Zarafa Camp
(Selinda Spillway - Botswana)
Zarafa Camp - A Botswana Safari
Lodge
Zarafa (formerly Zibadianja) Camp, overlooking the Zibadianja Lagoon, evokes a sense of old-style safari with its four large, luxuriously appointed double or twin 'marquis style' tents. At a maximum of eight guests, the emphasis here is on individual hospitality and privacy. Each generous tent and veranda is positioned under cool and shady trees to emphasise the spectacular view and comprises a spacious bedroom, en-suite bathroom, a copper bath and shower as well as outdoor shower.
The main area is furnished in the same 'campaign' style as the tents and evokes the traditional safari ambiance of the turn of the last century. Lounge and dining facilities may be enjoyed under canvas or on the full-length deck shaded by giant broad-leafed trees - overlooking the expansive view and the wildlife that passes by. The camp is perfect for those who favour a more intimate personal experience or those who prefer the entire camp for their own, exclusive use.
Activities at Zarafa are flexible to suit guests' particular interests and include morning, afternoon and night game drives with experienced professional guides in custom-built 4x4 Toyota Land Cruisers. Short guided nature walks from camp are encouraged, to introduce guests to some of Africa's less prominent wildlife. Siesta time can also be spent in the sunken hide at the waterhole's edge.
All of the Chobe wildlife is present at Zarafa with a varied bird and mammal community. Abundant plains game can be found here including lechwe, kudu, buffalo, zebra and giraffe. It is also a predator-rich reserve including cheetah, wild dog, lion, and leopard. The massive herds of elephant are another highlight while a wide variety of birds - some 300 or more - can be seen
ACCOMMODATION:
This breathtaking camp has four large and luxuriously appointed double or twin "marquis style" canvas tents that accommodate a maximum of 8 guests. It is the perfect camp for small groups who are looking for privacy combined with superb accommodation and great wildlife viewing (often directly from ones bed!). Each of the spacious tented rooms is expansive and is close on 100 square meters in size (or around 1000 square feet). Each one of the tents tent is positioned along the edge of the forests to take advantage of the spectacular view over the floodplains and savannas, while offering cool shade.
Each tent comprises a spacious bedroom, an en-suite bathroom with copper bath & shower (as well as an additional outdoor shower for those who prefer the outdoors). The adjoining, comfortable lounge with its private pool rounds off our guest accommodation. A large shady veranda is standard as are overhead fans, flowing and seductive mosquito nets, and a beautiful handcrafted copper fireplace, strategically placed between the bathroom and bedroom for the winter months. The furniture has been designed and handcrafted by Don Young and his team specifically for Zarafa and is made from recycled ancient hardwoods.
Selinda Reserve
The Selinda Reserve is a private 135 000-hectare (330 000-acre) wildlife area located in northern Botswana. What makes this locale special is that it follows the floodplains of the Selinda Spillway, the waterway that winds its way through dry countryside to connect the Okavango Delta in the west to the Linyanti and Kwando wetlands and rivers in the east.
The full length of the Selinda Spillway winds its way through the Reserve and forms a magnet for the wildlife of the region. As Botswana is so flat, this river can flow in one of two directions or - as happens in some years - it can flow in both! Waters from the Okavango pour into the Selinda Spillway and flow from west to east. In the extreme east of the Reserve, waters from the Kwando and Linyanti rivers and floodplains force their way up the Spillway from east to west. Only in years of exceptional water levels in both these systems does the water that flows in from both the east and the west join up.
This concession is blessed with a variety of habitats - wide-open savannah dotted with attractive palm trees; thirst-quenching waterways surrounded by dry woodland and then the river systems and floodplains themselves that draw thousands of animals to it, as they are forced to quench their thirst in the dry season along these waterways.
The Selinda floodplains are host to a wide diversity of antelope and plains game. Game drives are fruitful with a multiplicity of antelope, Burchell's zebra, southern giraffe, blue wildebeest, and plenty of elephant and buffalo to be seen. Predator viewing is exceptional including the hippo-killing lions of Selinda, leopard, wild dog and cheetah.
The Selinda Concession is ecologically similar to Linyanti, but differs in the increased extent of its floodplains. Like the Linyanti, in the dry winter months, enormous herds of elephant remain close to the permanent water of the Zibadianja Lagoon (the Savute Channel's origin) and the Linyanti waters.
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