April is the cruellest month….as the temperatures continue to drop on a daily basis, I was almost tempted to believe TS Eliot but in fact April has been anything but cruel in terms of its safari this month. It all started with African wild dogs who decided to appear at early morning breakfast and kill [...]

If you are asked to sum up Duba Plains in a matter of words then more often than not Lions, Buffalo, exceptional photography, Dereck and Beverley Joubert and National Geographic’s The Last Lions come to mind. The Lion and Buffalo interaction is world famous and we are one of the top places in Africa to [...]

While there’s no doubt that being alluded to as the Brangelina’s of the safari industry is quite a compliment, there’s much more substance to the work of Dereck & Beverly than appearances. Tiara Walters of South Africa’s Sunday Times weaves a story which we hope will “turn around a billion Chinese”. But it requires your [...]

This was the month that we completed the first ever Great Plains Conservation aerial survey over Duba Plains.   We have collaborated with Elephant Without Borders’ Mike Chase and Kelly Langden for what will be two annual survey, one in each the wet and dry seasons.  Each May, we will then release a full report [...]

KB, our Duba guide who has outstanding birding knowledge, has found a Pel’s fishing Owl only 2 km from Duba Plains. This is one of Africa’s, and the world’s, most sought after birds as it is an incredibly unique owl that predates on fish. This compliments some outstanding birding at Duba, one of the foremost [...]

We have 3 new arrivals on the Selinda Reserve, 3 tiny ten day old lion cubs were spotted for the first time yesterday. Mots (Selinda Camp guide)  was following one of the Wakpuka pride females .  She walked over to an acacia bush to reveal  three tiny little cubs, probably not even 2 weeks old. [...]

Duba Plains’ Executive Chef Pierre was setting up early brunch one morning last week, always with a camera near by, Pierre spotted these two Cattle Egrets bickering away whilst bouncing around on the back of a buffalo. Oblivious to their surroundings, and the fact they are prancing around on a mass of grumpy Cape Buffalo. [...]

January’s rains were not for the faint of heart, with numerous downpours. There’s nothing more beautiful then the before and after from a Botswana summer storm. You can see the thunderheads build, like giants in the sky, while the wind picks up and then you know it is coming. It is so refreshing and renewing, [...]

You don’t have to travel far in Duba Plains Camp before you see something lively.  Whether it is a herd of 1000 Buffalo, or the occasional Lions following them, or the local herd of Kudu pictured, you can immerse yourself very quickly by just stepping out of your tent. Then you can look up and [...]

The most exciting thing happened last night when a couple of our guests along with Seki our head guide stumbled upon our well known local lion! It’s always a treat to get a sighting of a species which has been so heavily persecuted in this region. Small conservation steps matter. Today, all of the birds [...]

GREAT PLAINS CONSERVATION OUTREACH TEAM Young Explorers Conservation Camp 2013 In December Great Plains Conservation hosted the Young Explorers Conservation Camp at the, aptly named and new, Selinda Explorers camp on the Selinda Reserve for five nights, 3rd to the 8th December 2012. The aim was to educate and bring awareness to 20 young Conservationists [...]

Duba’s December Delights December is an exciting month all around the world and no less so at Duba Plains. We received big rains in the first week of December and within days the bush became alive and green again. Many birds started breeding so the sky is filled with bright and beautiful colours while the [...]

All too often in the world of conservation, we are peppered with tragic stories. De-horned rhino here, speared lion there, but today we bring to you a conservation story which might just give you great hope for 2013 and beyond. Sure, you might say, “but it’s just a set of games, who cares, what’s that [...]

We are always seeking new ways to nurture children’s love and appreciation for the bush. And corollary to that, is giving them ways to express their new found adoration for something as magnificent as a shiny dragonfly or gigantic baobab tree or the huge flock of queleas in the summer sun. It’s often as easy [...]

First Maasai Olympics in Kenya creates new tradition: The track and field competition uses warriors’ lion hunting skills for athletics “The Maasai Olympics is not just a sporting activity and event. It is a once–in–a–lifetime opportunity given by the Maasai elders to save this ecosystem,” Dereck Joubert, CEO of Great Plains Conservation, said. In Kenya’s [...]

“To see ten thousand animals untamed and not branded with the symbols of human commerce is like scaling an unconquered mountain for the first time, or like finding a forest without roads or footpaths, or the blemish of an axe. You know then what you had always been told — that the world once lived [...]

Underneath the Mangosteen… We have this huge Mangosteen tree right in front of Zarafa. And every year in November it gives us very tasteful orange fruits. The birds like them, the squirrels, the warthogs, the elephants and the housekeepers. So the battle of the fruits has started. Since we like our animals in camp it [...]

We still have not received any rainfall save for the showers that we had mid November. It looks like the rainy season is delayed but the sky is always filled with rain-pregnant clouds and anytime we might get a down pour. All our game drive areas are accessible as the area is dry. Game viewing [...]

Dereck and Beverly Joubert have spent more time filming and living among lions in the wild than anyone alive today. The discoveries they’ve made over 30 years of wildlife filmmaking have challenged conventional wisdom about Africa’s big cats.

Lara Logan of CBS 60 Minutes profiles “The Last Lions” filmmakers Dereck and Beverly Joubert on location at their Great Plains Conservation Camps in Botswana Scheduled to air Sunday November 25, 2012 at 7:00 p.m. ET/PT Lara Logan and a team from CBS 60 Minutes profiled filmmakers Dereck and Beverly Joubert at their Great Plains [...]

Today, CNN featured both Ride Kenya and Selinda Canoe Trail in its article titled “9 Ways to Travel Africa in Style”. We are honored to be part of this adventurous round-up of authentic African experiences which slough off the glitz & glam and get real in the bush. Come join us soon.

We had an emergency at Selinda Camp last week in the form of a road block created by our Wild Dog pack, the red listed endangered species. With a plane on the way from Maun, our guests were due to fly out that morning.  All was going well, with the transfer, when the car taking [...]

Great Plains Conservation is not simply a tourism venture. As our name suggests, we are actually primarily focused on conservation and use tourism as a vector to achieve our conservation goals. Hence we we call ourselves a “Conservation Tourism” company. To this end, Dereck & Beverly Joubert founded Big Cats Initiative in partnership with National [...]

Our friend and fan, Dan Achber of Trufflepig, crafted this entertaining and informative video of the Selinda Canoe Trail. It’s a must-see, if for no other reason then to know what to do when you face a pod of hippos be it in in Botswana, or elsewhere in your life. Glad you enjoyed it, Dan! [...]

Perched on the tree waiting to do what it knows best. We have interesting bird spotting areas at Duba Plains and it was interesting to see this juvenile, completely different to usually seeing an adult. Guess what it is yet?     A Juvenile Fish Eagle

These two lion cubs find themselves in a situation where they have to struggle to find some shade, with the temperature at 41 degrees, buffalo refusing to be intimidated and no big trees to cool down temperatures. Under these bushes, the risk of encountering pythons and mambas is increased and also the risk that comes [...]

“My son and I recently had three perfect days at Selinda Reserve within a month trip to Africa. Our stay at Selinda Camp was by far the  most pleasurable for many reasons but the four main would be Liz,  John, Dukes and the staff. The accommodation, animals, weather, food  and total experience were perfect but [...]

“Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it”  – Roald Dahl Hello, “Hujambo” (Kiswahili) and “Supa” (Maa) to you all from the team here on the central plains of the Mara. It has been a little while since our last report (in migration season), so for that we would like to apologize and [...]

Summer is on the way! We were all astonished at how quickly the trees and shrubs on the Selinda Reserve started to green up this month. Astonished because it was not until late November last year that this started to happen. We have had some rain too! Not a lot at 3.5mm but it is [...]

I just don’t know where to begin when it comes to the animal sightings we’ve been having in October. Elephants everywhere, several prides of Lion, Leopards hunting and a total of 33 Wild Dogs, divided over 3 different packs. And this is all happening just in and around camp ! Throw in large herds of [...]