By Roxanne Reid
If you visit Xigera Camp once the floodwaters have arrived in this part of Botswana’s Okavango Delta, the last section of your journey will be by small boat. Here in a pristine and remote wilderness you’ll find camp staff gathered on the bridge above the jetty to wave and sing their welcome – a delightful custom at Wilderness Safaris camps.
If you visit Xigera Camp once the floodwaters have arrived in this part of Botswana’s Okavango Delta, the last section of your journey will be by small boat. Here in a pristine and remote wilderness you’ll find camp staff gathered on the bridge above the jetty to wave and sing their welcome – a delightful custom at Wilderness Safaris camps.
If front of house supervisor Carlos Mathata Mbinda is in camp, he’ll be among the welcoming party, maybe even the one who grabs the rope to anchor your boat and see you safely on to land.
A softly spoken man with a ready smile, he’s been at Xigera Camp for just a handful of months. But his knowledge of the expected Wilderness Safaris norms is already well-engrained. After all, he started work at their camp in the Central Kalahari back in 2009 and has been quietly absorbing it all since then. He’s currently a level 2 supervisor.
A softly spoken man with a ready smile, he’s been at Xigera Camp for just a handful of months. But his knowledge of the expected Wilderness Safaris norms is already well-engrained. After all, he started work at their camp in the Central Kalahari back in 2009 and has been quietly absorbing it all since then. He’s currently a level 2 supervisor.
‘Here at Xigera, my job means checking that waiters and bartenders are doing their work to the Wilderness Safaris standards. I also give a hand wherever I see it’s needed,’ he says. And that may be anything from mixing drinks to lugging heavy boxes of supplies.
He’s the man in the middle too, responsible for liaising between the office and front of house staff so that they’re all on the same wavelength about what needs to be done. And that’s not as simple as it sounds. I’ve been at a camp in the past (not Wilderness Safaris, I hasten to add!) where this communication had broken down and people – both staff and guests – first became muddled and then rattled. It’s Carlos’s job to make sure this doesn’t happen at Xigera and that everything flows smoothly.
He’s the man in the middle too, responsible for liaising between the office and front of house staff so that they’re all on the same wavelength about what needs to be done. And that’s not as simple as it sounds. I’ve been at a camp in the past (not Wilderness Safaris, I hasten to add!) where this communication had broken down and people – both staff and guests – first became muddled and then rattled. It’s Carlos’s job to make sure this doesn’t happen at Xigera and that everything flows smoothly.
He’s diplomatic enough to claim there isn’t a single part of his job he hates. But he does cop to a favourite: ‘I love mixing cocktails and chatting to the guests, sitting and having dinner or brunch with them.’ Perhaps guests sometimes have strange requests or are a little picky, but he’s too much of a gentleman to mention any of that.
Staff talk over the plan for the day after the guests have left on their morning activity
As for the future, Carlos’s ambition is to start training to be a manager. ‘In Wilderness Safaris the doors are open for us to grow,’ he says. ‘If you prove that you want to grow they will encourage you, but you can set your own pace.’
Already he has the calm assurance and courteous manner associated with good managers. Throw in some hard work and determination and this dream could become a reality.
* This is part of a series called Voices of Botswana, which shares the stories of some of the people we met on our Botswana adventure.
You may also enjoy
Voices of Botswana: Xigera’s smiling chef
Voices of Botswana: the eco guide
Copyright © Roxanne Reid - No words or photographs on this site may be used without permission from roxannereid.co.za
Already he has the calm assurance and courteous manner associated with good managers. Throw in some hard work and determination and this dream could become a reality.
* This is part of a series called Voices of Botswana, which shares the stories of some of the people we met on our Botswana adventure.
You may also enjoy
Voices of Botswana: Xigera’s smiling chef
Voices of Botswana: the eco guide
Copyright © Roxanne Reid - No words or photographs on this site may be used without permission from roxannereid.co.za
