Up where Namibia, Botswana and Zambia almost meet, the country swaps its dunes for water - a maze of channels, floodplains and palm-dotted islands you'd swear was the Okavango Delta, which sits just to the south. The difference is how few people you'll share it with - this is the only camp on the island. The tents are raised on stilts with walls that fold right back onto the wetland, so the view does most of the decorating - with not a fence in sight. Days run to game drives, walks and slow hours afloat; nights to long dinners under a sky full of stars.
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Shade comes from old leadwood and sausage trees, under which the open lounge and bar give way to a dining terrace roofed in canvas. Some nights the tables move outside, set down under the canopy. A pool handles the midday heat; after dark, the firepit draws everyone in, talk running late over the whoop of distant hyena.
Inside, woven baskets and cane chairs sit against natural linens in pared-back, earthy tones, with a billowing mosquito net over the bed. The en-suite tents have one shower under cover and a second one open to the sky, for a relaxing rinse off with a view of nothing but wilderness.
In the mornings, head out across plains thick with buffalo and elephant (the lion are never far behind). Swap the vehicle for a dugout and your guide poles you silently past hippo and lechwe, close to the water and whatever's coming for a drink. For something even slower, stretch your legs on a guided walk. Once back in camp (always before dusk), night drives give you the chance to see predators on their night-shift prowl. Birders, scan the shallows for a wattled crane - or, if the gods are kind, a Pel's fishing owl in the trees on the water's edge.
Namibia's biggest buffalo herds, an elephant highway running right through, lion and leopard shadowing the lot - and a bird list topping 430. Game this thick usually comes with a queue of vehicles. Here, it doesn't.
Ask your guide to steer the mokoro deep into the reed channels in search of sitatunga - a shy swamp antelope most safari-goers never get to see. Here, with patience, you stand a real chance.
Nothing fences the camp in, so buffalo, elephant and the occasional big cat wander freely between the tents. Thrilling if you want raw wilderness, but worth bearing in mind.
The ‘finger’ that touches Vic Falls is a luscious region with several unexplored but worthy parks.
