Camp Moremi Rebuild | 360 Photo Tours | NEW Xugana Island Lodge Activities

NOVEMBER 2016 INDUSTRY UPDATE

Before getting into this month's latest updates we are thrilled to announce that we have won the Conservation and Sustainability Award at the 2016 PURE Life Experiences Conference. This recognition and award is for our electric safari fleet at Chobe Game Lodge consisting of four game viewers and three boats. As the only fleet of its kind in Africa we are extremely proud of this project and we are very excited about the positive impact these vehicles and boats are having not only on the natural environment but more so on the superior safari experience they offer our guests at Chobe Game Lodge with silent, CO2 emission free activities.

After a long journey in a suitcase around the world, Desert & Delta Safaris are delighted to say the PURE award has made it home to Chobe Game Lodge.

Date Change for Camp Moremi Refurbishment & Rebuild

Desert & Delta Safaris wishes to announce the postponement of the rebuild project for Camp Moremi which was intended to commence at the start of January 2017. A refurbishment of the existing rooms will now take place in February 2017 with a complete rebuild planned for December 2017 to mid-April 2018.

Refurbishment of existing rooms - February 2017

amp Moremi will close from 01 to 28 February 2017 at which time refurbishment of the existing rooms will take place. This refurbishment will entail a full internal soft refurbishment in all rooms. The existing rooms will be redesigned to incorporate new expansive stacking doors, adding improved light, ventilation and views. The foyer areas will be improved, with added windows, ventilation and décor will enhance the living experience and views from the room.

Complete Rebuild of Camp Moremi - December 2017 to mid-April 2018
Being in a National Park and a world heritage site we are engaged with all relevant departments to ensure we meet all environmental requirements. We anticipate that the necessary permission to commence the desired rebuild will be granted by 01 December 2017, at which time the entire camp will be demolished and completely rebuilt to open as a new Camp Moremi by mid-April 2018.

Stay tuned for further updates, we will continue to communicate with our industry colleagues on the progression and our intended plans as and when we are able to do so. We are very excited about the prospects for Camp Moremi and are looking forward to updating you on the progress along the way.

New Activities offered at Xugana Island Lodge

As we approach the rainy season in Botswana, the water levels in the Okavango Delta have subsided sufficiently enough to allow for us to place two game drive vehicles at Xugana Island Lodge.

With the lower water levels, we are now able to access a large area to the north of the lodge which has been delivering excellent game sightings. In particular, we have seen good numbers of Sable and Roan antelope which are a highlight. Game drive activities will be offered as an activity choice from Xugana Island Lodge until such time that the water levels from local rains and the next Okavango Delta annual flood restricts us from doing so again.

With this additional activity, it is important to note that Xugana Island Lodge continues to offer boat, mokoro and walking activities as its core activity base focusing on the unique delta experience.

360° Virtual Images

This year we embarked on an exciting project to create immersive 360 degree images throughout each of our eight safari lodges. The new images offer you and your guests the opportunity to explore our properties virtually through a collection of images covering everything from the guest room interiors to the main features of each lodge.

All of these images are available on google maps, the Desert & Delta Safaris website, Wetu, and via our Dropbox folder for you to use in your online content strategies. To discover how best to use these images, please read more below:

Embedding Images

We have loaded all the 360 degree images onto google maps as the central point for using the photos. To find these simply search for the relevant lodge on google maps and click on the small orange man at the bottom right of your screen to reveal the images. Once you have located the images you can directly share the link's with your potential travelers so they can enjoy a virtual tour of the properties.

We have also included these images in our brochures on the popular Wetu platform making it easy for you to include in your itineraries if you are using Wetu for your quotations and itineraries. These can be found in the virtual brochures for each of our lodges.

If you wish to embed our 360 images onto your website or other online platforms you are welcome to do so. To do this simply select the google image you wish to embed, position what you want your viewers to see first and copy the embed coding under the share or embed link.

360 Images on Facebook
With Facebook now recognizing 360 degree images in their feeds, these images are an excellent way to create engaging content for your followers.

In light of this, we would like to make these images available for you to use on your own Facebook pages. To do this, simply download the images directly off our Dropbox link. The images can be found under the relevant camp's 360 degree folder. Please note that these images are compressed for use in social media and not ideal for loading onto websites.

Should you require any assistance with our 360 degree images please feel free to contact Stuart at [email protected] . Should you need full high res images we will gladly assist with this.

Ultimate Family Safari Packages

We would like to take this opportunity to remind you of our Ultimate Family Safari Packages launched earlier this year which coincided with the opening of family rooms at Chobe Game Lodge, Savute Safari Lodge, Camp Okavango, and Camp Moremi.

All the Ultimate Family Safari Packages, with 4 night, 6 night, and 8 night options, are fully inclusive as per our standard rates and include all scheduled charters between camps, operating to/from Maun and/or Kasane in both directions. Importantly our Ultimate Family Safari Packages include a private guide allowing for greater flexibility on activities and daily safari schedules.

Furthermore, each property has a dedicated "Safari Hero", a staff member in camp, whose attention and function is dedicated to the planning of flexible safari activities and experiences for the family. This ensures that children are kept busy while in camp doing a variety of activities which interest them while at the same time giving them an opportunity to connect with our staff.

More information on our Ultimate Family Safari Packages can be found on our website through the above link.

If you have any queries on our latest updates or need any further assistance please do not hesitate to contact our marketing team on [email protected].

Kind Regards,
Walter, James, Stuart and the Desert & Delta Safaris team.

Desert & Delta Safaris

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