About Leon Safaris

A Considered Approach to Wilderness

Leon Safaris was created with a clear intention.
To offer safari as it was meant to be experienced. Grounded. Immersive. Intelligent.

In a world where wilderness is increasingly filtered through comfort and spectacle, we chose restraint. We chose depth over scale. We chose mobility over permanence. We chose guiding standards over personality.

Botswana remains one of Africa’s last great wilderness strongholds. Vast, lightly populated and ecologically intact. To operate here demands responsibility. It demands understanding of season, water, migration and predator movement. It demands patience.

Leon Safaris exists to move within this wilderness carefully and deliberately.

Leon Safaris was founded by Leon Oppedal, whose connection to Botswana was shaped not by theory, but by time spent in the field.

Years of working across diverse ecosystems, from arid salt pans to delta floodplains, formed a clear understanding of what safari should feel like. Not hurried. Not crowded. Not overbuilt. The most meaningful experiences were always the simplest. Canvas on the earth. Strong guiding. Small groups. Space to breathe.

Leon’s vision was never to build scale. It was to build standard.

He recognised that true luxury in wilderness is not excess, but access. Access to exceptional guiding. Access to seasonal movement. Access to landscapes where infrastructure does not overpower the environment.

The evolution toward the 2027 Under Canvas Collection reflects this belief. Ultra intimate three tent camps. Fully removable structures. No raised decks. No permanence. Each camp positioned with intention in areas of ecological significance.

The focus remains consistent across both mobile expeditions and Under Canvas camps. Guiding must be exceptional. The footprint must remain light. The experience must feel immersive and deeply considered.

Leon Safaris is not built around personality. It is built around principle.

The principle that wilderness should remain dominant.
And that safari, when done correctly, becomes something far more meaningful than travel.

The Founder Vision

The Strength Behind Every Journey.

At Leon Safaris, sustainability is not an add on. It is embedded within the structure of the company and carried into the field every day.

Our Sustainability Manager, Katlego Tebele, leads environmental oversight across all camps and expeditions. Her approach is shaped by both professional experience and personal history. Having worked in safari camps and hotels, she understands operational systems from the inside, from back of house logistics to guest experience standards. Sustainability, in her leadership, is practical and measurable.

Katlego grew up within a mobile safari family, where movement across ecosystems and minimal impact on the land were part of daily life. This early foundation informs her work today. She understands that mobility requires discipline. That light footprint design requires constant monitoring. That wilderness protection depends on consistency, not intention alone.

She works closely with camp management and guiding teams to ensure that fully removable infrastructure remains truly temporary, that waste is responsibly separated and removed, that water usage is carefully managed, and that supply chains align with environmental responsibility. Her oversight extends beyond policy into daily operational practice.

In Botswana’s fragile ecosystems, stewardship requires more than philosophy. It requires structure, accountability and continuity.

At Leon Safaris, sustainability is not a statement.
It is leadership in action.

Sustainability Leadership

About Leon Safaris

Looking Forward

Leon Safaris continues to evolve with intention.

The 2027 Under Canvas Collection represents the next expression of our philosophy. Three ultra intimate camps, each limited to three tents, positioned in exceptional wilderness areas and designed with fully removable infrastructure. No permanence. No excess. Only refined immersion.

As we move toward this new chapter, we carry forward the standards shaped through years of mobile expeditions. The discipline of movement. The respect for season and ecosystem. The depth of guiding. The cohesion of a team accustomed to operating in dynamic environments.

The quality developed in our mobile safaris does not remain behind. It forms the foundation of the Under Canvas camps. The same guiding principles. The same operational precision. The same commitment to light footprint design. The same team culture built on professionalism and care.

Growth does not mean departure from our origins. It means refinement of them.

The future of Leon Safaris remains grounded in what has always defined it
mobility of mindset
excellence in guiding
and wilderness first thinking.

Because evolution should strengthen identity, not dilute it.