MELBOURNE, 20 November 2025: Baines’ Lodge, an A&K Sanctuary, has reopened following a complete rebuild that pays tribute to the 19th-century explorer-artist whose watercolours first captured southern Africa’s wilderness for the world.
The six-suite property in Botswana’s Okavango Delta, A&K Sanctuary’s smallest and most intimate, combines sustainability-focused design with meticulous craftsmanship to create what designers describe as a “living gallery” where the delta itself becomes the artwork.
Perched on the floodplains of the Boro River at the edge of the Moremi Game Reserve, the rebuilt lodge draws inspiration from Thomas Baines’ artistic legacy. Working in partnership with Luxury Frontiers, the design team has created spaces that frame views of the wetland with such intention that the landscape reads like a series of paintings.
Architecture as a gallery
The lodge operates under a concept designers describe as an “African pavilion gallery.” Open-plan spaces defined by columns rather than walls create fluid transitions between indoors and outdoors. Raised on stilts and linked by wooden walkways, the six suites and communal areas have a distinctly nautical feel, transplanted into the reedy, wildlife-rich water-world of the delta.
Explore the delta
The lodge’s Explorer’s Lounge is equipped with spotting scopes, interactive maps and a library, whilst Leica binoculars are provided at check-in for wildlife viewing from private decks. A swimming pool extends the watery theme, with sweeping delta views from sun loungers.
Game drives in the early morning and late afternoon explore one of Africa’s most biodiverse habitats. The Okavango Delta’s wildlife populations are extraordinary: Elephants move through the channels in significant numbers, whilst lions, leopards and wild dogs hold territories across the concession. When seasonal floods transform the landscape between May and September, the 5,800-square-mile patchwork of waterways attracts concentrations of resident and migratory birdlife.
When water levels permit, traditional mokoro canoe excursions and motorised boat trips offer different perspectives on the delta’s wetland ecology. Scenic helicopter flights reveal the vast scale from above.
Baines’ Lodge is now accepting bookings. Minimum guest age is 16. The property can be experienced as part of A&K’s signature journeys: A&K Sanctuary Safari — Victoria Falls to the Okavango Delta, or Safari Odyssey Across Southern Africa.
About AKTG (Abercrombie & Kent Travel Group)
AKTG is a global lifestyle and travel company encompassing premier travel brands, including Abercrombie & Kent, Crystal, Cox & Kings, and Ecoventura, as well as strategic investments in other travel companies.
About Abercrombie & Kent
Abercrombie & Kent pioneered luxury adventure travel with its first African safaris in 1962.
About A&K Sanctuary
A&K Sanctuary, part of the A&K Travel Group family, owns and operates luxury safari camps and lodges across Eastern and Southern Africa, as well as riverboats in Egypt and Peru.
(Source: A&K)
