Selinda Explorers Camp
This small‑scale outpost sits deep in a vital wildlife corridor, where walking, canoeing and unhurried encounters shape each day. Remote, characterful and rich in predator action, it’s a dream base not only for travellers seeking adventure with real photographic potential, but also for those who value the luxury of an intimate camp paired with superb guiding.
Location
This prime predator habitat was hand‑selected by Dereck and Beverly Joubert, owners of Great Plains Conservation and renowned National Geographic explorers, after years of filming and research in the area. Predators follow the game movements through this corridor, and the region is home to the famous Selinda lion prides, stars of National Geographic’s ‘Birth of a Pride’.
Selinda Explorers Camp is accessed by light aircraft from Kasane or Maun, followed by a game‑drive transfer from the airstrip.
Accommodation
Each tent sits on a slightly raised wooden platform and blends campaign‑style furniture, recycled hardwoods and soft furnishings from Zanzibar with Persian rugs, copper details and large Joubert photographs above the beds.
The camp’s heart is formed by two open‑sided communal tents centred around a giant termite mound: one a dining area and bar, the other a beautifully styled lounge of sofas, leather pouffes, Zanzibari chests and brass lamps. A firepit and small pool overlook the Spillway, where wildlife often wanders past.
With the chef having free reign to design their own menu, meals are fresh, varied and consistently excellent. With the chef having free reign to design their own menu, meals are fresh, varied and consistently excellent. They’re a fitting complement to the camp’s relaxed charm and superb setting.
Experiences
- Paddle down the Selinda Spillway by canoe when water levels allow, drifting quietly between reedbeds alive with birdlife.
- Walk slowly along ancient wildlife paths with expert guides, meeting the bush on its own terms and at its own pace.
- Set out early on morning drives to track lions, leopards, cheetahs and the famed Selinda wild dogs as the day begins.
- Follow the herds on late‑afternoon drives, when elephants – thousands in peak dry season – move through the reserve in great, rumbling processions.
- Capture the moment with guidance inspired by the camp’s owners, world‑acclaimed photographers Dereck and Beverly Joubert.
- Sip a sundowner at the Hippo Pool as the light softens and the Spillway comes alive with evening calls.
- Look up in wonder during an astronomy session, learning the southern stars from one of the quietest, darkest skies in Botswana.
Selinda Explorers Camp for Families
The camp’s intimate scale also makes it an excellent choice for a multigenerational safari. With just a handful of tents, it’s easy to take over for a private gathering, where grandparents can revel in hearing the day’s stories from the younger explorers, having enjoyed their own dose of discovery too.
Why We Include Selinda Explorers Camp in Our Journeys
Getting here is part of the adventure, and its intimate scale suits individuals, couples, families and private groups seeking a wilderness experience with real depth.
Talk to us about designing your journey >
From the Team
"The shifting seasons of the Selinda Spillway mean you could return to Selinda Explorers Camp time and again and experience something entirely new. From November to April, elephants gather in remarkable numbers; in June and July, thousands of zebra sweep through; and between May and September, water levels rise, ushering in the peak of canoeing and other water‑based adventures."
Why Plan Your Safari with Journeysmiths
Every journey we design begins with listening. Whether you’re travelling as a family, a couple, or across generations, we take time to understand how you want your safari to feel – not just where you want to go. From there, we carefully weave together exceptional places, trusted guides, and seamless logistics to create journeys that flow naturally and feel entirely your own.Every journey we design begins with listening. Whether you’re travelling as a family, a couple, or across generations, we take time to understand how you want your safari to feel – not just where you want to go. From there, we carefully weave together exceptional places, trusted guides, and seamless logistics to create journeys that flow naturally and feel entirely your own.
Positive Impact
We prioritise working with properties that collaborate with local communities and address location-specific needs from education to anti-poaching. We assess our partners to ensure the people we work with share our values of ensuring our trips continue to act as a force for good. Here we share some of the positive impacts your stay here contributes to:We prioritise working with properties that collaborate with local communities and address location-specific needs from education to anti-poaching. We assess our partners to ensure the people we work with share our values of ensuring our trips continue to act as a force for good. Here we share some of the positive impacts your stay here contributes to:
Great Places to Combine with Selinda Explorers Camp
Selinda Explorers Camp works beautifully as part of a wider journey in Botswana and beyond. We often pair it with contrasting environments to create a sense of flow and variety.Selinda Explorers Camp works beautifully as part of a wider journey in Botswana and beyond. We often pair it with contrasting environments to create a sense of flow and variety.
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"Spectacular birding and game watching trip to Botswana for 8 people. I have had the enormous privilege of holidaying in South Africa several times with Journeysmiths. All have been quite splendid-but the most recent trip was very probably the very best."
From the pristine wilderness of Linyanti, to the glistening floodplains of the Okavango Delta, and beyond to the shimmering salt flats of Makgadikgadi - this Botswana safari will leave you with incredible memories from beginning to end. Experience the diverse ecosystems and wildlife Botswana has to offer in this epic journey from plains, to delta to desert.
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Travel across Southern Africa in complete luxury, staying at some of the most exclusive properties on the continent. With every single detail taken care of by exceptional guides and staff at each location, you can concentrate on what really matters - immersing yourself in an exclusive African safari experience.
From the glistening floodplains of the Okavango Delta, to the pristine wilderness of Linyanti, and beyond to the shimmering salt flats of Makgadikgadi - this family friendly safari will leave you all with lifelong memories. Experience the diverse ecosystems and wildlife Botswana has to offer in this spectacular journey from Delta to Desert.
Botswana is Africa’s most exclusive safari destination. Each enormous private reserve has just one or two luxury lodges guaranteeing a series of private experiences as you travel from one exquisite location to the next. Expert guides will take your family on safari among big cats and vast elephant herds in beautiful deltas and deserts.
Imagine gliding silently along an Okavango waterway in a mokoro canoe as zebra and impala graze the grasslands. Or cantering on horseback with your guide alongside giraffe. In the Kalahari, take an early morning walk with a San Bushman as he explains the ancestral secrets of survival.
Here’s something you might not expect. The people looking after you on safari might create some of your happiest safari memories. You’ll remember laughter and those after dinner stories and jokes around the campfire. During a three-night stay in a luxury camp, you’ll get to make friends with your guide, the chef, the vegetable gardener and the other people who love their work.
Botswana is a great choice for an exclusive family safari. Roaming the spectacular deserts, deltas and savannahs are literally millions of animals. The fertility and abundant water of the Okavango and Linyanti Deltas supports an incredible 200 different mammal species. The Government’s high value, low volume tourism policy helps conservation and enables you to enjoy a top quality private safari.
Between safaris there is plenty for children to do in camp while the adults relax. Safari lodges may be small and in remote locations, but they have excellent facilities and your hosts’ purpose is to give you the best possible time. In this section we also suggest a couple of places that combine easily to complement your Botswana safari.
We’ve compiled a list of our favourite experiences to inspire your imagination.
The best way to give your family the facilities it seeks may be to book out an entire camp or lodge. Perhaps you are planning a multi-generation safari. Or you may want to fulfil a dream of walking, mokoroing and camping out in the Okavango. You may simply crave an extra degree of privacy. Most lodges we use take fewer than 16 guests, some take only eight, so booking a whole lodge is a viable option.
Booking your family safari to Botswana opens a door to a world of exciting adventure. From the minute your Cessna touches the bush strip, your family will be in the wilds with expert guides. We curated the top 10 family experiences in Botswana to whet your appetite.
Escape into the wilds of Botswana, where the pristine landscape and varied wildlife abound. On a luxury safari in Botswana, you can expect to share your safari with only a handful of other guests, as our travel insider Philippa Page discovered.
Botswana is one of the best places for a family holiday of a lifetime! There are millions of animals across plains, deserts and deltas.
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When seeking advice, we all agree that we should trust someone with first-hand experience. A frequent visitor to Botswana, Laura knows the luxury lodges and camps that reveal Botswana’s remarkable wildlife and the distinct landscapes that shape each safari experience.