Munga Plains

Set on the edge of Chobe National Park, in the north of Botswana where four countries meet, Munga Plains is a small camp built for one group at a time. Ten rooms stand on wooden decking, six standard and four larger doubles, with two more kept for visiting retreat leaders. A separate shala, set 500 metres out on the floodplain, holds up to twenty and faces open savannah with nothing between the mats and the acacias on the horizon. Every structure here was raised by local artisans in timber, canvas, and thatching grass, and the shala came first, with the rest of the camp built up around it. Chobe itself holds the world's largest elephant population and around 450 recorded bird species, across floodplain, riverine forest, and woodland. Guests track that wildlife by 4x4, by boat on the Chobe River, on foot, and by mokoro canoe in season. Meals draw on local Botswana recipes, often from the camp's own garden. Evenings end at a boma fire under wide skies, sometimes with drumming or dance from the neighbouring villages. Retreats run weekly from March to December, each one taking over the whole camp.