neutral activities.
ACTIVITIES AND WILDLIFE
Pelo lies in a true wetland area of the Okavango Delta, an ideal habitat for the elusive sitatunga antelope and common red lechwe. Hippo and crocodile are also regularly sighted. In the dry season lechwe, impala, elephant are common, with lion, leopard and buffalo sighted occasionally. Birdlife is exceptional with the largest concentrations of endangered wattled crane found here as well as slaty egrets, rosy-throated longclaws, African skimmer and Pel’s fishing-owl.
Activities offered at Pelo Camp have an emphasis on mokoro excursions – a smooth, silent way to seamlessly connect both with the myriad features of the Okavango Delta and the rich heritage of the region’s people. Boat excursions allow for good wildlife viewing in the more distant channels of the Delta. Try and spot red lechwe and elephant; you may even catch a glimpse of spotted-necked otter.
At Pelo you can enjoy a walk on a low, sandy island and learn about the sustainable way of life of the River Bushman people.
Catch-and-release fishing with a limited supply of basic equipment (spinner rods and a small range of lures) is on offer seasonally.
GIVING BACK
Jao Concession and the University of Botswana (Biokavango Project) formed a committee to encourage better engagement between local communities and the Jao Concession, specifically regarding curbing poaching and over-fishing.
Wilderness Safaris offers reusable bottles which you can refill in camp – through the use of reusable bottles for guests and installing on-site water purification systems at our camps, we have been able to reduce plastic water bottle usage by 75%.
In keeping with Wilderness’ objective of reducing energy consumption and fuel use at all its camps, this camp is 100% solar powered, with electricity and hot water provided via solar panels and inverters. Waste water (sewage and grey water) is treated in an Above Ground Sewage Plant, ensuring that the water is clean before being allowed to enter the natural environment. In order to reduce our use of bottled water, reverse osmosis filtration is done on site to provide guests with high-quality drinking water. Like all Wilderness camps, this is managed and monitored against very strict in-house environmental standards, so only approved eco-friendly detergents and chemicals are used.
Children in the Wilderness, a life skills educational and environmental programme for children who live in the villages around the conservation areas, is an independent non-profit organisation established and supported by Wilderness Safaris. CITW focuses on the next generation of decision-makers, inspiring them to care for their natural heritage and to become custodians of these areas in the future.
PELO CAMP IS CLOSED FROM DECEMBER TO FEBRUARY EVERY YEAR
CHILDREN AGED 13+ ARE WELCOME AT PELO CAMP
Call +44 1984 667420 or Email sue@trackssafaris.co.uk
Our expert staff are on-hand, happy to assist with any enquiry you have.
