Mababe

Mababe is a very small village in the east of North-West District, on the sand track that links Maun with Savuti. The 2001 census counted 157 people, and it has a primary school. It sits inside NG41, the community trust’s concession, which takes in a stretch of the Khwai River. Beyond lies the Mababe Depression, marshy grassland and mopane between Moremi and Chobe.

Getting there

From Maun the tar ends at Shorobe. A driver on the 4x4 Community forum put the next stretch, in September 2022, at around 25 km of bad corrugations to the veterinary gate, then about 60 km on to Mababe. There was deep water on the road just before the village that year. The advice was to take the track near the water, not the one by the power lines, which is deep sand.

Past the village you cross a steel bridge and reach Mababe Gate. Wikivoyage puts the village 9 km from the gate, the forum driver about 12 km. From the gate two tracks run north to Savuti, the sand-ridge road (deep sand) and the marsh road (bumpy). Savuti is 50 to 60 km on. Ask at the gate which track is in better shape.

Lodge guests mostly skip the drive. Hideaways quotes two to two and a half hours by road from Maun airport to Mogotlho. Bush Ways collects its guests at Khwai Airstrip. Mokete guests fly from Maun to Santawani airstrip and finish by helicopter.

When to go

July to October is the dry season and the time for game. November to March is greener and better for birds, and the tracks turn muddy. Mogotlho stays open all year. Mababe Tented Camp is seasonal, and Bush Ways lists it from April to the end of November.

What to do

Game drives, from the lodges. The depression is known for buffalo, in herds that Wilderness counts in the thousands, and for the lion, hyena and wild dog that hunt them. Elephant, giraffe and zebra are common too. It is a recognised Important Bird Area, strong on raptors.

I found three camps taking guests. Mogotlho Safari Lodge has 13 tented suites on the Khwai River and offers night drives, and mokoro trips when the water allows. Mababe Tented Camp, eight tents, was announced for an April 2026 opening. Wilderness Mokete, nine tents beside the depression, opened in July 2024. Most of its staff come from the village, about 40 minutes away across the marsh.

The trust also had three community camps, reopened in late 2018 after a refit. By November 2020 the Daily News reported them not operating and I found nothing newer, so confirm before counting on one.

Good to know

This is malaria country. The CDC lists Ngamiland among Botswana’s transmission areas and recommends tablets, so see a travel clinic first. You need a 4x4 for the sand. Wikivoyage says there is no filling station on the direct route between Maun and Kasane and that supplies inside Chobe are poor, so leave Maun with full tanks, spare fuel and your own food and water. Gate times and park fees are on the Chobe page.

Last updated 12 October 2026. Sources: Wikipedia, Mababe (district, primary school, 2001 census population), Botswana Daily News, Mababe trust resumes campsite operations (28 January 2019), Botswana Daily News, Mababe trust board on leases and plots, village inside NG41 (1 November 2020), US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Botswana (malaria transmission areas), Wikivoyage (German), Chobe-Nationalpark (Mababe Gate distances, deep sand, supplies, no filling station between Kasane and Maun), Wikipedia, Chobe National Park (Savuti Marsh distance from Mababe Gate, 4x4, sand and mud), 4x4 Community forum, Maun to Khwai and Savuti road conditions (post of 14 October 2022), Hideaways, Mogotlho Safari Lodge (NG41, Khwai River, transfer time from Maun, tents, seasons, activities), Wilderness, press release on Mokete (30 June 2024; opening, trust, buffalo and predators, Important Bird Area, tents), AFAR, review of Wilderness Mokete (12 December 2024; setting, wildlife, access, staff from Mababe village), Tourism Update, New tented camp opens in Botswana (31 March 2026; planned April 2026 opening, eight tents), Bush Ways, Mababe Tented Camp (tents, activities, season dates, Khwai Airstrip transfers).