Botswana Parks
UK
Emma is an award-winning travel writer for Rough Guides, National Geographic Traveller, Travel Africa magazine and The Independent.
3 people found this review helpful.
Relaxed luxury in pristine bush, close to the Okavango Delta
Of the three remarkable wildlife areas immediately west of Chobe – Kwando, Selinda and Linyanti – Selinda is arguably the best, particularly for predators such as lions, wild dogs and aardwolves. This region has gone through a series of planned and natural changes in recent years; hunting has been phased out and an old watercourse, the Selinda Spillway, has been filling with water for several rainy seasons in a row, attracting an abundance of game.
The camps here are small and exclusive with excellent, unfussy service and a strong commitment to sustainability. I particularly appreciate the emphasis on vehicle-free activities such as canoeing, mokoro trips, walking and horse riding.
ZA
Stephen is a travel writer and avid conservationist whose work appears in prestigious magazines such as Africa Geographic and Travel Africa.
Wild dogs and Wildlife Abundance
Northern Botswana’s attractive and remote 150,000 hectare Selinda Game Reserve is a private concession located in the wildlife heartland of northern Botswana. The reserve benefits from the seasonal flows of the ancient Selinda Spillway, which links the Okavango Delta to the floodplains of the Linyanti Swamps.
While the spillway with its verdant floodplain provides a major thoroughfare for wildlife moving between these two rivers systems, the reserve plays host to some impressive dry season concentrations of elephant and buffalo. It is also home to healthy populations of cheetah, leopard, lion, and is one of the last remaining strongholds of the endangered African wild dog (with sighting being incredibly reliable in my experience).
After being dry for decades, it was only in 2009 that water finally returned to the spillway, so I would certainly suggest you confirm that the seasonal overflow is still pushing through the spillway before you commit to a safari here – especially if you are signing up for an unforgettable three-night canoe trail along this wildlife-rich waterway.
