King’s Pool

The 7 standard tents all feature 2 three-quarter size beds with soft sheets and plush pillows. The rooms are furnished with comfortable armchairs, a writing desk and include tea and coffee making facilities. Within the room’s large wardrobe, guests will find yoga mats and weights. The rooms include en-suite facilities with a shower, basin, hairdryer and complimentary toiletries. There is also a separate flush loo. The tents lead out to your private verandah with outdoor seating, where you can relax and enjoy the sunshine.

The suite consists of 2 separate rooms, one of which is larger and features an outdoor shower. Each room has its own en-suite bathroom with a shower, basin, hairdryer and complimentary toiletries. As with the standard tents, the rooms are furnished with comfortable armchairs, a writing desk and include tea and coffee making facilities, as well as yoga mats and weights for creating your own mini-gym. The suite also features a refreshing plunge pool and outdoor lounge for relaxing and gazing out at the beautiful lagoon.

Start the day with a light and refreshing breakfast before venturing into the bush on an exciting game drive. On your return, a three-course brunch will be waiting for you. Afternoon tea is served before you go out on your afternoon activity, along with a selection of sweet and savoury treats. Dinner is served in the evenings, and King’s Pool is flexible with timings, meaning you can plan your evening to suit you. Enjoy mouth-watering traditional buffets, between a delicious soup and indulgent dessert. Vegetarian options are also available.

Embark on an exciting game drive and see the Linyanti Reserve’s amazing wildlife up close. Drive up to large herds of elephants and get a sense of their immense size from the safety of the specialised safari vehicle. Weave around herds of buffalo and giraffe, and learn all about these extraordinary creatures from the camp’s knowledgeable guides.

King’s Pool also offers Night Drives along the channel. Night-time game drives offer the unique chance to find some of the reserve’s nocturnal creatures which you would be unable to find at any other time. The darkness adds an extra immersive element to this experience as you search for adorable bush babies, African wildcats and honey badgers.

Enjoy a leisurely trip along the Linyanti River aboard the Queen Silvia barge. Gaze along the beautiful waterways from the top deck of the barge and look out for hippos and elephants along the riverbanks. This activity is dependant on the river’s water level and may not always be available.

Wander across the grasslands and explore the Linyanti Reserve with an experienced guide. Venture to the places that safari vehicles cannot reach, and spy on incredible wildlife without the noise of an engine to startle them. The professional armed guides will be able to teach you about the fascinating species that live on the reserve, and how to recognise and follow their tracks.

Visit King Pool’s two photographic hides and capture incredible and candid wildlife photographs. Capture shots of elephants drinking and squirting water just a few feet away and the lagoon-view hide, and watch animals as they behave completely undisturbed. The photographic hides allow guests to snap a variety of images and get up close to the game without even having to leave the camp.

Enjoy a relaxing fishing activity by the Linyanti waterways. Fishing is dependant on the level of the water, and may not always be available. Reel in tilapia, bream and barbel, surrounded by the peaceful wilderness. Fishing is done on a catch-and-release basis.

The Linyanti Marshlands feature varied environments, both wet and dry, which provides a brilliant location for bird watching. The reserve has amazing bird viewing opportunities, with hundreds of species to see, including African Skimmers, Half-Collared Kingfishers and the elusive Pel’s Fishing Owl. Different birds may be available to spot depending on the season. For example, the green season brings in large numbers of Carmine Bee-Eaters as they migrate for the season.

King’s Pool is a Wilderness Safaris camp. Wilderness Safaris founded the Children in the Wilderness programme which aims to educate and inspire the next generation of environmental leaders by teaching them important life skills and about resolving environmental issues. This programme aims to “create a network of learning sanctuaries that uplifts and cares for our children and conserves the planet.”

Great numbers of children are involved in these programmes – 2,500 children attend rural, school-based clubs per year; more than 300 children per year are granted a scholarship which pays for their education and Wilderness Safaris and their partner destination host annual camps, which more than 500 children attend.

Wilderness Safaris created The Wilderness Wildlife Trust in 2003. This is an independent entity that fund-raises for money to be put into various conservation projects. This engages with projects which can be beyond the scope of the areas in which Wilderness Safaris operate, ensuring that “conservation is a driving force in reaching more people, wildlife and places.”

The Jao Concession and the University of Botswana have created a committee hoping to “encourage better engagement between local communities and the Jao Concession, specifically regarding curbing poaching and overfishing.” A total of 25 different projects are funded by the Trust annually, the past 10 years have seen the Trust finance more than 100 different projects throughout 8 different countries in Africa.

Whilst Wilderness Safaris contributes to these projects logistically, the Trust “is involved financially in the projects, supporting research, habitat management and community upliftment.”

Wilderness Safaris partner properties all work under the sustainability ethos of conservation, culture, commerce and community.

With no one inhabiting these rural areas of Africa, accurate recordings of species could not be undertaken. Wilderness Safaris are present throughout the whole year which allows them to provide not just financial support but also logistical support to anti-poaching initiatives. Due to their presence, wildlife numbers have increased dramatically with elephant, lechwe and puku growing markedly. The emphasis on ecotourism is changing lives “camps and lodges bring employment and training, opportunities for growth and travel, and exposure to another world.”

More than 85% of Wilderness Safaris’ camp staff come from remote and rural local communities and their role with Wilderness Safaris ‘supports a further 7 people as a result of their employment while every lodge bed indirectly impacts no less than 14 rural people through other elements such as revenue share, procurement and additional services.’ As a result of this, ‘80% of our staff feel that tourism has resulted in a positive impact on their home village.’

One of the community projects that Wilderness Safaris has partnered with is Pack for a Purpose, “a non-profit organisation that provides travellers with up-to-date information about required supplies for community-based projects.”

Wilderness Safaris is working to reduce the energy and fuel consumption of all of their camps, and only use eco-friendly detergents and chemicals the prevent pollution. King’s Pool is entirely powered by solar energy and hot water is generated using solar panels and inverters. By utilising solar power, and making the most of Botswana’s sunny weather, King’s Pool is able to supply a clean and consistent source of energy without the need for diesel-powered generators which are harmful and disruptive to the surrounding wilderness and environment. Wastewater is treated by an above around sewage plant, making sure that it is clean before it is returned to the environment.

Wilderness Safaris works in partnership with Save the Rhino Trust and three separate Namibian conservancies to help conserve and protect the rare species of the desert-adapted black rhino. These rhinos play a vital role in shaping the landscape of Africa, by grazing lawns and vegetation they help protect plant biodiversity and keep the plains hospitable to other herbivore species.

Without them, whole ecosystems would begin to die out. Wilderness Safaris Desert Rhino Camp works specifically in partnership with Save the Rhino Trust and acts as a rhino monitoring post, as well as a camp, to help increase rhino security in an otherwise unmonitored area. Due to an increase in recruitment, Wilderness Safaris and their partners have “dramatically and sustainably increased the range of desert-adapted black rhino in the north-west.”

Wilderness Safaris serves to protect and conserve the land in which they operate. The continent of Africa is unique, with over 1000 different mammal species, fauna and humans living side by side. With a commitment to ecotourism, they are helping to conserve biodiversity. Currently, Wilderness Safaris helps to protect over 2.5 million hectares of the African wilderness, and in 2015 they were awarded a medal by the government of Botswana for Meritorious Service to the country. One of the ways in which they try to protect the environment is by making sure that their camps have a light footprint. Trying to achieve “purposeful luxury” their camps are all built with environmentally sensitive architecture. Understanding the fragility of the wilderness they operate in, they make sure they minimise any negative impact they might have on the environment and the camps are thoughtfully placed in locations where they don’t take away from the wilderness of the area.

Wilderness Safaris has partnered with the Lion Recovery Fund, along with other ecotourism operators, to launch the Lionscape Coalition. Established in 2017 by the Wildlife Conservation Network, The Lion Recovery Fund works alongside the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation in order to help re-establish lion populations. Due to habitat loss/fragmentation, poaching and human and wildlife conflict, lion populations have halved in numbers within the last 25 years. The Lionscape Coalition is an initiative that encourages ecotourism competitors to collaborate to show their dedication to conservation and restoring lion habitats.