Our Zarafa Camp Senior Staff, Dukes, Tess, Stuart and Steven.

There is a special group of people behind the Selinda Reserve, and that begins with the dedicated staff of around 70 people in the field and local office in Kasane. Without people who are proud and eager to share their culture and the well cared for wild areas of their country, Selinda would be just another safari destination. Their enthusiasm and special commitment to your trip brings it alive, sets it aside from most other camps and infuses this with the charm of our natural Botswana hospitality, the kind you will experience in remote villages where strangers are viewed as bearers of knowledge and stimulation, as well as lost family members, even from a distant tribe to be welcomed, fed and taken care of. It is our tradition to be hospitable, although we are a shy and modest people.

Pete Unwin and Sharon Stevens manage the Selinda Concession from their tented camp midway between Zarafa and Selinda Camps. Both grew up with a love for the outdoors and Botswana was one of the few places that still offered unspoiled beauty, true wilderness and free ranging wildlife. They began their Botswana adventure in 2003, working in the Okavango Delta for 4 and half years before migrating "north" to the Selinda Reserve. They have always felt extremely privileged and lucky to be able to do what they love and to be able to call Botswana their home .

Pete originated from Port Elizabeth and moved to a private game reserve in the Eastern Cape where he worked for 5 years honing his skills and passion for the "bush" before challenging the unknown. The shift to Botswana was a career move of a life time that has taught him how crucial the environment is to our inner wants and needs.

Sharon finished her schooling in South Africa and moved to the USA. That gave her a better understanding and appreciation of Africa, its wild places and different cultures and made her even more curious than ever to learn. She studied tourism and after graduation moved to the bush to experience even more of this ever changing environment which has been a love affair she will never forget!

Pete and Sharon work with a great team of people and everyone has their area of expertise. Together they have created a product that we are all proud of. The Selinda Team, led by Pete and Sharon are trying to share, give back & preserve what remains of some of the planet's least spoilt places!

Elmari Cuyler, or Ella to her friends and colleagues is one of the Selinda stars. She came to Selinda via Mombo Camp, Seychelles and Namibia where she has played key management roles in top wildlife lodges throughout the region. Ella runs Selinda's front of house and she and her team are integral to the overall guest experience. "Having Ella's charisma combined with genuinely friendly and well trained staff makes Selinda so special." It is this type of regular feedback that best summarises what Ella brings to the Selinda Reserve.

Lindie van den Heever: Lindie is the executive chef for the Selinda Reserve. This is her story:-

"If you should ask me to hang a billboard of my life I wish I could simply send you a picture of an African sunset. The kind you get after a dusty day, or perhaps I could compare myself to a freshly ground masala with roasted star anise, cardamom, juicy ginger and cracking turmeric just dug out to burst into a fiery cloud of colour...

Every chef has a story and mine started as an artist and theatrical actor, or perhaps even before that growing up on a self sufficient farm were I have learned to live of the land, where the kitchen was truly the heart of the home and where friendships and 'heart-ships' were shared around a coal stove. Combining theatre and dancing with a 'real job' got me qualified in Business and Marketing which evolved into my own Catering Company serving lodges in South Africa for 5 years where I've learned survival and cooking in the bush and much about the local cultures and eating habits. From the Limpopo Valley I spread my wings to London.

My passion for the theatre, good food, excellent wine and the adventure of the great outdoors combined when I packed a backpack and bicycle in Shakespeare country. England had no sunsets but a lot of 'information' and I did my formal chef training in a Michelin rated restaurant in Stratford upon Avon. Living and working in a fist world enriched my culinary journey with new flavours and techniques that today inspires my Afro-fusion style.

On my travels through Europe I realized the importance of people and how we see ourselves and each other in this great big beautiful world, and what a privilege it is to do the humble task of serving food to a group of people around a dinner table. It's all about love. Travelling inspires my food, my art, my life and although I may not always be in Africa, she will always be in me.

Being an Executive Chef in the wilderness of the Selinda, with freight flying miles to get to the bush fire, an international crowd with front row seats every night and endless canvasses to paint every day this point in my life will be labelled as 'Maslow's Self Actualisation' on my Menu of Culinary adventures."

Dereck and Beverly Joubert are renowned National Geographic wildlife filmmakers, photographers, authors and conservationists, who have spent an enormous amount of time in the Selinda area. Their films include the Emmy, and Peabody award winning series of movies that have been filmed in Botswana over the past 25 years and include Eye of the Leopard, Relentless Enemies, Eternal Enemies, Ultimate Enemies, Lions of Darkness and Wildlife Warriors. These are just a few of the documentaries that have been filmed in Botswana, some of which were actually shot in the Selinda area. More recently the Jouberts were made Explorers-in-residence at National Geographic in Washington DC, although they still spend 10 months each year filming somewhere in the remote regions of Botswana. When they heard about this reserve coming up for sale, they decided that it was a good opportunity to step in and impose a long needed moratorium on hunting in the area.

Colin Bell, a tourism / wildlife specialist, has spent the last 30 years living and working throughout the more remote corners of Southern Africa. Colin was the founder of Wilderness Safaris, which grew to become one of the world's foremost eco-tourism companies, managing some of Africa's most pristine and prime wildlife land on the sub-continent. In early 2006, Colin retired from the company he formed and has teamed up with friends to create a new venture that is taking on projects within Africa and the Indian Ocean.

Thank you and welcome on safari to The Selinda Reserve. Please join us. You can help us make a difference, help us make to this a better, greener, more viable planet, where wildlife can find or even expand its range, where people can visit and be inspired to inspire other people to be a part of the natural world, not apart from it.