Owned and operated by Great Plains Conservation, located on the Selinda Reserve, along the Selinda spillway, Selinda Camp is an authentically run luxury lodge.
Overview
While old timers will miss its previous incarnation, the spit and sawdust bush camp that it once was, Selinda Camp is today a beautiful wood and thatch build consisting of a main lodge and four sleeping rooms. The shared areas include a dining area, lounge, decking, shop, bar, gallery and plunge pool.
Characterised by untreated wooden floors, open sides and plenty of space, the main area is furnished with leather studded sofas, low tables, bench seating, old stressed storage chests, director’s chairs, brilliantly coloured cushions, mokoro shells and drapes made from Masaai necklaces. The gallery, which from time to time hosts guest photographers, is set above the shop, and shows many of Beverley Joubert’s best works, prints of which are available for sale.
Food & service
The food and service at Selinda Camp are excellent, with special diets and tastes easily catered for.
Rooms
Well spaced, raised on wooden platforms and approached by means of a set of wooden steps, the luxury tented rooms are beautiful, large and extremely relaxing. Each includes a large veranda, sliding doors, double bed and en suite bathroom.
The veranda doubles up as a lounge, and possesses a sofa and easy chairs. Dominated by the bed and its headboard, which serves to divide the space in two, the room is simply furnished, with a Persian rug, a pair of leather easy chairs, a writing desk and a Joubert photograph being the only extras.
A double sink and mirror are fixed to the back of the dividing wall, while the bathroom is positioned to the rear of the tent. Again, simplicity is the key, with a gorgeous stand-alone bath taking centre stage. Wi-Fi is available, although speeds can vary greatly across the camp.
Please note that as well as the above mentioned luxury tented tents, there is the two-bedroomed luxury tented villa Selinda Suite, which comes with its own private vehicle, guide, chef, and manager. Guests enter and leave by its own private entrance.
Activities
Activities include wildlife drives, guided walks, boating, canoeing and fishing. The guiding here is excellent, and an excellent new lookout hide was completed in January 2011.
Impact
Conservation
Great Plains Conservation make sure that their camps are run in the most sustainable way possible as explained further:
“We believe that responsible tourism has the capacity to protect natural wildlife habitats, support community development and alleviate poverty. It is the only responsible way into the future of Africa.
Our aim is to create best practice, world-class conservancy with long terms commitment to the environment, wildlife and the local communities.
We also have an initiative to contribute to halting the alarming decline in Big Cats around the world: For each guest’s four night stay at one of Great Plains Conservation’s Botswana (Zarafa, Selinda or Duba Plains) and Kenya (ol Donyo or Mara Plains) camps, we will donate $25 per person per night to the National Geographic Big Cats Initiative.”