Koro River Camp

Canvas walls glow amber at dusk, lit from within against the dark line of the Limpopo below. Koro River Camp sits on stilts above the riverbank in the Tuli concession, a stretch of Botswana's eastern border country known for its sandstone koppies and free-roaming elephant herds. Seven tented suites are raised on decking over the water, each with its own bathroom, an open-air shower, and a private plunge pool for the heat of the afternoon. The family unit, tent seven, links three canvas rooms on a shared deck and sleeps up to six. A tented bar and lounge anchor the camp, with a dining deck and sunken seating area set back from the water's edge. Dinner is often cooked over the open fire in the boma, where talk turns to the day's tracking. You can hear hippos grunting from the riverbed after dark. Guides lead walks and drives through the reserve by day, tracking elephant, giraffe and antelope on foot or from an open vehicle, and nearly 300 recorded bird species keep watchers busy along the floodplain. For a night away from camp, an elevated platform called Star Beds looks over a waterhole, where leopard, hyena and civet come to drink under open sky. The camp takes a maximum of eighteen guests. Wi-fi reaches the lounge and viewing deck, nowhere else.