New Safari Lodge Openings to Look Forward to in 2024

A range of luxury properties is set to launch throughout the year, enhancing the caliber of Africa’s safari hospitality accommodation. Take a look at what some of Discover Africa’s partners have in the works, with lodge openings in Botswana’s Okavango Delta, South Africa’s Wild Coast and Namibia’s Damaraland leading the charge. 

We’ll keep updating this list, so add it to your bookmarks to keep tabs on new destinations to experience in Africa.    

Atzaro Camp, Okavango Delta, Botswana – March 2024

Opening in the second quarter of 2024, Atzaro Camp will immerse guests in one of the continent’s last great natural sanctuaries, Botswana’s Okavango Delta. 

With eight luxury suites and two double luxury family suites, it incorporates eco-conscious design, with the camp built chiefly with recycled materials. The main area of the lodge overlooks a lagoon. Private plunge pools come standard, with amenities including access to sky beds for candle-lit dinners and stargazing, an Ancestral Boma, and a wine bar. 

Expert  African Bush Camp Guides will take guests on wildlife adventures. Added experiences to look forward to are helicopter safaris and mokoro (traditional canoe) expeditions. 

Daunara Safari Camp, Okavango Delta, Botswana – April 2024

This owner-run camp will offer an intimate experience in the heart of the Okavango Delta with a maximum of 10 guests. The camp has three couple suites and one family suite. Daunara will also offer guests the opportunity to experience the Southern part of Botswana’s Delta from the air, with a 25-minute helicopter flight transfer from Maun available as an alternative to its two-hour road transfer.

Farm-to-table style dining includes a private chef able to accommodate guests’ dietary requirements. There is also a strong focus on community partnership and conservation outreach programs.

Natural Selection GweGwe Beach Lodge, Wild Coast, South Africa –  April 2024

GweGwe is one of two new lodge offerings from Natural Selection, an established group of owner-operated safari lodges across Southern Africa.

GweGwe beach lodge, set along South Africa’s Wild Coast, will open in April. The facilities will include nine ensuite rooms (seven twin deluxe suites and two family suites), each with a private deck and plunge pool offering ocean views.

Set within the 7,500-hectare Mkambati Nature Reserve, this lodge appeals to outdoor adventurers and eco-travellers looking to connect with nature. Activities include shore-based whale watching or snorkeling with the marine life found on this protected coastline.

A seasonal highlight is the annual Sardine Run, which is expected to run from 16 June to 10 July 2025.

Natural Selection Tawana, Moremi Game Reserve, Botswana – May 2024

As the second opening in 2024 from Natural Selection, Tawana will add Botswana’s game-rich South-eastern sector to the hospitality brand’s portfolio, which includes Jack’s Camp, Tuludi, and North Island Okavango across Northern Botswana.

Founded on the region’s rich cultural heritage, Tawana is a partnership between Natural Selection and the Batawana tribe and its Chief, Tawana Moremi. The partnership looks to preserve the pristine ecosystem for future generations, while providing much-needed opportunities for the community.

The unfenced lodge, with eight suites, is designed to offer an immersive escape into the Moremi Game Reserve. The suites, including three family rooms, are set across approximately 100 square metres (130 square metres for family units) and have a separate lounge area, private terrace, and plunge pool.

Singita Milele, Serengeti, Tanzania – May 2024

Renowned hospitality brand Singita, operators of lodges in Sabi Sand close to South Africa’s Kruger, Grumeti in the Serengeti, will add Milele to its Tanzanian offering in May.

With five suites able to accommodate ten guests, the lodge’s design aims to capture the raw energy and visual appeal of the region’s wildlife. Suites include large terraces and decks, dressing rooms, outdoor showers, and views of the savannas below.

Experiences on offer include Anti-Poaching Observation Post visits and a focus on the Grumeti Fund Community Outreach Program, involving residents of the 21 villages bordering Singita Grumeti.

Miele hospitality experiences will include Singita’s award-winning selection of wines, managed by its wine team in Stellenbosch, which is responsible for the selection, purchase, storage, and service of all the wines across the brand’s lodges.

Wilderness Desert Rhino Camp, Damaraland, Namibia – July 2024 

Wilderness was recently rebranded from Wilderness Safaris, with conservation tourism continuing to drive its focus. The hospitality brand is rebuilding its Desert Rhino Camp, which is set to reopen in the Namib Desert in July. This camp will have eight Meru-style tents with viewing decks to make the most of the stark, beautiful, rocky wilderness.

The hospitality brand’s impactful tourism initiatives stem back to 1983, and this camp is a vital base for its partner Save the Rhino Trust. The conservation trust’s tracking teams collect data from here for one of the region’s largest, longest-running black rhino databases in the world.

Guests can follow free-ranging populations of critically endangered desert-adapted black rhinos and lions across the Damaraland plains as they learn about their unique survival skills in this harshly beautiful environment.

Great Plains Conservation Mara Toto Tree Camp, Masai Mara, Kenya –  July 2024  

Founded by National Geographic wildlife filmmakers Dereck and Beverly Joubert, Great Plains Conservation focuses on eco-tourism as part of its conservation mission.

Mara Toto Tree Camp in Kenya is a seasonal camp located a few kilometres from its sister camps – Mara Plains Camp and Mara Expedition Camp. After its recent refurbishment, it will reopen in July, catering to eight guests.

The camp consists of four tents constructed from canvas and wood, set on elevated decks in the treetops, complete with ensuite bathrooms.

Guests can make the most of wildlife viewing in the Maasai Mara, which peaks with the 50,000-strong wildebeest migration as far as the eye can see across the 28,000-hectare Mara North Conservancy. Next, the green season migration from Loita Planes sees more than 100,000 zebras adding to the dazzling spectacle.

Explore Discover Africa to plan your bucket list bush experience. Not sure when to go? Check this Seasonal Safari Calendar or try this handy Safari Cost Estimator.