Selinda Camp
 

Help... I am going there for three days in two weeks, on a three week trip, and had not checked into as I had been too busy and my travel agent recommended it...now I looked into it and it seems a very different camp than what I am used to...has anyone been there lately? It looks terrible, has hunting now???

Kata,

What are you talking about? Selinda in Botswana? Go enjoy yourself!!! It's one of the best camps for predator viewing.....wait for John to chk this thread and answer your question. He has visited Selinda several times......

Hunting with the photo camera, yes....

Hari

chk out www.linyanti.com

Selinda is a fine camp...very comfortable and as hari says, with some of the best predator viewing in Botswana. There is no hunting. Selinda has changed in the past year or two...it has more and bigger tents (with baths, for heaven's sake!) than it used to. That would be about my only reservation, the camp is getting too big...it can take 16 people. Its little sister camp, Zibalianja, remains small and very intimate.

You can find a large selection of my (mostly Selinda) wildlife photos here www.afrigalah.com

BTW, Hari, if you're still around, James's belief that the Selinda wild dog pack has denned in Selinda/Zib territory has been all-but confirmed. They haven't located the den yet, but the dogs are constantly moving in and out of the dense woodland between the concession's management unit and the lagoon. The pack caught an impala inside the CMU camp the other day. Chasing prey into the camps seems to be one of their favourite things.

John

Thanks for the update John, good news for Selinda visitors. Hopefully, during my trip next month they briefly appear at Lebala.

Hari

Thanks John and Hari, am in London, on my way....great photo's... \I had been to the wilderness safari Savute camp a few years ago, and was wanting to return to the area and try a different camp....then I read an old ATR review, which said they had hunting and had an old lodge with glass, not the zero footprint of todays lodges...I called ATR, and they admitted it was a very old review and not the case at all today...and I have two days at the little camp Zib, sounds like you might be in the area, Johm??thanks again
Kathleen

You're welcome, Kathleen. Hope you have a great trip. I'm not going this year, as I prefer drier years. From all accounts, the Zibalianja area has had lots of lion activity but game-viewing hasn't been easy because there's much more water and tall vegetation than usual. Zibalianja Lagoon has about doubled in size. But things should be looking up when the back-country pans dry out properly.

John

I was at Duma Tau late June and saw the dogs. Yes there was more water in the back country, but I would guess that situation is changing rapidly. There is no hunting in the Selinda concession since the Joubert's purchased it. The Joubert's like Wilderness Safari's are against trophy hunting and forego a large amount of income for their ideals.

In 2 weeks? I'll arrive at Zib Aug 16 and leave Aug 20. Might we cross paths in camp or on a drive if you are in Selinda?

I'll be dressed in neutral colors or khaki and wearing a broad rimmed hat and sunglasses. You can't miss me. Ha Ha

Seriously, what days are you in what camps?

I picked the Selinda area and Zibalianja very carefully and believe it should be a great location. Have fun, whether or not cross paths.

We may be ending up at Selinda (3 days) for our early June 2007 safari. I am confused about the bathrooms. Are they now inside the tent? Also, do the vehicles have 6 seats or 10? The WS website says 6.

Go to Selinda's own website http://www.linyanti.com/
and click on <i>camp news</i>. You'll see photos of the interior of one of the new tents which show the bathrooms are under the same thatch as the bedroom.

When I was last there a year ago, all the vehicles had six seats, plus one next to the driver/guide. I doubt that has changed but you can email to ask...there's a contact link on the site.

John

Very nice! Ok, one more question. On the Selinda site it says there is a 12kg baggage allowance but the normal allowance for the Wilderness camps is 20kg. If we book WS camps for the remainder of the safari (6 more days) I assume we would be going with Sefafane for the transfers and the baggage limit would be 20kg... right?

Thanks for your help!

I think you're right. Sefofane lifted their baggage allowance a year or two ago...not sure, but I think it applies to their Cessna Caravan flights. I can't see you having any problems if you fly into and out of Selinda with Sefofane, but you might if you're with a different charter outfit. Their attitude often depends on the rest of their passenger load (whether they're doing other pick ups en route to your destination etc) and such factors as climatic conditions. I've seen an American arriving at Selinda complaining that he'd had to pay for an extra seat because of his luggage, but others just as clearly overweight have had no problems.

John