Botswana | Selinda | wandelsafari
Selinda, Linyanti, Savuti (Savute) and Kwando are all private concessions within the Chobe region that lie to the north of the Okavango Delta. They are famous for being the most rugged, game-rich, tourist-free areas in Botswana - more exclusive than this is unheard of! The abundance of nature in Selinda, Savuti, Linyanti and Kwando is due to the river, which as it flows, changes in name from the Kwando to the Linyanti to the Chobe river, until it finally joins the Zambezi river in Zimbabwe.
Selinda (1350 km2) lies on the west side of the Selinda Spillway (or Magweqana), a watercourse that links the Okavango Delta with the Chobe River and only flows in years of substantial rainfall. Selinda is one of the few areas in Botswana where you can take (guided) walking safaris tours.
There are many zebras and impala in Selinda, which are always closely trailed by cheetah and other animals of prey. This is a spectacular sight that opens your eyes to the core of existence. Watching a cheetah straddle an impala that it has just killed is guaranteed to make you forget the most pressing of your everyday worries.
The large marshland of Linyanti (1250 km2) is located above the Okavango Delta. This private wildlife reserve is bordered by the Linyanti River in the north and the Chobe National Park in the east. The Linyanti region is crossed by the Savuti channel, which was once a flowing river but now consists of open grasslands that attract game such as roan and sable antelope. These antelope species in turn also attract predators, such as lions, leopards and wild dogs. Hippopotamus can also be found here, as well as particularly large numbers of elephant, giraffe and impala. Selinda is one of the few areas in Botswana where you can set off for several days on walking tours.
Savuti lies to the west of Chobe National Park, on the edge of the Kalahari Dessert. Many nature documentaries are filmed here. Savuti was once a huge lake that was cut off from its water supply when the earth's plates shifted. In the dry season, large herds of elephants live in harmony here with warthog, kudu, impala, zebra and wildebeest. Unintentionally, these also attract lions and hyenas to the area and in the rainy season as many as 450 different types of birds come to the area. This region is distinguished also by both Savuti lions, which hunt elephant, and the annual migration of zebras and animals of prey, such as lions, hyenas and sometimes cheetahs.
Together with Linyanti, Savuti forms one of the wildest areas in the Chobe region.
Kwando lies to the northwest of Chobe and measures some 2,320 km2, with 80 kilometres of river banks. This is the most remote and least visited of the four privately-owned concessions. In the dry season, large herds of elephants can be seen here during game drives in open Land Rovers, as well as cheetahs, hyenas and lions. Boat excursions are also organised here, which give you the opportunity to admire the wildlife from the water, and there is no better place in Africa to catch sight of wild dogs.
