Xudumela exists because the southern boundary of the Okavango Delta is one of the least‑protected ecological transition zones in the region. We hold a private title over seven hundred and eight hectares and treat it as a working conservancy, not a hotel. Every fence we don't build, every road we don't open, every additional tent we choose not to add, is a deliberate decision in favour of the land.
Seven hundred and eight hectares of riverine bush, miombo woodland, and seasonal floodplain. Inside the boundary there are no fences, no roads above one‑track width, and no fixed game drives.
A two‑person anti‑poaching team works the boundary on rotation, twenty‑four hours, three hundred and sixty‑five days. Coordinated with the Botswana Department of Wildlife and the Maun Anti‑Poaching Unit.
The full ledger of how the conservation levy is spent is published as the annual conservancy report each March. Audited by an independent firm out of Gaborone.
One hundred percent of the conservation levy on every booking goes to the Connect Trust. The Trust is a Botswana‑registered NGO running three programmes in the Okavango region: anti‑poaching support, school field‑trip subsidies, and a Maun guide bursary for young Batswana entering the safari industry. No part of the levy is used to subsidise our room rate.
The land kept,hour by hour.
Patrol, presence, protection. Funded by every guest, every night.
The current operating year, drawn from the 2025 conservancy report and the 2026 mid‑year statement. All figures published in full in the journal.
The conservancy works alongside government bodies, a regional wildlife trust, a research collaboration with the University of Botswana, and the network of suppliers who make Poachella possible each October. Most are named on the festival contract; the rest are named in the annual report.
Conservation is not a marketing department. It is a payroll, a fuel budget, two old bakkies, an antenna on the south boundary, and four hundred kilometres of patrol track every fortnight. Every guest who sleeps here pays for the next round of fuel. That is the deal. We do not dress it up.