In Africa, luxury isn’t just about plunge pools or gourmet dinners; it’s about space. The kind of space where you can watch elephants cross a river without another safari vehicle in sight or sit under a star-splashed sky without a single generator hum.
Image used for illustrative purposes/David Clode/Unsplash
For travellers chasing real remoteness, these five camps across Botswana, Tanzania, Namibia, and Zambia promise that rare safari luxury: the feeling that you’re the only guest.
1. Mokete Camp, Botswana
Where: Mababe Concession, between the Okavango Delta and Chobe
The Okavango Delta may be world-famous, but few make it to the Mababe Concession, a private wilderness stretching over 50,000 hectares. Wilderness Mokete is the only camp here, so you’re surrounded by wetlands, mopane woodlands, and sweeping grasslands without a neighbour in sight.
With just nine elevated tented suites (some with retractable roofs for stargazing from bed), you’ll wake to buffalo herds and the occasional lion roar. Days here move at a slow rhythm: morning drives after elephants, siestas in your plunge pool, and evening sundowners with nothing but a horizon of golden floodplains.
2. Greystoke Mahale, Tanzania
Where: Mahale Mountains National Park, Lake Tanganyika
Forget 4x4s — reaching Greystoke Mahale is an adventure in itself: fly into Mahale, then glide by dhow boat along Lake Tanganyika to reach a palm-fringed beach backed by rainforest.
The camp’s six bandas, built from reclaimed dhow timber, melt into the shoreline. Days are spent hiking into the forest to track wild chimpanzees, one of the most intimate wildlife encounters in Africa. When you’re not with chimps, paddle out on a kayak or simply laze on the beach. With only a handful of fellow guests and no roads anywhere near, it feels like you’ve stumbled into your own private Eden.
3. Okahirongo River Camp, Namibia
Where: Kaokoland, far north-west Namibia
If silence has a capital, it’s Kaokoland. Perched above the Kunene River, Okahirongo River Camp is as remote as it gets — six tents and one family suite overlooking a desert canyon where the night sky unfurls with ferocious clarity.
This corner of Namibia is home to desert-adapted elephants, giraffe and oryx, and the Himba people who still live semi-nomadically in the valleys. Activities are simple and raw: boat trips along the Kunene, hikes into the sandstone hills, or slow afternoons listening to the river. Here, solitude isn’t staged — it’s a way of life.
4. Takwela Camp, Zambia
Where: North Luangwa National Park
South Luangwa has long been on the safari circuit, but its quieter sibling, North Luangwa, remains virtually untouched. Takwela Camp sits at the confluence of the Mwaleshi and Luangwa Rivers, with just four thatched chalets.
The focus here is walking safaris — a Zambian speciality — led by expert guides through terrain where lion tracks are fresher than any tyre mark. Wildlife sightings are intense, from great herds of buffalo to endemic Cookson’s wildebeest, but you’ll likely have them all to yourself. With so few visitors in the park, solitude is the default.
5. Nkasa Linyanti Camp, Namibia
Where: Nkasa Rupara National Park, Zambezi Region
Think Namibia and you imagine dunes and deserts — but in the far northeast, Nkasa Rupara is a different world: rivers, floodplains, and lush wetlands more akin to the Okavango. Part of the Linyanti-Selinda conservation corridor, it’s a haven for elephants, hippos, buffalo, and abundant birdlife, and you’ll likely have it almost entirely to yourself.
At the heart of this wilderness is Nkasa Linyanti, set on a private concession between the Kwando and Linyanti rivers. When it opens in May 2026, this luxury tented camp will be the only one on Nkasa Island, offering sweeping floodplain views and one of the most secluded ways to experience Namibia’s wetlands.
Planning your escape
Remote camps require a little more effort: longer flights, bumpy road transfers, sometimes even a boat ride or two. But that’s the price of solitude. For safari purists, these journeys are part of the adventure — each kilometre strips away the noise of the world until only wild Africa remains.
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