Reviews of Selinda Camp
(96%) From 57 travellersThey do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa.
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Selinda - the roar of the lions.
Fantastic low flight over swamps, rivers and spillway meant we could see herds of elephant and buffalo and birds below us. Beautiful contrasting scenery: dry grasslands, dead trees, brilliant green pastures and the blue water slipways: great for photography.
On our first afternoon drive we came on a family of lions with 3 cubs: when a lone and magnificent intruder lion arrived the family set up a roar to let him know that he was on their territory. To name a few other animals we saw: incredible herds of zebra, buffalo, wildebeest and red lechwe all together in the same grazing area! A pack of wild dogs drinking, hyaena bathing, red lechwe, tsessebe and herds of elephant. Red crested Korhaan (the suicide bird) and the Umbrella bird were just two that we saw.
Beautiful camp site set on waters edge and tents of wood and thatch. The all-local managers, staff and guides were fantastic and we had some great talks round the table and the campfire about life in Botswana. Food was magnificent -everything homemade including bread and cakes - don't know how they manage to do it with only one delivery a week! They also dance and sing very well!
A great camp where we had unusually good game
The camp facilities were luxurious, tasteful, well kept. The food was outstanding as it was at Tubu. The gift shop had beautiful local craft.
We had an outstanding guide (Kops) who made it possible for us to watch a remarkable scene of an approach of a cheetah to make a kill of a kurdu, followed by an approach of a leopard, a confrontation between the 2 cats, and the ultimate triumph of the leopard to take over the kill while the cheetah watched and finally backed off. The 2 of the other 3 afternoon game drives were also exciting and wonderful.
However, the 3 morning game drives a woman insisted on finding a pack of wild dogs to the exclusion of any other game viewing. We sped past zebras, giraffs and elephants bouncing uncomfortably through the bush in the vain search for her obsession. She intimidated the guide and we were too inexperienced and polite to object. To avoid further futile searches for wild dogs we opted for a short boat ride, which John, the Manager was kind enough to arrange, which turned out to have its own spectacular animal viewing. John is a particularly good manager who accommodated us and others in any way that he could.
We later discussed the problem of a domineering individual on a grame ride and suggested that he announce when guests arrive that the viewing and trip preferences have to be fairly shared by all. We suggest that this be established as a general camp policy for all camps.
Great stay at Selinda
This was our third camp and like the two previous camps it was delightful.
The staff were lovely and we thoroughly enjoyed their impromptu song and dance on two nights and the surprise venue for dinner one night.
Selinda Camp review
David and Alice ran a happy and well managed camp. Food and organisation were excellent.
The game viewing was good.
Selinda camp
Our stay here was great. Our guide, KB, was very personable. We were only in the car with one other couple.
They tried hard to find the animals we were most interested in seeing. Unfortunately, the dogs were denning up near Lagoon and the large pride of lions was down in Savuti.
We did see glimpses of leopard and lion. We saw lots of other game as well. The camp is in a beautiful location. The managers David and Alice were exceptionally nice. David even loaned me his monopod for my camera.
Incredible lodging
Selinda offered excellent food, staff and animal viewing. Taking the mokoros out on the Delta was wonderful.
The staff was very professional and the food incredible.
Selinda Camp review
Selinda is a beautiful camp. We were very lucky that when we stayed there we not only were only two of three guests in the entire camp that night, we also were treated to a lunar eclipse.
The rooms were extremely luxurious - the only camp that we stayed in with an individual power supply to each chalet, bath robes and slippers, full laundry service and a few other little extras which made it notable. The food also was exemplary - a choice of main course at dinner, access to a well stocked wine cellar, a wine tasting evening and a very comprehensive breakfast menu.
We had a great time fishing at Selinda with success from both the jetty right outside the lodge as well as from the boat a little way away (pike and bream). The camp managers were incredibly attentive, pleasant and very interesting people to talk to - it was nice for us to meet a couple who seem to be so genuinely enjoying their work.
Selinda Camp review
The camp is in a gorgeous setting and our room was the nicest of the four camps that we stayed at.
Staff was great overall with one important exception - we were not thrilled with our guide. Although we saw a ton of wildlife, our guide often seemed elsewhere and was not very interested in interacting.
Great food and we enjoyed very much the manager and his wife who have all kinds of ideas to entertain the guests when not out on game drives. Other than the guide though, this camp is fantastic.
The best leopard sighting ever!
David & Alice Murray are excellent hosts The food was excellent including delicious fillet of Kudu! The staff were very friendly and afficient.
As with Sendibe, it was extremely cold last thing at night and early morning. Supplying storage heaters of some sort, would make undressing & dressing less frantic!
Selinda Camp....our best out of four!
Selinda camp was a little difficult to get to; their airstrip was flooded so we landed at Lebala airstrip. But once we got there, it was a great camp. The tents were a little tired but very nicely decorated with great mosquito nets that had openings marked with sewn in shells (if you have ever tried to find your way out of a mosquito net in the dark you would appreciate this). The indoor/outdoor bathroom is unique and once you realize that the open shower throws water in a wide circle you allow for that. The common areas are well designed and have unique features in the dining tables, and in a sitting area used for tea. The staff seem genuinely interested in you as an individual and are the most efficient that we encountered in the 4 camps. The food was also the best of the 4 camps.
The camp managers, David and Alice, are capable, professional, and a lot of fun. We had the best "social evenings" at this camp mainly due to David and Alice's conversational skill at putting folks at ease. A few camp-wide problems arose during our stay but Alice or David always apprised the guests of the situation, so everyone knew what was going on, and there were few difficulties.
Our guide, Jonah, was the best that we had among all 4 camps. He was a great tracker in very difficult terrain, and he was an excellent driver in very difficult terrain. Jonah was very knowledgeable about the flora and fauna in this area. We once again had some downpours during our game drives, but Jonah managed to make this interesting and even enjoyable. He once provided coffee on the vehicle in the rain as we watched over 30 hippos cavorting in a lake.
Our only problem here was the drive to the airstrip at the end of our visit. Selinda and it's neighbor's air strips were flooded so we and another couple would need to be driven to another strip that was usually 40 minutes away but with the recent rains it would take maybe 2 hours. It was decided we would combine this 2-hour trip with a game drive. The plane was due at 12:30 and we were to leave at 8:30. The driver and vehicle got stuck in mud at camp so we had to get another vehicle, so our departure was a little after nine. The only extended stop for photo's was made by the driver who wanted to photograph a lechwe that hung out with bush buck.
About 2 hours into this drive the guide (who had not been our camp guide/driver) said we were behind schedule and he had to drive very fast to make it to the air strip. This was a drive from hell! Sitting right behind him we could see that he was going sometimes 40 miles an hour on this bush track. He would brake suddenly with no warning and throw us out of our seats. If a large animal had stepped into the track, we would have hit it due to our speed. This was the most dangerous aspect of our trip. If someone had driven like this on a game drive we would have refused to drive with them again.
We would return to this area again, there were many animals and the area is diverse and lovely.
We have always believed that acting responsibly is the only way to approach tourism and we're one of
the few companies to hold AITO's original coveted 5-star status for responsible tourism. It's a lead
that others are now following.
