Another Great Plains addition to an already excellent portfolio, Selinda Explorers Camp is a very fine example of a piece of accommodation that has managed to recapture something of the frontier spirit; the engine and raison d’être of every self-respecting bush explorer.
Overview
Located in the private 130,000-hectare Selinda Reserve of northern Botswana and set in among a clutch of jackalberry and mangosteen trees, Selinda Explorers Camp is a classic canvas camp consisting of a mess tent and four sleeping tents. The main areas include a lounge, bar, dining area and veranda. That’s it, which is exactly what it’s about: getting back to what matters, to simple comforts, fine tucker, and the wild, here, on the doorstep. Please note there is WiFi in the rooms, and children from 6 years are welcome.
Characterised by blond-wood campaign-style furnishings, director seats, Moroccan rugs, one or two slumber cushions, low Swahili tables and the odd piece of brass sculpture, there is nothing here that comes close to gold tap luxury, nothing to distract guests from experiencing the wild.
Food & service
The food – locally sourced, a variety of fish, meat and vegetables, African and European – at Selinda Explorers Camp is unrelentingly fine, with breakfast and brunch/lunch built into the day’s activities. The evening meal a three-piece extravaganza. The service – can-do, discreet and super professional – is a real joy.
Rooms
The four custom-designed sleeping tents at Selinda Explorers Camp are spacious, simple, deeply comfortable, and include three guest tents and one two-bedroom family tent. Set on the banks of the Selinda spillway, each tent includes a double bed, open-air ensuite bathroom, seating, storage and a veranda. Sleeping accommodation in the family tent’s extra room can be configured according individual need. Again, the design here is aimed at recreating simpler times, with a look that is as restrained as it is functional, the beautiful interiors limited to a rug, bedside tables, traditional lamp lighting. The bathroom – eco-flush toilets, copper sinks and hot bucket showers – is equally authentic.
Activities
Activities at Selinda Explorers Camp include wildlife drives, guided walks, canoeing and fishing (subject to water levels) as well as the obligatory sundowners.
Impact
Conservation
The camp’s light footprint approach to all things environmental means solar power, a borehole water supply and a grey water treatment programme.