Tag: lush

Xigera – Best of the West

Posted on by James

“West” is probably pushing it a little bit, as Xigera is in fact dead centre in the Okavango – truly in the heart of it, one might say.

One of the most luxurious lodges in the Okavango Delta, the camp is set in a beautiful location on a private concession within the Moremi Game Reserve. Having reopened under new ownership (Red Carnation Hotel Group) in December 2020, Xigera reset the bar when it comes to luxurious safaris in Botswana – offering the ultimate flexibility for guests to shape the experience exactly as they desire, the philosophy at this stylish lodge says it all “anything, any time”.

Xigera (pronounced “kee-jera”, meaning pied kingfisher) has been on the Okavango safari scene for many years but the rebuild  really transformed the lodge. The new design was unrecognisable from the old, apart from the beautiful location. The style at Xigera is bold, yet wonderfully in keeping with the feel of Okavango Wilderness. You can expect a slick safari experience here. A lodge for those looking for the ultimate luxury set amidst stunning landscapes and top class game viewing.

Xigera Safari Lodge guests will not be restricted by the standard safari timetable. Instead, total flexibility is the order of the day, and a completely bespoke approach to activities with no set times dominates. Morning, afternoon and evening game drives are offered, as are private walking safaris, photographic workshops, private yoga, mokoro and glass-bottomed mokoro excursions and motorboat trips as well as fishing in season. Note that water activities are seasonal, usually from May/June to September. Dining al fresco is another highlight, with bush picnics, lunches or breakfasts also available.

During the flood season, from around May to September, Xigera is transformed into a stunning wetland landscape, which makes it the perfect water and land safari camp.

The lodge sits on stilts under a canopy of large trees and enjoys superb views of the floodplains. Elevated walkways connect the different areas of camp, offering a treehouse feel and wonderful elevated views. Xigera Safari Lodge has been constructed with undulating rooflines and scorched timber cladding. The suites have views onto the lily-covered lagoons: the lily is the camp’s emblem and a lily-inspired pavilion will provide shade overlooking the water’s edge. The sunken lounge has a huge copper lily-design centrally suspended fireplace.

The lodge’s interiors are spectacular. Every piece in the lodge’s collection of furniture, sculpture and ceramics is a work of art in itself and has been specially commissioned and made for the lodge over a period of 18 months. The pieces include works by more than 30 leading African artists and craftspeople.

Xigera Safari Lodge has twelve suites, and one family suite suitable for two couples or a family. The suites all have air-conditioning and feature separate lounge, bedroom and dressing room and private deck, daybed with gazebo and each can accommodate indoor and outdoor private dining for up to four people. The large bathrooms also feature outdoor showers. The suites are extraordinarily spacious for a wilderness lodge.

Red Carnation properties, who own Xigera Safari Lodge, are known for their attention to detail and personal touches and service. With an impressive ratio of four staff to every guest you can expect incredibly attentive and personalised service . The African inspired menus are served by an interactive kitchen and the cellar serves wine from the award-winning vineyard, Bouchard Finlayson, as well as other top wines. After dinner, the boma has a totemic firepit sculpture around which to sit, enjoy a digestif and stargaze.

To work up an appetite for all the fabulous meals there is a state of the art gym as well as a stunning pool. This swimming pool’s dark water is rest for the eyes by comparison with the usual stark brilliant blue; the views from the pool over the river give the sense that you are immersed in the Delta’s natural waterways.

For something more cerebral the library, an air conditioned haven of peace, features occasional talks from specialists.
Wellness is a real feature of the camp; two spa rooms will provide a wide range of treatments and treatments can also be given in the suites. Guest practitioners will create a programme based on wellness, mindfulness and holistic healing with the perfect backdrop of the pristine natural Delta environment.

Predator sightings are particularly impressive at Xigera – there is a large presence of lion, leopard, hyena on the islands. Buffalo are found in good numbers too.  General game sightings include red lechwe, lion, spotted hyena and leopard, and the highest density of the rare sitatunga antelope found in the Delta. Birding in Xigera is very good, with opportunities to see the elusive Pel’s Fishing Owl, African Skimmer, Slaty Egret, Wattled Crane, Lesser Jacana and plenty of eagles, vultures, raptors and kingfishers.

The environmental credentials are impressive and central to the philosophy of the lodge which ultimately aim to be diesel free and entirely solar powered and will use a 400kW Tesla plant incorporating lithium iron batteries and Tesla invertors. The solar farm will end up as the largest in the Delta.

Xigera can be reached by a 25 minute light aircraft connection from Maun airport to the Xigera airstrip, or around an hour and 20 minutes from Kasane airport. A 10-minute drive in a game drive vehicle will then bring you to Xigera itself.

Children aged twelve and over are welcome and charged at a full adult rate.

Get hold of us through info@iconicafrica.com to find out more about Xigera and the wold-class safari experience that it offers…

 

Summer vs. Winter: When to Safari

Posted on by James

When is the best time to go on safari?

This is ultimate question.

But at the risk of sounding non-commital, there’s no such thing as a “best time”. Or maybe “it depends” would be a better way to put it. The question should really be “When is the best time for ME to go on safari?”.
SO much depends on what you want to see, do or photograph, so the simplest way to get to grips with it is probably to look at three of the main components that safari is based upon – wildlife, weather and photography – and look at all three from a seasonal point of view, even thought all three are inextricably linked.

Weather

Winter

Dress warmly in the mornings and evenings, because it can be really cold. The uninitiated may not view Africa as a cold continent, but sitting on the back of an open game viewer in -10° is no joke! Granted that is an extreme, but even the low single digit mornings can be very uncomfortable if you aren’t prepared.
Cold mornings give way to wonderfully temperate days however (shorts and t-shirt weather), and given that this is the dry season, clouds are a rare sight.
As soon as the sun goes down the temperature drops quickly, so make sure you have a couple of extra layers with you on drive!

Summer

Summer is a time of contrasts; it can get very hot on safari, but it can also be wonderfully cool during a week of overcast weather. This is the rainy season after all, so a few downpours here and there should not be unexpected, but often it will simply bucket down for an hour and then clear into the most magnificent sunset.
It’s unlikely you’ll need any clothing for really cold weather during this time of year, but rain jackets are definitely a good idea. Most lodges will offer their guests ponchos in case of precipitation.

The main thing in using weather as a determining factor in your safari decisions is consistency. In winter you are likely to get weeks on end of cool, dry weather, with barely a cloud in the sky, whereas in summer it’s a bit more of a lucky dip. It might not rain for three weeks, but it could also set in and drizzle for three days. It’s hard to predict, but that also makes it kind of exciting…

Wildlife

Winter

When it’s cooler, things tend to be more active. Understand this and you won’t go too far wrong. The winter months in Southern Africa in particular have lower temperatures than the countries closer to the equator, and morning and even temperatures in particular can actually be pretty frigid. This is the time of the year when you are likely to see a bit more action later in the day. It’s not too energy-sapping for lions to be moving around in the late morning, and in fact a significantly high number of lion hunts on buffalo take place around midday (although this can be very much dependent on the area).

Winter is also the dry season so activity tends to be focused around perennial water sources.

Summer

Animals are just like us when the sun is high and hot; they tend to retreat into the shade.
Summer months on safari will often see one returning to camp by mid-morning as temperatures soar, and most of the wildlife starts clustering under trees and bushes to conserve energy.
Having said this, the sheer variety of things you are likely to see rises significantly in summer, as this is the birthing season.
Impala lambs, warthog piglets and wildebeest calves seem to be everywhere, which offers excellent hunting opportunities for predators.

The rains usher in a time of plenty, so summer is when all the fascinating small fauna emerge to take centre stage. Termites, tortoises, migratory birds… it’s hard to drive for 500m without coming across something new and interesting that you wouldn’t have seen during the winter months.

In brief, the idea is generally if you want to see a bit more action, plan your safari for winter, but if you want abundance and diversity, come in summer.

Photography

Winter

Long golden hours define the winter months, and the brown and gold hues match perfectly with the evening and early morning glows.
Less vegetation means more unobstructed views of whatever you might be photographing, and finding things to photograph in the first place is a little simpler with the bush not so thick.
There is quite a bit more dust around in winter so be careful when changing lenses out in the field, but you can use it to your advantage by creating some lovely back-lit images.
Photography tends to be a bit more forgiving in winter as the light tends to be consistently better, and of course the animals are usually more active.

Summer

The verdant greens of the rainy season create a wonderful palette against which to photograph wildlife. The golden hours tend to be quite a bit shorter during summer than in winter, but this is offset by the higher chances of overcast days, which keeps the light softer, meaning you can photograph happily all day, without worrying about too much harsh contrast during the hours when the sun is high.

The variety you will encounter is also astounding, from nesting birds to chameleons crossing the road; you’ll need a decent lens kit to be able to handle the incredible array of photographic opportunities which will likely come your way…

There’s no “best” time to come on safari. It is always magnificent.
Simply do the research, decide what it is you most want to get out of your trip, and plan accordingly.

If you would like more info, don’t hesitate to get in touch through info@iconicafrica.com…