22 February 2024
Renowned for its unparalleled safari experience, Nxamaseri Island Lodge in Botswana’s Okavango Delta has undergone a remarkable transformation, setting a new standard in luxury. Scheduled to reopen on May 1st, 2024, the exclusive lodge unveils its latest addition: the Desert & Delta Safaris’ inaugural Wellness SPA.
Nestled amid the serene waters of the Nxamaseri channel, the spa boasts a picturesque setting amidst papyrus beds, offering guests a symphony of bird songs as they indulge in rejuvenating treatments on the over-water deck. Complementing this oasis of relaxation, every guest will enjoy a complimentary “treatment of the month,” elevating the experience to unprecedented levels of luxury.
To further enrich the spa journey, guests will be escorted to their treatments via traditional mokoro, the iconic dug-out canoe, ensuring a serene and immersive beginning to their wellness retreat. Infused with local culture, the spa experience resonates with the essence of Botswana’s traditions.
Enhancing the lodge’s allure is its proximity to Botswana’s cultural gem, the Tsodilo Hills. Revered by the San people, these sacred hills rise majestically from the flat landscape, adorned with ancient San paintings.
Guests at Nxamaseri have the rare opportunity to witness firsthand the profound significance of this cultural heritage.
Completing the revitalised lodge is a spacious main area, inviting guests to immerse themselves in the tranquil waters of the Okavango Delta. Shaded by ancient Jackalberry and African Mangosteen trees, the lodge embodies the essence of a secluded island oasis, promising an unforgettable escape into nature’s embrace.
The incorporation of local culture is a key theme in the new developments at Nxamaseri Island Lodge. Matthew Johnson, Managing Director of Desert & Delta Safaris, explains:
“We want guests to understand the spiritual significance of the UNESCO World Heritage Listed Tsodilo Hills before they visit.
We will bring a range of images, books, and paintings into the new camp and incorporate ingredients still used in the ancient San Culture as part of our wellness treatments in the Spa.”
To blend both ancient and modern African traditions, guests will be able to learn the art of basket weaving, still practised by local fishermen as a method of trapping their fish or using grass baskets to sieve the sorghum. And in a region without game drives or busy safari schedules, Nxamaseri Island Lodge has devised individually crafted activity schedules and interactive experiences to showcase its unpretentious and welcoming charm. Water activities are at the heart of any stay, with superb fly fishing and sport fishing, as well as boating and excellent birding. With the mokoro still the daily method of transport through the still Delta waters, guests find themselves at eye-level with dragonflies, reed frogs, and water lilies, and within touching distance of the myriad of colourful fish swimming just below the surface.
Before or after a busy trip outdoors the updated lodge, with inspired new menus of fresh local food full of plentiful herbs and vegetables from the lodge’s garden, juices, and smoothies, is the perfect destination to slow down. There’s time to do both – engage with the ancient culture on a visit to Tsodilo Hills to witness its rock art, or simply wake up to the sound of the prolific birdlife and take a gentle mokoro for a full body massage at the new SPA.
And for those who simply want to relax, the swimming pool has been relocated to the edge of the Nxamaseri channel in a more shaded area among the papyrus of the Okavango Delta.
