Gudigwa Camp
Gudigwa Camp offers guests on safari the opportunity to experience the cultural richness of Botswana. Gudigwa village is a settlement of 800 "Bukakhwe" San Bushman or people of the dry country. The Bukakhwe people are indigenous to the Okavango Delta, and though their physical attributes vary from the Bushman tribes of the Kalahari, their traditional ways of living off the land are very much the same. The Gudigwa experience highlights the intimate connection between the Bukakhwe people's cultural heritage and the natural environment. By sharing this linkage with their guests, they are reviving a dying culture and passing on intricate knowledge to the future generations within the village. Activities focus around various aspects of both traditional and modern life in Botswana. Walks reveal the secrets of the bush and guests learn about the medicinal uses of plants, discover where to find underground water, and are given basic tips of how to survive off of nature's abundant resources.
Villagers perform traditional dances and songs, tell animated stories in their mother tongue - a language of "clicks" and guttural tones - and cook local dishes for guests to sample. Guests stay in large, cozy grass huts made from local materials and modeled after traditional bushman shelters. Each of the eight units has comfortable beds and linen, solar lighting and its own open-air toilet and hot shower. This camp and its activities take place three miles away from the Gudigwa community so as not to disturb the daily life of the people. Guests are welcome to take a quick tour of the village. As the largest remaining Bushman village in Botswana, the Gudigwa people are proud to be reviving their culture that is rapidly changing due to modernization, and to be promoting cross-cultural exchange with the rest of the world.