The Selinda Spillway is the channel that joins the Okavango Delta to the Linyanti river system. It is a seasonal thing, reversing and refilling with the rainfall upstream, running strong in some years and lying quiet in others. On its banks, within a private reserve of 130,000 hectares, sits Selinda Camp, its three tented suites and two-bedroom villa the only accommodation on this whole stretch of water.
When the water is running, elephants cross it in full view of camp
That solitude changes everything about the game viewing. Vehicles are few, the floodplain runs uninterrupted for miles, and the spillway draws animals toward its edge rather than away from it. When the water is running, elephants cross it in full view of camp, and hippos surface within earshot of the deck, close enough to hear through the night.
Dereck and Beverly Joubert took over the Selinda concession in 2005, turning it from a hunting area into a photographic one under Great Plains Conservation. Their National Geographic film Birth of a Pride followed the resident lion pride, which still ranges across the reserve today. The Linyanti stretch here remains a stronghold for African wild dog.
Its main area borrows its thatched form from Sangwali
The camp you find today was designed by Dereck Joubert and rebuilt in 2019 around the four elements of water, air, earth and fire. Its main area borrows its thatched form from Sangwali, the historic village that was a waypoint on David Livingstone’s travels through the region. On the walls hang Beverly Joubert’s photography beside the artwork of the late Keith Joubert, Dereck’s brother.
Each of the three suites carries its own colour palette and theme, raised on wooden decks beneath thatch. Behind mosquito netting sits a four-poster bed, with a separate lounge and a bathroom given over to a freestanding tub, an indoor shower and double vanities. Every suite opens onto a private veranda with a plunge pool facing the floodplain. It is a fine place to sit through the late afternoon, when the light turns and the herds drift toward water across the open ground.
The Selinda Suite runs as a two-bedroom villa with its own entrance and swimming pool. With a private guide, chef and host, meals and game drives can be scheduled quite apart from the main camp, and families and small groups travelling together tend to book it for exactly that freedom. Staff here number well ahead of guests, and it is that ratio, not the villa alone, that makes this kind of flexibility possible across the whole of camp.
families and small groups travelling together tend to book it for exactly that freedom
Being a private reserve rather than a national park, Selinda permits what Botswana’s public parks cannot. Night drives, off-road driving and walking safaris all belong to the ordinary rhythm of the day. Game drives leave morning, afternoon and after dark in open Land Cruisers fitted with fold-down screens and raised roofs for photography, while guided walks bring tracking and the smaller details into focus. When water levels allow, boat trips and catch-and-release fishing open up the spillway itself, and the transfer from the airstrip sometimes combines vehicle and boat when the flood is high.
Dining moves with the day, between the thatched dining area, an open star deck and the private verandas, drawing all the while on a temperature-controlled wine cellar, while a spa offers treatments in the main camp or in-suite. Access is by light aircraft, roughly forty-five minutes from Maun or fifty from Kasane, followed by a game-drive transfer to camp. Selinda pairs naturally with the Okavango Delta and the Chobe and Linyanti area for a broader run through Botswana.
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accommodation
Three tented suites and the two-bedroom Selinda Suite, raised on wooden decks under thatch. Each suite has a four-poster bed under mosquito netting, a separate lounge, an en-suite bathroom with freestanding bathtub, indoor shower and double vanities, plus a private veranda and plunge pool over the floodplain.
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activities
Morning, afternoon and night game drives in vehicles fitted for photography, guided walking safaris, and seasonal boating and catch-and-release fishing on the Selinda Spillway when water levels allow. As a private reserve, Selinda permits night drives and off-road driving that Botswana's national parks do not. In-suite spa treatments can be arranged.
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conservation
Great Plains Conservation runs Selinda under Dereck and Beverly Joubert, who converted the reserve from hunting to photographic use in 2006. Rhinos Without Borders moved 87 rhino from South Africa to Botswana between 2015 and 2018, before poaching forced the Delta's rhino into guarded sanctuaries. The Great Plains Foundation funds the Earth Academy's vocational training, the Solar Mamas programme training women in solar infrastructure, and student conservation camps for local pupils.
Get in touch and let’s start the conversation. An initial consultation helps us understand what you’re looking for, whether that’s specific experiences, luxury touches, or marking a special occasion, and from there we’ll guide you through what’s possible so you can decide if we’re the right fit.
By light aircraft to the Selinda Reserve airstrip, roughly 45 minutes from Maun or 50 from Kasane, then a game drive to camp on the banks of the Selinda Spillway. We arrange the charter to fit the rest of your itinerary, routing you through whichever gateway makes sense.
Flights are shared and set the day before, and luggage is soft bags of about 20kg. If you would rather fly to your own schedule, we can arrange a private charter instead, typically a Cessna Caravan or Pilatus PC-12, timed to your international arrival and flown direct to the strip. Selinda Camp is the only accommodation on this stretch of the spillway, so you have a great deal of space to yourselves.
Yes. Like the rest of northern Botswana, Selinda is a malaria area, not a malaria-free one, with a seasonal pattern: lowest risk in the dry winter from June to October, higher through the summer rains.
Guidance can change from one year to the next, so we suggest checking the current position with a travel clinic or your doctor before you travel, and taking the usual precautions against bites after dark.
June to October is the prime stretch, when thinning water and bush pull elephant, buffalo and predators onto the spillway, and the reserve's wild dogs den, raising the odds of following a pack over several days. July to September is the best balance of conditions; October is hottest and most concentrated.
The green summer from November suits those drawn to birds and newborn game, and the low vehicle numbers here make even the quieter season feel private.
Winter days sit in the mid-twenties and are dry and clear, but the dawn drives are cold, occasionally near freezing in the open vehicle, so pack layers, a fleece, a windproof jacket, a hat and gloves for the early start. From October it turns hot before the rains break.
Neutral colours work best, sun protection is needed year-round, and a light waterproof is worth having for the summer storm season.
Yes. Selinda Camp takes children from around age six, and the two-bedroom Selinda Suite gives a family its own private space with a plunge pool over the floodplain. The low-density, unhurried feel of the camp suits families who want quiet and room to spread out.
Let us know the children's ages when you plan the trip, and we will confirm which activities they can join, since walking and water outings carry their own limits.
Two nights is the usual minimum, but three or more is where a place like this rewards you. With so few vehicles and miles of uninterrupted floodplain, the reserve reveals itself over several unhurried days rather than a single drive, and a longer stay lets you follow a wild dog pack or a lion pride rather than hope to catch them once.
Selinda also pairs naturally with a contrasting camp elsewhere in Botswana, a water-based Delta stay or the desert pans, and we are glad to build that around it.
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