DROTSKY'S CABINS
Situated on the banks of the Okavango River in the panhandle of the Delta, Drotsky’s Cabins is set amidst lush green lawns and tall, shady indigenous trees. Thirty years ago, Jan and Eileen Drotsky put their roots down here, and today still own and manage the Cabins, one of the first lodges in Botswana, together with a luxury tented camp further downriver, called Xaro Lodge.
Guests are accommodated in luxurious air-conditioned wooden chalets, or for the more adventurous there are 20 spacious campsites nestling under large, shady jackal berry and other indigenous trees.
The area is a birding and fishing paradise. Drotsky’s is the ideal stop over for tourists en route from or to Namibia and a wonderful place to relax for a few days while enjoying a boat cruise on the Okavango River, or visit the nearby World Heritage Site of Tsodilo Hills and Mahangu National Park.
Bird life is abundant at Drotsky’s, and the staff will be quick to point out their local specials such as the Brown Firefinch and White-backed Night Heron, or the haunting call of Pel’s Fishing Owl.
A boat cruise from Drotsky’s is the perfect way to witness the feeding frenzy of the Barbel Run, taking place from August to October each year. Thousands of barbel swim upstream in the Okavango River, slapping their tails to create confusion amongst the smaller fish species, which soon becomes the barbel’s next meal. The ever opportunistic tiger fish join in the hunt, while hundreds of Egrets, Darters and Cormorant follow suite, and keen fishermen cast their lines and try to hook “the big one”.
The lodge supports the local community by buying their fresh produce in the nearby village of Shakawe, and three delicious meals per day are served in the restaurant overlooking the Okavango River.