OUR STORY
A Life Built in the Wild
A timeless, life-changing experience through the window of nature.
Where It All Began
Our story does not begin with a business plan or blueprint. It begins in the heart, with an ancient calling to live close to the land.
In 1999, Benjamin Ruan Coetzer moved to Botswana with his wife, best friend, and pillar of strength, Danell Aletta Coetzer. They started life together in the capital, Gaborone. But the rhythm of city life never silenced the call of the wild.
Benjamin’s heart had long belonged to the Okavango Delta, ever since a night in 1980, lying beside a fire in Moremi, under a sky full of stars, sleeping on a bedroll in the dust. That moment stayed with him forever.
Danell joined him on the journey of a lifetime, and together they built a family.
A Family Forged in the Wild
Our daughter, Nika, with her striking red hair and fierce spirit, was born on August 7, 2003. Our son, Ruben, humble, adventurous, and remarkably focused, followed on November 11, 2004. Both were born at Gaborone Private Hospital.
In 2005, our lives were reshaped by grief when Benjamin’s sister passed away. Without hesitation, we embraced her children, Nakita (15) and Brenten (12) as our own. Not just by blood, but by love, commitment, and the unbreakable bond of family. Nakita was confused and lost. Brenten, emotional and angry. But together, we found our way.
Building from Raw Earth
By the end of 2006, they discovered a remote piece of land near Mohembo West, on the edge of the Mahango Game Reserve, where Namibia meets Botswana. Untouched. Wild. Full of promise. They knew it would become home.
There were no roads. No fuel. No internet. No reliable banking or fresh produce. Just a vision, four children, and a wilderness to shape.
We worked for three years with the Tawana Land Board before we were finally given the green light. And from nothing but raw earth, we began to build.
Timeless Innovation (Pty) Ltd, trading as Okavango Villa, was born, not as a lodge, but as a home first, business second.
Community & Classroom Without Walls
Together with the people of Mohembo West, we built more than walls. We built community. These were not employees, they were partners. Family. The beating heart of the Villa. We created the first jobs in a community where opportunity was scarce.
Every nail. Every brick. Every roof beam tells a story, of effort, resilience, and human connection.
Nakita and Brenten completed their schooling in South Africa. Nika and Ruben were homeschooled for four years, right here on our land. Their classroom was the open bush. Their teachers were the rising sun, the elephant paths, and the daily lessons of self-sufficiency, patience, and resourcefulness.
The same rooms our guests stay in today were once filled with chalkboards and books.
More Than a Home.
A Shared Way of Life.
Today, Okavango Villa is more than a place to stay. It is a life-changing experience for those who come not just to visit, but to connect, with themselves, with the land, and with the rhythm of nature. It is not luxury in the traditional sense. It is not polished. It is not rehearsed.
It is real. It is raw. It is timeless.
Here, days are measured by light crossing the floodplains. The only deadlines are set by the seasons. We never set out to create a business. We set out to live with purpose, and we opened our lives for others to share in it.
FROM A BEDROLL IN MOREMI IN 1980… TO A HOME AT THE EDGE OF THE CAPRIVI.
THIS IS OUR STORY. A FAMILY. A HOME. A WILD LIFE, SHARED.
