“I have always held Selinda close to my heart as a place to retreat to, a place to enjoy and feel free in, since I first came through nearly thirty years ago. In the later years I would visit Dereck and Beverly at their camp here, share long hours talking about everything from conservation to life and the merits of a Toyota over a Landrover or not… and try to avoid Beverly’s healthy food. We knew then that we would always share a love for Selinda.”
- Lt Gen Ian Khama -
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SELINDA CAMP LOCATION
Selinda Camp is located in the 300,000 acre (135,000 hectare) Selinda Reserve; one of Botswana's prime wildlife viewing locations and most beautiful settings. The Selinda Reserve is fortunate in that it is the only reserve that straddles both the Okavango Delta in the west and the Linyanti waterways and savannahs in the east. The Selinda Reserve follows the course of the Selinda Spillway as it connects the Okavango to the Linyanti / Kwando river systems. The Selinda Spillway is like no other. It is a river that can flow in two directions, depending on where the water levels are the highest. In most years it flows in both directions with water pushing 'up' from the Linyanti waterways and also 'down' from the west, fed by the waters of the Okavango Delta
The Selinda Reserve is one of Botswana's famous wildlife 'concessions' or private reserves that offers all the privacy that Botswana is famous for. At the same time, guests to the Selinda can enjoy wildlife viewing at a level that Chobe National Park is famous for - but without any of the crowds and without the restrictive rules and regulations that are needed in areas of high tourism density. With only 28 guests, Selinda can offer a peaceful and private experience far from the crowds - but with unrestrictive and exhilarating wildlife viewing. The Selinda Reserve has a network of small tracks that traverse the area, and if there is something special on the go, we can go 'off-road' sensitively when there is something exceptionable. There are still places in this reserve where no person has ever set foot before.
RESEARCH AND THE SELINDA FOUNDATION
We try to give back as much as possible. In this we are fortunate in being custodians of a vast wilderness, and from time to time we sponsor or get involved in a variety of research projects. Each year we compile detailed notes on the area, a 100 page research document that covers predation to vegetation types sampling.
At present we have Roger and Alison Heath, who are compiling a complete plant species catalogue, as well as both a computerised and paper field guide to identifying plants in the area. This will be done in association with Kew Gardens in the UK.
Roger and Alison are becoming more and more part of the Selinda family, adding their unique knowledge and insights that indicate that the wildlife experience is more than lions and buffalo, but rather a holistic one.
Each month game counts are done and we invite our guests to share in this experience if they like. Moonlight waterhole counts and quarterly aerial surveys just increase our knowledge and show us trends. So far we can see that the cessation of hunting is paying off tremendously, as wildlife learns that at Selinda there is a safe haven for them.
In addition the Foundation, which takes donations in camp, sponsors an education program in the towns nearest to our supply hub in Kasane. We have helped establish a wildlife society, offer lectures for the children and annually arrange for class leaders from the local schools to visit the area and experience their own indigenous wildlife. It is our belief that the future of all wildlife in Africa lies in that unique partnership between people like us, the travellers who visit us, the communities closest to its wild places and the wildlife itself. It is however our belief that this can be a passive relationship not one based on meat production, harvesting animals or to the detriment of nature. Education is the key to that future.
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