The Duke and Ditches of Sussex may not be coming to Botswana for their honeymoon, but the country’s tour operators are rubbing their hands gleefully in anticipation of a multi-million pula windfall from the hype surrounding the royal honey moon.
The royal wedding between Prince Harry and Meghan broke the social network with 151 million entries on Google, making it the most read about news item in recent times, and Botswana had the best of it.
While the whole world was speculating on where the royal couple would have its honeymoon, names of Botswana lodges in the Okavango Delta were on the lips of most royal family watchers.
The UK Telegraph ran an article under the headline, “Is this Harry and Meghan’s honeymoon hotel?” in which they showcased 11 of Botswana’s lodges in the Okavango Delta. Stories about Harry and Meghan’s possible honeymoon in Botswana were carried by big publications throughout the world among them Vanity Fair, ELLE magazine, E, Online, Hello Canada, the New Yorker, the British Sun, the British Mirror, Reuters, Cosmopolitan Australia and China evening News.
For weeks now, millions of international eyes have been on Botswana and the Okavango Delta as the country dazzles from the glow of Prince Harry and Meghan’s stardust.
Although not certain as to where the royal pair will honeymoon, it seems all roads will likely lead to Africa. It is reported that Botswana has been ruled out as one of the contenders mainly because the pair celebrated Meghan’s 36th birthday last August here. It is in Botswana where their love blossomed, where they vacationed before the engagement and where Prince Harry bought the centre diamond for Meghan’s ring.
Ruled out or not, Botswana however has been getting the biggest media coverage on the courtship and honeymoon between Harry and Meghan. Among the country’s tourist hotspots which have been making international headlines are The Ngoma Safari Lodge, set within the Chobe Forest Reserve, bordering the Chobe National Park and overlooking the Chobe River, Ngoma Safari Lodge offers panoramic views of the river and the floodplain where each of the suites boasts a view of the river and offers an opportunity to see the famous Chobe elephant, as well as other wildlife, on the floodplain. A viewing platform provides game viewing opportunities without leaving the comfort of the lodge.
Meno A Kwena lodge, a camp of luxury tents overlooking the Boteti river where guests often hear the roar of lions during the night and the chefs prepare dinner over an open fire, dubbed an extremely romantic destination, visitors are guaranteed a spectacular sunset almost every night.
Mapula Lodge, The landscape is iconic in all its Delta-esque beauty. It’s a pristine wilderness of floodplains and grasslands, lagoons and palm-strewn islands, and the diverse habitats support an extraordinary range of wildlife. It truly is one of the most unique wetland areas in the world, unchanged for centuries, and, in our eyes (and many others!) one of the best safari destinations there is.
Mombo Camp, newly-built, the camp’s location ÔÇô in the Mombo Concession on the northern tip of Chief’s Island within Moremi Game Reserve ÔÇô is known as “the Place of Plenty” as it is considered one of the best areas for wildlife in Africa. The area boasts enormous concentrations of plains game and predators which begin virtually on Mombo’s decks, the surrounding floodplains teeming with game year round.
