Selinda Camp guest tent interior
Courtesy of Great Plains Conservation

This is the second in a four part blog post which provides reviews of the Selinda Reserve, Selinda Camp, and Zarafa Camp. Here are the other blog posts from this series:

• Part I: Selinda Reserve Accommodation Overview
• Part II: Selinda Camp Review
• Part III: Zarafa Camp Review
• Selinda Reserve Summary and Wrap-up

Selinda Camp Review

It is hard to believe Selinda Camp is just the second most luxurious camp in the Selinda Reserve as it rates near the top of the luxury levels that I have ever experienced.

Selinda Camp's common lounge and dining areas are expansive with leather furniture and terrific views of the Selinda spillway and adjacent flood plains. There is a deck for dining under the stars as well as dining under the roof. Food and service was very good at Selinda Camp, at a level that matches the luxury surroundings. There is a walk-in chilled wine cellar to please wine and luxury aficionados. Guests at Selinda Camp can enjoy their wine while wandering through a gallery of Beverly Joubert’s photographs as well as an extensive curio shop above. There is also a swimming pool, though unlike many camps where the pools look out to the plains and allow you to see animals this one is tucked in behind the central lounge surrounded by a wooden pole fence so offers no experience beyond normal pool relaxation.

Small portion of the dining and central lounge area
© Bill Given

Selinda Camp Staff

I was pleasantly surprised to find an all local staff, headed up by the very outgoing Ishmael, a qualified guide who hails from nearby Kasane. Selinda Camp staff provides a very refined experience but the local flavor does bring a more relaxed and friendly vibe than I often find at the high end of luxury camps - making a nice balance.

After dinner, the Selinda Camp staff has a musical throw down that is good fun, especially if you can summon up some dancing skills after stuffing yourself with gourmet eats. I had requested Steve K. as a guide since I knew his reputation from days at Kwando Camps, he was a very good guide but also is a vibrant personality that adds to the great camp culture.

Soaking tub that is the feature of the bathroom suite
© Bill Given

Accommodations at Selinda Camp

There are nine spacious guest tents at Selinda Camp, though only eight are used at a time limiting guest occupancy to 16 unless a private group of 18 books the entire camp. The tents have similar superb views as the lounge complex with big views over the spillway. Tents are the typical canvas wall and thatch roofed construction on a raised platform (about 5 feet off the ground) but rather than tent zippers they have sliding screen doors.

Inside, Selinda Camp tents are very luxuriously appointed with comfortable beds and fine linens under mosquito nets, a ceiling fan, and there are chairs and a writing desk. One convenient feature is an inverter plug system that allows you to easily charge all of your batteries. The size is on par with other luxury tented camps but then there is an additional set of sliding doors at the rear of the tent that opens into an extremely spacious bathroom area featuring a large stone soaking bath tub, a shower, and flush toilet. All the little touches are present at Selinda Camp such as bath robes, slippers, bath products but also things like animal checklists, maps and both bird and mammal guides, which is an extremely nice touch.

Each tent has bird and mammal field guides, a map and animal checklist.
© Bill Given

Selinda Camp Summary

My overall feeling is Selinda Camp is for people looking for a luxurious safari camp in a beautiful setting that offers a full diversity of activities. Pricewise, Selinda Camp is on par or less than all the other Wilderness Safaris camps, the top Kwando Camps, &Beyond Camps and others so its higher luxury than most at a relatively good price (still expensive) and within Selinda Reserve it has a rack rate 37% less than Zarafa Camp for the same activities and area. I am a big believer in the value of using the lower cost camp when the activities are the same unless there are significant differences in accommodation. Here there actually is a significant difference in the accommodation but as Selinda Camp is a very high luxury level it’s going to be the best choice for most people wanting to visit the Selinda Concession.

   

Aerial view of Selinda Camp.
Courtesy of Great Plains Conservation

This is a very special four part blog post which provides reviews of the Selinda Reserve, Selinda Camp, and Zarafa Camp. I'll be providing new information as I can, but here's what you can expect from this series of blog posts:

• Part I: Selinda Reserve Accommodation Overview
• Part II: Selinda Camp Review
• Part III: Zarafa Camp Review
• Part IV: Selinda Reserve Summary and Wrap-up

Selinda Reserve Accommodations Overview

As I mentioned in my previous blog post from my visit to the Selinda Reserve, nowhere else in Botswana has the environment and the accommodation changed so much in the last couple of years.

The Selinda Reserve area has long been known for its beauty and formerly housed two camps, Selinda Camp and Zibadianja Camp that were rustic, known for hard core game viewing and amongst the better values in Botswana. Legendary filmmakers Dereck and Beverly Joubert head a small partnership that purchased the camps and in 2007 launched completely rebuilt camps to a new standard and style quite contrasting with the former camps. Though the camps are part of the Great Plains Conservation portfolio the camps are currently marketed by the well known Wilderness Safaris and the standards and daily operations are very similar to other Wilderness products.

Selinda Camp is roughly on par with the other Wilderness 5 paw camps, though it would be at the top for luxury in that category. Zibadianja Camp was re-located to a larger area to hold the enormous and ultra-luxurious tents that are the pinnacle of Botswana luxury, one of the small handful of 6 paw level camps, and was subsequently renamed Zarafa Camp.

Selinda Camp manager Ishmael pilots a powerboat on the Selinda Spillway.
© Bill Given

Activities

Due to the influx of water in the Selinda Reserve a diversity of activities is now a real strength. While they still offer day and night game drives it is also possible to do walks, power boating, canoeing (including a multi-day adventure camping paddle), and fishing (fly-fishing for those who bring their own rod) making it a very good location for active travelers wanting to do more than just game drives. There are photographic hides located by water resources and it is also possible to arrange a sleepout on an elevated platform with just a mattress and mosquito net for a sensational wilderness experience if you are willing to give up a night in your tent.

Open sided Land Cruisers are used at Selinda Camp and Zarafa Camp.
© Bill Given

Game drives are conducted in open sided land cruisers that contain bucket seats. I like the bucket seats and consider it more comfortable, especially when off road, compared to bench seats. The canopy is a little low for those sitting in the back row which can make viewing animals in trees or flight a bit difficult at some angles.

Selinda Reserve Wildlife Tracking

One major shortcoming is in the Selinda Reserve they do not use trackers on game drives, this is consistent with all Wilderness Safaris camps in Botswana. I believe this lessens the game drive experience as Botswana’s sandy substrate allows for dynamic active tracking of animals, especially predators. I have also found that having a tracker that can concentrate on spotting animals and working the spotlight at night leads to better results than having a guide try to drive, communicate with clients, and do all the other tasks and in the case of getting stuck or having a tire puncture things go much quicker with a staff of 2. Lastly, but perhaps most importantly, the tracker position is one of the higher compensated jobs in a safari camp and lasting conservation depends upon maximum benefits reaching the local communities.

The Selinda Reserve camps are very interested in strengthening their relationship with the river bushman community of Gudigwa where I have a number of ties and I have recommended that a great way to do that and improve their product at the same time would be to employee bushmen as trackers. Selinda operations folks have been in good communication with me and seem interested in this idea so I’m hopeful that in the future there may well be trackers sitting on the front of the vehicle.

Selinda Camp vs. Zarafa Camp

The activities which I just mentioned in the Selinda reserve are the same regardless of which camp you choose to stay at. I'll be covering Selinda Camp and Zarafa Camp in the next two blog posts. You'll find that the difference between the camps is the level of luxury: luxury vs. opulent luxury.

   

Jos Janisch over at exploregorongosa.com sent me an e-mail about "Africa's Lost Eden" a special about Mozambique's Gorongosa National Park. She was kind enough to provide a link to an official trailer of Africa's Lost Eden.

Cape Buffalo - like this one - are among the fauna visitors can see at Gorongosa National Park
© Bill Given

Africa's Lost Eden U.S. Air Date

While Africa's Lost Eden has already premiered in various parts of the world, you'll want to be in front of the television on Wednesday, March 24th. That evening, it will be shown on the National Geographic Channel (Nat Geo).

Background Story for Africa's Lost Eden

Gorongosa used to be a major safari destination in the 1960s and 1970s. The 1,500 square mile park boasted huge herds and varied wildlife and made Mozambique one of the premier destinations for safari related tourism. Unfortunately, civil war came to Mozambique and had a horribly negative impact on both the human population of Mozambique, as well as the park wildlife. Hence the name of the Nat Geo special - Africa's Lost Eden.

The news isn't all bad. With the help of American Greg Carr, Gorongosa National Park is making a comeback. I wrote a blog post about a 60 Minutes story that covered the fall - and rise - of Gorongosa National Park. I encourage you to check out my Gorongosa National Park blog post to learn more about the park, and to see the 60 Minutes story. It will serve as a good primer for Africa's Lost Eden.

   

Saddle-billed stork repositions along Savuti Channel
© Bill Given

Saying Botswana during the green season is a spectacular time for birds should not be equated to the blind dating reference of "she has a great personality". The amazing birdlife is a strong positive for visiting Botswana during the green season (December through March) as many migrant species are down for the Southern Africa summer and the scenery is a vibrant compliment to the increased birdlife but just as some people may have a great personality and be attractive Botswana’s green season still delivers a great all-around safari that the birds are a wonderful part of but not in place of excellent mammal viewing. That disclaimer out of the way let me share some of my recent Botswana birding experiences.

Vigilant tawny eagle looking to hunt near Sankuyo Bush Camp
© Bill Given

Most of my clients only mention mammals when stating their safari desires, with some throwing in that they will also enjoy birds and other small animals along the way. Once on safari, most discover that they can be overwhelmed with the beauty and variety of the birds, without having to transform themselves into hard core twitchers.

A dainty malachite kingfisher perches in between hunting sorties near Mapula Lodge
© Bill Given

One nice thing about birds is because they are active throughout the day you often get some of your more interesting photos with them as subjects. In Botswana because of the wetland environment larger wading birds and extremely active kingfishers are some of the best to observe and photos of them help show the dynamic environment.

With luck you sometimes observe very unique behaviors as well. On my last trip I was very fortunate to find the stunning combination of a colorful carmine bee-eater riding in a jockey position upon Africa’s largest flying bird, the kori bustard. This is thought to be an example of mutualism where both species benefit from being associated with one another. It’s clear that the carmine bee-eater benefits from eating insects kicked up by the large kori bustard and if you watch the head movements in the video you can see that the bee-eater is indeed plucking insects from the air. It is believed that the carmine bee-eaters will detect danger quicker than the kori bustard and thus provide the benefit of greater safety.

Barred owl just outside my tent at Sankuyo Bush Camp
© Bill Given

In my wildlife biologist career I have spent many nights walking miles through dark forests playing taped calls to survey for owls and that’s likely why they are my favorite to see. The above photo is probably my favorite African bird sighting as I discovered this little barred owl just outside my tent as I walked home and then I was able to call him to above my open-air loo at Sankuyo Bush Camp. This last trip was an excellent one for owls and in addition to the barred owl we found pearl-spotted owls, white-faced owls, giant eagle owls, and a spotted eagle owl. The owls are a real indicator to me that the continents were connected at one time because each of these owls we saw are in the same genus as a North American counterpart and in each case they look very similar demonstrating a shared ancestory.

Lilac-breasted roller at Mapula
© Bill Given

More than anything it is the palette of extraordinary colors that grabs attention of safari goers. The rollers, bee-eaters, and kingfishers in particular have unbelievable colors that often surprise with unexpected bursts of new shades when they take to flight.

Perhaps the only thing more beautiful than the dazzling colors of the lilac-breasted roller is three together
© Bill Given

   

Selinda’s current specialty is leopards and this male was particularly relaxed.
© Bill Given

I finished guiding my group and then headed on to the legendary Selinda Reserve, a huge wedge of land that lies between the game rich Kwando and Linyanti Concessions. The Selinda area has likely undergone more change in the last couple years than any other location in Botswana, both environmentally and with accommodation. Large floods in the past two years have added a significant amount of surface water here and for the first time in nearly thirty years the Selinda spillway flowed to the point of connecting the Okavango Delta with the Kwando/Linyanti river systems.

All of this water has caused some species to disperse- some concentrations of animals inside the Selinda concession. However, I have been very excited about a new canoeing adventure (Selinda Canoe Trail) that is a multiday paddle and camping trip. The canoe trip is actually one of the better cost values available during Botswana high season (June through October) and its natural to finish with a couple nights at one of the luxury camps in the Selinda Reserve so I wanted to visit for myself.

A well known guide, Steve K., who gained his skills and built his reputation at the Kwando Camps has been guiding at Selinda Camp for the past two years. I learned the area is very good for leopard and they have nine known individuals and sightings of these beautiful cats is frequent.

In my two nights I had two leopard sightings. The first was a shy female in a tree who left after a minute. The second was a male near Zarafa Camp who was extremely relaxed laying on the ground and we stayed with him for close to two hours before leaving him to a nap and to catch my exit flight.

Currently, two male lions are spending the majority of their time inside the concession and there are a couple females that are expected to bring out cubs very soon. Sighting these lions is a regular occurrence, I saw them once and heard them the second night too, though they can slip out to a neighboring concession from time to time.

African wild dogs come and go frequently and the Selinda concession remains a well used part of the range for two packs though they typically den in the neighboring concessions.

Cheetah have become a very infrequent occurrence as the main two cheetah that used the area are tending to stay on the other side of the Savuti Channel within the Linyanti concession and they are hesitant to swim the channel. However, Selinda Concession is receiving two male cheetah that have been captured on the Ghanzi cattle farms where they come into conflict with livestock. The cheetah will be relocated to Selinda where they will receive a ‘soft’ release, moving into a large boma (fenced) area inside the reserve within the next month and then it is anticipated they will be released onto the reserve in May. Considering there is a very strong coalition of males dominating the Kwando concession and then the Savuti Channel forms somewhat of a barrier to movement to the southeast its quite likely these cheetah will remain in the unoccupied area of the Selinda concession enhancing the diversity of predators.

Beyond my good luck with big cats I was fortunate to have a quality daytime sighting of an African wild cat.
© Bill Given

There were quite a few elephants but they come and go during the green season, while the buffalo disappear completely into the mopane woodland. In the dry season large quantities of both species frequent the area. The permanent water makes Selinda a good place to see the handsome red lechwe and the bird life is very good, especially in the water areas, while the woodland edges are a good place to find roan and sable antelope.

A red lechwe dashes through the water of the Selinda Spillway.
© Bill Given

Next up I will review the accommodation in the Selinda Reserve.