Selinda Explorers

unusually polished service

Selinda Explorers Camp is a superb high-end facility in a pretty setting alongside the ephemeral Selinda Spillway to the west of the Zibadianja Lagoon, a prime position in this Linyanti Selinda area of northern Botswana.

The camp itself, although permanent, is very much in the style of a seasonal mobile camp. The main structure is little more than an open-sided tent, decorated with Persian carpets and with floor-cushions on which to recline. A small inner tent which can be closed up on cool evenings, contains the main dining table. Out front there is a lovely sandy area with a campfire and views out over the spillway.

One aspect we always appreciate is the amount of wildlife that comes into camp. The simple nature of this particular camp provides an unusually close contact with the surrounding bush. The most common visitors are baboons and vervet monkeys in the trees around the tents, with elephants and other wildlife often moving up and down the channel out front. A pair of top class binoculars are provided in each room so that you can view them from the comfort of your verandah. At night hippos and elephants often wander between the tents.

The camp offers extremely high levels of service, with a warm welcome on arrival, personalised notes in your room and a high level of professionalism and attention to detail throughout. The crew are universally praised by guests. As one guest put it, “they spoiled us rotten and we loved every minute of it”.

Rooms

Guest accommodation at Selinda Explorers Camp is in just four classic safari tents, which are accessed by a network of ground-level pathways. Each tent has a small verandah area out front, a large bedroom area, an inside dressing room with wash-basins and an outside bathroom with a toilet and shower.

Activities

Selinda Explorers Camp provides the following guided activities …

• Vehicle safari
• Walking safari
• Bush meals
• Motorboat safari
• Night vehicle safari

When it comes to trip durations in Botswana, most visitors combine 2, 3 or 4 lodges by light aircraft over 6-12 nights, one of which will usually be here in Linyanti Waterfront, often in combination with further nights at the Victoria Falls and/or down in the Cape.

Linyanti Selinda is one of four private concessions that make up the Linyanti Waterfront, a fabulous safari area that combines naturally with the nearby Okavango Delta.

Most guests choose to stay at one lodge in Linyanti, usually for 3-4 nights.

Seasonality

Linyanti Selinda can be visited year round.

The drying out of the seasonal waterholes in the vast hinterland during Mar-May causes good numbers of animals to migrate towards the Kwando and Linyanti rivers. The wildlife viewing therefore tends to be very strong throughout this period.

During May-Jun temperatures can drop towards freezing during the night, but this has little adverse effect on safari, the days are gorgeous and there are virtually no insects around.

During the May-Oct dry season the wildlife viewing in this area can be really intense and particularly photogenic. This dry season period is the most popular time for safari, when the weather is reliably good.

During Oct-Nov the temperatures and humidities can become uncomfortably high in advance of the rains.

During the Nov-May green season the landscapes are verdant and beautiful, the animals are well-fed and there’s lots of babies around, providing a great contrast to the harshness of the dry season. It is also important to note that there are substantial savings to be made on lodge prices during green season, so it really can be a smart time to travel.

Getting there

Selinda Explorers Camp can only be accessed by light aircraft into the nearby Selinda Airstrip, which has daily flight connections with all other camps in Okavango, Linyanti, the main airport at Maun (for connections to Central Kalahari, Nxai, Makgadikgadi and Johannesburg) and north to Kasane (for connections to Livingstone and Victoria Falls).

From the airstrip it is a drive of around 45 minutes through mopane forest to the camp.

usually visited in combination with the Okavango Delta