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FACT SHEET
Accommodation at permanent camps: There are two choices for the days spent at permanent camps in the reserve. Selinda Camp offers six double and twin-bedded Meru style safari tents, which are themselves under the protection of exquisitely thatched canopies. Selinda has a small and refreshing plunge pool. The accommodation at Zibadianja Camp is similar, except that the tents are built on raised wooden platform and there are only three of them, making this one of the smallest and most intimate camps in all of Africa. All rooms enjoy exceptional privacy, and outstanding views across the the floodplains.
Accommodation at Fly Camps: Although not quite as comfortable as the permanent camps, guests sleep inside roomy tents with private flush loos and bush style bucket showers. Dinner is taken at a table laid out under the stars, and often to the backdrop of elephants crashing around in the mopane trees nearby.
Activities: The emphasis of a stay inside the Selinda Reserve is the experience of a walking safari, however game drives in open sided 4 wheel drive land cruisers take place morning and afternoon at the permanent camps. These often finish with a delicious cooked bush breakfast in the morning, or ice cold sundowners in the evening. Night drives are also undertaken in this private concession, where rare and unusual nocturnal animals can be picked up in the beam of a powerful spotlight as they go about their night time travels. When there is a full moon guests are offered the opportunity to participate in the reserve's monthly game count. At certain times of year it is also possible to fish and undertake boating expeditions in the lagoon.
Cash: Whilst there are no additional expenses after leaving Maun, guests may wish to have small denomination $US or local Botswana Pula available for staff gratuity at their discretion, or to purchase from a limited selection of curios at the permanent camp sites.
Children:
We cannot accept children on walking safaris
until they are at least sixteen years old.
Clothing
List:
Clothing list will be sent on request. A free laundry service is provided.
Drinks: All cordials and sodas, beers, spirits and wines are free. Ice and lemon
is supplied for drinks.
Duration: In order to fully appreciate everything that the Selinda Reserve and the walking safaris have to offer we recommend a minimum visit of four nights, with six days being the optimum timeframe - see sample itinerary below, however guests can stay for as long or as short a timeframe as they wish.
Game: Game that you are likely to see includes elephant, lion, cheetah, leopard, giraffe, zebra, wildebeest, kudu, impala, hippo, hyena, sable, wild dog, lechwe and other plains game. The Selinda is famous throughout the world for its hippo killing lions and packs of African wild dogs. There is also an abundance of colourful and often rare birdlife to observe. Although you walk amongst potentially dangerous animals, Selinda's guides are knowledgeable and conversant with the habits and likely reactions of the game in any situation, and guests will have been briefed as to the procedure when approaching on foot.
Insurance:
Whilst we carry public liability insurance and take all possible care, we
strongly advise you to have full medical and holiday insurance. Wild &
Exotic Sport can arrange this if instructed.
Location: The 1200 square kilometre Selinda reserve is located between the Okavango Delta and Chobe National Park. The eastern Selinda Spillway, linking the Okavango Delta to the Linyanti swamps, runs through the reserve.
Meals: Dawn game drives and walks are preceded by coffee, tea, bread and cakes, with a delicious and substantial brunch served on return to the camp. Three course dinners with superbly cooked fresh ingredients are served in elegant thatched dining rooms at the permanent camps each evening, and at a table laid out under the stars when visiting the fly -camps.
Number of guests: The two permanent lodges have a maximum capacity for just 18 guests, and on walking safaris groups are restricted to just four individuals, however this is relaxed in order to accommodate a family or self-contained group of up to six. The reality is often an exclusive walking safari for the benefit of just one or two guests.
Safety:
Every safari is carefully planned to ensure guest's
safety is maintained. An armed guide accompanies guests
on all walking safaris and expeditions into the bush
and visitors will be given a full safety briefing
before departing on walks, outlining the procedure for
approaching game on foot. VHF radio contact with base
camp is maintained at all times should there
be a need for urgent medical attention, or even evacuation by aircraft. A
comprehensive first aid kit will be taken at all times. Malaria prophylactics
are encouraged, as is any personal medication that could be required once on
trek. Personal medical insurance is essential.
Single Supplement: Is not charged except in high season.
Terrain: The terrain is flat open floodplain, dotted with palm islands. The vegetation varies according to the seasons, and the availability of rain. There are also extensive areas of mopane woodland, often with delightful glades and clearings, and well liked by the herds of elephant that retreat under their cover in the wet season. Aquatic vegetation such as reeds flourish in the vicinity of the eastern Selinda Spillway and there are a number of lakes and lagoons according to the season.
Types of Safari: There are two permanent lodges in the Selinda Reserve, and two fly camps, (see accommodation below). We strongly recommend that whenever time permits, guests spend time at all four locations. Morning and evening game drives in open sided vehicles take place from Selinda and Zibandianja lodges, and walks on foot into pristine wilderness flood planes form the basis of the safari experience from the fly camps.
Walking Safari: We recommend a walking safari as the centrepiece of your stay in the reserve. Typically guests walk from either Selinda or Zibandianja to one of the two fly camps, then on to another fly camp and back to a permanent lodge on a four day, two night itinerary, although the duration can be as long as the guest wishes. During the walks emphasis is placed on explaining the fine detail of the flood plain ecosystem, as well as the sensational experience of walking to within yards of feeding elephants. These walks are not particularly strenuous and are especially suitable for anyone undertaking a walking safari for the first time.
Weather: The optimum time of year to visit the Selinda is between May and September, during the "winter" months when temperatures are warm by day (high seventies) and cool at night with clear blue skies to complement the vast floodplains, although the weather is often equally as pleasant in March and April. The temperature becomes very hot in November, and there is also the likelihood of rain.
How to Get There: Most major airlines fly direct to Johannesburg with early morning arrival times that allow sufficient time to catch the daily connecting flight to Maun. Guests are met on arrival at Maun and escorted to a private charter light aircraft for the forty minute flight northwards across the Okavango Delta to the Selinda airstrip.
Wild and Exotic are licensed by the Civil Aviation Authority (license number 6445) to sell the international flights necessary for this itinerary. Please contact us for further details and our recommended airlines.
PHOTOGRAPH GALLERY
A selection of photographs from the Selinda reserve.
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| Selinda Cottage | Selinda Pool | Selinda bed | Selinda Camp |
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| Zib cottage | Zib bedroom | Bedroom view | Zib dining |
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| Zib camp | Fly camp | Selinda sunrise | Bush dawn |
A WEEK IN THE SELINDA WILDERNESS
Day 1: Arrive at Johannesburg International Airport and transfer for the Air Botswana flight to Maun. On arrival you will be escorted to a light aircraft for the forty-five minute private charter flight to Selinda, where you will be met and transferred to the lovely Zibalianja Camp, just three spacious rooms on stilts, extravagantly sited to enjoy panoramic views across the floodplains, each with ensuite shower and loo. As this lodge has just six guest beds, you will feel as if you are on private safari; indeed many visitors have declared it their favourite destination in all Africa. After tea and sandwiches depart for a game drive in the cooler conditions of afternoon, and as the sun sets over this remote landscape enjoy an ice-cold cocktail besides the Zibalianja lagoon, to a backdrop of grunting hippos and the sensational sounds of African dusk.
Day 2: Awake at dawn to watch the sun rise over the plains whilst sipping hot tea or coffee by the fire, then depart with your guide for an early morning game drive in search of wildlife, which likes to lie up during the heat of the day. As Selinda is a private concession there are none of the restrictions associated with a public game park, and your guide may well drive off-road for miles across the plains to investigate what lies below a pack of wheeling vultures. There is virtually no chance of seeing any other vehicle during these game drives; if you do it will be one of a handful that belong to the operators of your safari. After lunch relax at the tiny thatched bar under the shade of a Leadwood tree, or if you have the energy ask to be taken out to fish the lagoon and watercourses that flow close by. Later in the afternoon depart on another game dive; as you return to Zibalianja your guide will sweep the African night with a powerful spotlight, picking up nocturnal animals such as the beautiful serval cat and the timid bat eared fox. Soak under a hot shower before sitting down to a superb three-course dinner in the camp’s intimate open-fronted dining room.
Day 3: Today may be time for some exercise, and in the morning set off with skilled guide Craig Mercer, walking paths created by the indigenous wildlife that lead through virgin bush to Tshwene fly camp. On the way you will be introduced not only to big game, but also to the flora, fauna and insects that play a vital role in the preservation of wild Africa. No children under the age of 16 can take part, however they are conducted at a leisurely pace, with pauses to analyse whatever materialises along the way. You will reach your fly camp in time for brunch, and spend the heat of the day relaxing to a backdrop of birdsong mingled with warm breezes that rustle the leaves of the canopy above. In the afternoon venture out to explore the surrounding wilderness, returning at dusk to the comfort of a blazing campfire and a welcome drink. The accommodation at both fly camps consists of just three tents, each with its own flush loo, and a rustic bush shower. After a delicious dinner cooked to perfection over the embers by Craig’s wife, relax besides the campfire and listen to elephants crashing about in the darkness.
Day 4: Rise early and follow your guide into the Mopane veldt in search of elephant, and when he finds them experience the unique sensation of approaching to within a hundred meters or so of the greatest mammal on the planet. Watch the huge ears flap like fans in the heat, pick out the individual wrinkles scoured into a grey hide, and listen to the crunch of ivory on timber. When you reach Mokoba fly camp enjoy brunch, served from the vantage point of a truncated termite mound with commanding views across the bush. Relax afterwards in the surroundings of this enchanting campsite then set off to explore yet another tract of wilderness before returning for a well earned dinner.
Day 5: After two nights fly camping it may be time to return to the luxuries of a lodge and a long walk through open plains and riverine forest en route to the lovely Selinda Lodge, recently refurbished and overlooking the Selinda Spillway and surrounding floodplains. The camp accommodates a maximum of 12 guests in six comfortable and spacious tents, each protected by a reed-thatched roof with ensuite shower and loo. After lunch, served outside under the shade of a leafy tree, choose from spending the afternoon submerged in the refreshing waters of the plunge pool with a cold drink, a relaxing siesta, or perhaps an hour’s walk down to the hippo pool on the edge of the spillway. Better still; enjoy all of this as a prelude to the excitement of an evening game drive.
Day 6: After the exertions of your walking safari, you may prefer to sleep in this morning and allow the sunlight flooding into your bedroom to waken you. Alternatively embark on an early morning game drive or a fishing expedition, returning in time for brunch, or perhaps take along a delicious picnic to enjoy during a break from your adventures. Whatever you decide to do today, bush walk, game drives or fishing, you will have the services of a qualified guide to assist you. It may be enough to simply enjoy the comfort and serenity of Selinda Lodge, idly reading and watching the wildlife as it passes across the expansive plains and palm studded islands that fill the horizon.
Day 7: Meet your guide besides the campfire as the sun creeps up over the horizon, and enjoy a final outing to look for game from the comfort of an open sided four-wheel drive vehicle. If you are lucky this will be a chance to bid farewell to the Selinda pride and their young cubs, as well as the other animals whose company has so enriched your visit to this wild and unspoilt landscape. Return to the lodge for lunch and a brief siesta, after which you will be driven to the airstrip for the light aircraft flight over the Okavango Delta to Maun for your flight to Johannesburg and connecting flight to the UK.
Prices and availability
Please contact Wild and Exotic for up to date prices and availability at Selinda Reserve. Due to the favourable $US exchange rate we are currently offering substantial discounts off normal Selinda prices.
