Adventure Trails
The Silent Safari
No engine noises of any kind as you walk or paddle gently through the waters of northern Botswana
The Selinda Adventure Trail team is run under the guidance of professional guides and occasionally led by Kane Motswana, a River Bushmen from the Gudikwa village located in Botswana’s Okavango Panhandle – an area to the west of the Selinda Reserve. Your guide’s intimate knowledge of the bush curates a memorable physical, spiritual and cultural journey through the wilderness.
The trail replicates the safari experiences of old as you chart a course along the Selinda Spillway and into the remote woodlands of the vast 320,000 acre Selinda Reserve. As over previous year’s we are always mindful of the climatic variances and changes that naturally occur in our remote locations. Following the ecosystem’s natural changes along the Selinda Spillway during the course of 2017, the trail has adapted the experience onwards to a 4 Day / 3 Night adventure.
Typical Daily Itinerary
DAY 1: On arrival at the starting point of the adventure trail along the spillway, your guide will brief the group, before taking guests on a short, late-afternoon walk or canoe paddle to aclimatise to your surroundings before arriving at your first night in camp, where the evening is spent around the fire discussing the adventures that lie ahead.
DAY 2: After an early wake-up call, tea or coffee and a light breakfast is served, before we head
off on foot or canoe along the Selinda Spillway enjoying the natural splendours of the Selinda Reserve as they appear before us.
Dependant on water levels, most of the day will be spent canoeing, with a few stops before lunch is served en route to the fly camp for that night.
A lunch stop is served en route and if the water levels are too low, the group will then head “inland”, exploring on foot, before arriving at our second camp which will be your base for the next two nights.
DAY 3: An early breakfast fuels us for a morning of exploration as we head off on foot, to remote meanders of the complex Selinda Spillway. Expect to see antelope a plenty and large herds of elephant and buffalo; a truly humbling experience. The length of day is tailored around the wildlife in the areas, with cold refreshments and a lunch stop.
DAY 4: Our last morning is a final canoe or walk to the trail-end along the Selinda Spillway. From there we take a slow paced game drive allowing you to see as much wildlife as possible before you get to our airstrip. Once at the airstrip we share our highlights one final time and bid farewell to the adventure.
Adventure Trails Gallery
Other Information
GROUP SIZE
This safari is guaranteed on a set scheduled departure basis with a maximum group size of eight guests and minimum of two guests.
Private and flexible tailor-made safaris where a group books out an entire departure are welcomed and encouraged. On the canoe safari, each canoe will have two guests, their bedrolls and soft luggage bags. Participants paddle their own canoes or walk to their campsite each day. No previous paddling or canoeing experience is needed as tuition will be given – but participants must be fit enough to paddle their own canoes. On the walking safari, guests will be lead by an armed, experienced walking guide as well as a knowledgeable tracker. All luggage and equipment will be taken by road to the following night’s campsite. Guests will be given a camelback daypack for hydration purposes.
STAFF
Each safari will be hosted by between four and six staff members. There is usually one cook, three camp hands and our armed, experienced guide
(and tracker if on the walking safari). When on our canoe safari experience our staff will be in their own canoes with most of the equipment, although we may spread the weight of drinks and food for the day and other gear throughout all the canoes.
AGE LIMIT
We recommend children join us from the age of 14 due to the daily walking distances that we can enjoy. For guests with children from 10 – 13 years, we look forward to consulting with you to create a private tailor-made safari, which may be subject to an additional cost.
VEHICLES
As we walk and canoe through areas that are inaccessible to vehicles, there are no back-up vehicles that accompany the route we follow when canoeing. An open game drive vehicle is used to transport guests from their last camp to the Selinda Airstrip.
ACCOMMODATION/CAMPING EQUIPMENT
This safari is all about taking us away from today’s hectic, busy and interconnected world. The Selinda Spillway runs through a remote part of the private Selinda Reserve in northern Botswana, in areas where you will be completely removed from the modern world. We will be carrying all of the equipment on the canoes with us, or transporting them via vehicle when on the walking safari.
Your campsites will be of a rustic but comfortable nature. Walk-in canvas Kodiak tents are provided as they are comfortable and large enough for two people. They are furnished with comfortable bedrolls and quality linen. We provide enough camp chairs for dinners at a well-appointed dinner table and for guests to sit around a fire at night.
Our ablution facilities are ‘short drop’ toilets with separate screened bucket showers offering hot and cold water in the evenings, all of which our staff prepare before your arrival at each overnight campsite.
