We stayed at Selinda from September 6 -8,2012 . Selinda was everything we desired and more. It is a magical setting with outstanding game drives,guides and service.It was recommended to us by our excellent travel agency, Explore Africa. We cannot thank Explore Africa enough for their great recommendation of Selinda. John and Liz are fabulous [...]

This solitary bull elephant showed us his magnificence with a mock charge whilst out on drive today. He came as close as two meters and then went past the vehicle.

Some great sightings last week for our guests, a quick summary: – Wild dogs, all 18 including 8 pupppies, were seen hunting, catching and feeding on a female kudu. Unusual as there normal pray is Impala, they have plenty mouths to feed these days though. – 4 female Lions taking down a large male Kudu [...]

We’ve now had two very successful trips at Explorers Camp with a number to come before the end of the season. What has stood out is the complete remoteness, exclusivity, and raw wilderness the camp provides. We have had some extraordinary sightings, but more so experiences at this gem of a place so far, here [...]

September has been an exciting month at the ol Donyo hide, as dry season conditions cause elephants to congregate at the waterhole. The resident ol Donyo bulls have a fairly established social order, but order must be continually maintained and interactions among the various locals have been regular. Dry season interlopers from Amboseli National Park [...]

Following a relatively dry season this year around the country and also less in-flow from our catchment area, the water levels have gone down drastically around the concession and most areas that would normally be flooded this time of the year are completely dry. This dry spell will continue for some time as we do [...]

“Look at the trees, look at the birds, look at the clouds, look at the stars…and if you have eyes you will see that the whole existence is joyful. Everything is simply happy. Trees are happy for no reason; they are not going to become prime ministers or presidents and they are not going to [...]

A small family of elephants enjoying their sunset meal.

Dry grassland in the Mbirikani group ranch means more wildlife is visiting the ol Donyo Lodge waterhole, making for wonderful sightings from the log viewing hide. The resident bull elephants – One Ton, Torn Ear, Ozzie, Pug, Jagged, Kali and Tom – daily dominate the waterhole, their combined massive bulks making it tough going for [...]

There are so many entries for August it is very difficult to know where to start.  The 2012 season is producing some of the most incredible sightings, exceeding all our expectations, in number and diversity of species, including two new species that we have not seen for over a decade.  The reason for this is [...]

Guided bush walks in the bush with your armed guide is an integral activity at Zarafa.  Our guides are experienced professional walking guides, who are all trained in rifle handling. The walks range from a 10 minute exploration through to 3 or 4 hour walks, there is no limit. We have had some incredible sightings [...]

The new guest arrivals had a fantastic drive in seeing literally hundreds of Elephants. After a long trip the guests decided to make the most of the camp and watch the sunset as hippos came out in front of deck and they were chased away by a herd of elephants. They are not the best [...]

Ride Kenya Horse Safari’s new Amboseli Route has proven to be a smashing success. We had an amazing safari in August with a truly dynamic group of people.  Starting right at the base of the majestic Mount Kilimanjaro, the first two nights were spent on the border of Amboseli National Park. This is a new [...]

Our canoe trail reports have been a bit quiet recently but rest assured that’s not due to a lack of excitement and adventure! We had the most incredible trips over the past few months, which have just flown by. We’ve been non-stop since June with every safari (set departure date filled). Now with only a [...]

The month of July will be dedicated the largest of our many diverse mammals – Loxidonta Africana – The African Elephant Simply put, they are everywhere. We have not had rain since April, even then the rainy season provided us with little rain. This has meant that all the water holes all around Zarafa and [...]

The Selinda Lion Pride is back… “Our” 15 lions just walked back into the Selinda Reserve this morning, and this time they brought their cubs. They actually entered last night to steal a fresh (elephant) kill from a bunch of hyena who were just behind Zarafa Camp. We were about to go out with the [...]

Amazing things happen around Selinda Camp, you often don’t have to stray too far to see something exceptional. A few afternoons ago we spotted this bull Elephant laying down against a termite mound on an island within view of the deck. (Yes, that infamous deck that often is the scene of superb sightings of Elephant, [...]

Whether you are at the dinner table, your outdoor shower, our “jungle” gym or the “loo-with-a-view”, there is always an elephant around to keep an eye on you at Zarafa Camp in Botswana.

The June 2012 Zarafa Camp Top 10 experiences. 10. Cheetah on the way out to the airstrip. Often the last mammal anyone ever sees on a safari is an impala or maybe a warthog grazing at the airstrip before they leave on a plane. For a recent couple it happened to be a cheetah as [...]

Warthog in the Chyulu Hills In the Chyulu Hills, huge downfalls of rain have turned the countryside into a sea of green. The herbivores have moved away from the base of the hills and onto the savannah, exploring further across the plains and getting slowly fatter. They’ve been leaving the security of the lodge’s permanent watering [...]

Today our Selinda Camp guests had a bit of a “water jam” during their pristine and private boat cruise along the Selinda Spillway… They admired elephant for half an hour before they were able to come back to camp. There are so many elephants on the Selinda Reserve right now that at both Zarafa Camp [...]

You don’t even need to  leave Selinda camp to experience Botswana’s wildlife. There was a herd of at least 40 elephants “taking over” the camp yesterday afternoon. In fact some of our guests even decided not to go on an afternoon game drive just capture this big family with their wide angle lenses. And it’s [...]

Rain has been falling almost daily at ol Donyo Lodge in the Chyulu Hills for several weeks. The dark clouds usually start floating in around mid-morning from Ol Donyo Hill behind the lodge or the twin peaks of El Mau facing the lodge. The smell of rain fills the air, a grey sheet comes racing [...]

May has been an excellent month here at Selinda Camp. Game viewing from the camp itself has been exceptional! We have had 3 visits from the Selinda Wild Dog Pack which is now comprised of the Alpha Male and Alpha Female and 8 puppies from last year’s litter. They have taken to hunting the herds [...]

“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are” – Teddy Roosevelt It has been a quiet month here on the plains with the camp being closed for maintenance and a few touch-up renovations, including our suspension bridge that was severely beaten by the flooding river during the April rains. It has been [...]

The arrival of the herds. This month we have selected the top ten experiences and sightings for May at Zarafa: 1.  Foster following a lion kill, of an old male buffalo. A gripping morning for the guests having picked up the 14 strong pride and then watch as they chased the “daga” boy into the [...]

We’ve had a brilliant start to our Selinda Canoe season, being incredibly fortunate enough to find lions on foot on the first trip. Since then we witnesses two Sable Bulls fighting in the river itself for nearly two hours completely oblivious to our presence. See the action sequence photos below They were both sometime up [...]

Wake up at 5.30, grab a quick bite at 6, the magic hour of photography is waiting so Stephan and Michella are ready to go. All day packed lunch (with wicker basket and shiny brass pots), and Reuban the guide off they go. Adventuring is about discovering, and stopping where and area looks good to [...]

Many of Zarafa’s guests took up our brand new offer for breakfast to go. We deliver tea and coffee your room with your wake up and when you are ready we take you straight out into the field in order maximize the best morning light. We had some guests going out super early and had [...]