The Khwai concession itself contains plenty of sights to thrill both the new and the seasoned safarist. This is a community concession, owned by the Khwai people. Money raised from tourism goes directly to the Khwai community. Presently the village population includes roughly 400 Babukakhwe, the River Bushmen, who are related to the San people. The village is located a short distance from the reserve’s north gate. This is in the eastern region of the Okavango Delta, which is also overflowing with wildlife!
The history of the Khwai Concession
The timeline concerning the Babukakhwe is quite vague. Archaeological evidence points towards the existence of the San people in Botswana as much as 22,000 years ago, but not much is known about the formation of the Babukakhwe and their movement to Khwai. It is possible that they lived in the area as hunter–gatherers until the 1960s, when the Botswana government persuaded them to settle in villages. When they settled in a part of the Moremi Game Reserve, they were removed.
Activities & wildlife
Visitors to any of the properties within the Khwai community concession are welcome to visit the village, to learn about daily life. Other activities offered here include game drives and walking safaris, and you can expect to see lion, leopard, cheetah, wild dog, elephant, buffalo, giraffe, hippo, and hundreds of species of bird! Khwai’s camps and lodges are also able to offer night drives, a great opportunity to see nocturnal species such as aardvark, aardwolf, pangolin, and porcupine! And you can take trips into both the Delta and Moremi.
We feature a number of Khwai’s properties, so if you are interested in staying here please get in touch to start planning your holiday with a member of the YZ team!