Wilderness Safaris is slated to open Qorokwe Camp, a new Wilderness Safaris Classic Camp in the 64,692-acre Qorokwe Concession in Botswana, this December.
Designed by lead architect Joy Brasler and interior designer Michelle Throssell, Qorokwe Camp is located along the banks of a lagoon. The nine tented suites, one of which is a family suite with its own splash pool, and the main area, which comprises a dining area, lounge, library, bar and infinity swimming pool, will be built on raised decked platforms (about six feet off the ground).
According to Brasler, materials chosen to build the camp include steel frames with infill panels to insulate against heat and cold, canvas and timber decks. Detailed timber ceilings are perforated with light to mimic the experience of being beneath the trees at the side of the lagoon so that the entire camp experience blends in with its natural surroundings.
The colors and materials were inspired by the Botswana landscape, Throssel said, resulting in a mix of bleached timbers, darker stains and accents of rust and burnt orange.
Qorokwe will be 100 percent solar-powered and all water will be heated by means of thermodynamic solar geysers, helping to mitigate the camp’s carbon emissions.
Owned by the Maun-based Calitz family, the Qorokwe (meaning “the place where the buffalo broke through the bush into the water”) Concession is a mix of Okavango habitats. Qorokwe’s landscape includes scattered acacia and mopane woodlands, open seasonal and permanent floodplains, and is fringed on either side by the channels and islands along the Gomoti and Santantadibe Channels.