Ultimate Luxury Botswana Safari

While at Selinda Camp there is no set routine, the wildlife knows the most forgiving times of day, and we take its lead. Early morning, late afternoon and evenings are the prime wildlife viewing times - it's when the colors are vibrant, the sun is low and spirits are up. Setting out at dawn, when predators are active, our guides are as keen as the guests to discover the riches of each day in Selinda Reserve. Usually, once the sun is high and strong, we retreat with the herds to our midday resting post, Selinda Camp. Then, as the sun begins to wane again, we head out for the late afternoon to evening, searching for nocturnal wildlife and the action that comes with sunset. But nothing is regimented. Regimes don't suit Selinda, which is why we all love being out here in the first place. Our Toyota Land Cruisers have been specially designed by the Jouberts. The thoughtful engineering provides all-round visibility with removable canvas roofs and comfortable bucket seats. These rugged, 4X4 vehicles provide access to all of the Selinda Reserve's diverse ecosystems, and do so with ease. Please remember that the cars are open and it can be quite chilly in the early mornings and evenings, so take very warm clothing with you on your drives. There are lined ponchos provided in the vehicles if you get cold while out, so just ask your guide to show you where these are if

you need them.

Another huge benefit of staying within the conservancies is that here guests are allowed to appreciate the stunning landscape on foot, peacefully, without the noise of engines. We highly recommend this unforgettable experience. Talk to the managers to arrange a good time and location for a walk. Usually early morning or evening is the best time, as the middle of the day is too hot to venture out of the shade. Wear good walking shoes, a hat, and neutral coloured clothing so as not to alarm the wildlife, and take binoculars. Your guide will have water for you.

Selinda is primarily a land-based camp; however, depending on seasonal water levels boating is possible on the Spillway in the camp powerboat. Zipping through the Okavango’s network of waterways is an invigorating way to get a sense of the scope of this huge wetland. You’ll undoubtedly have wonderful birding and maybe even some hippo, buffalo and elephant sightings.

This is a great activity during mid-day siesta or in place of a safari drive. During January and February there is a moratorium on fishing. All fishing is catch-and-release.

This is a full syllabus of bush craft skills for young explorers. This is a complimentary program that follows in the footsteps of National Geographic Explorers-in-Residence, Dereck and Beverly Joubert. An extensive pack will be provided to eager children on arrival, so they can learn about animal calls, how to track wildlife, and other facts and figures about the wild. At the end of a child’s stay, he/she will become a Young Explorer and Conservation Ambassador - ready to go out and tell the world about what they have learned and what they too can do to help protect this beautiful environment.

Each of Selinda's guest suites comes with a pair of high-quality binoculars for guest use as well as a professional camera set, including a camera body and lenses. Photos will be downloaded to a memory stick on guest’s departure. Photographic tuition through the Great Plains Wild Studio can be arranged for guests (at an additional cost and booked in advance). Tuition can be either on company cameras or own guest’s personal cameras.

The Spa at Selinda is a relaxing and inviting space, located privately above the wine cellar. Spa treatments are at an additional cost.

Enjoy an aerial viewing experience with great scenery across the Linyanti/Savuti and Selinda Spillway. Add a 15-minute champagne stop on palm island en route. Must be booked in advance and is subject to extra cost and availability.

Safari drives (day & night) take place in some of Botswana’s best adapted vehicles. Duba Plain’s Toyota Land Cruisers are uniquely designed to traverse the floodplains. These are, of course, open-sided, canopied and customised for photographers (raised roofs, photographic bars, multi-plug inverters). Seating only four to six guests on each vehicle, the Cruisers are fully stocked with drinks and snacks. Each suite has a professional camera and lenses as a package for guests to use or try out. Images are downloaded and presented for them to take away at no additional charge.

While the focus remains on the most comfortable times of day (early to mid-morning and late afternoon to evening) for drives, it is very common in Duba Plains to spend full days out in the field, having brunch delivered to the vehicles because the wildlife is so good and our focus is on finding and spending time with these extraordinary experiences.

Our schedule is flexible and guests are encouraged to create their own itinerary according to their interests. Very often, our safaris will continue into the night in search of nocturnal species. Great Plains guides are also keen trackers and birders and guests are encouraged to experience everything the camp has to offer.

Another huge benefit of staying within the conservancies is the ability to appreciate the stunning landscape on foot, peacefully, without the noise of engines. Usually early morning or evening is the best time, as the middle of the day is too hot to venture out of the shade. Wear good walking shoes, a hat, and neutral coloured clothing so as not to alarm the wildlife, and take binoculars. Your guide will have water for you. Walks are led by licensed guides with firearm training.

Zipping through the Okavango Delta's network of waterways is an invigorating way to get a sense of the scope of this huge wetland. You’ll undoubtedly have wonderful birding and maybe even some hippo, buffalo and elephant sightings. (Boating is a seasonal activity, typically between May and October but varies seasonally).

This is a great activity during mid-day siesta. Make sure you’re with a guide. During January and February there is a moratorium on fishing. Catch-and-release fishing only.

Duba Plains Camp offers a full syllabus of bush craft skills for our young explorers. This is a complimentary program that follows in the footsteps of National Geographic Explorers-in-Residence Dereck and Beverly Joubert. An extensive pack will be provided to eager children on arrival, so they can learn about animal calls, how to track wildlife, and other facts and figures about the wild. At the end of a child’s stay, he/she will become a Young Explorer and Conservation Ambassador - ready to go out and tell the world about what they have learned and what they too can do to help protect this beautiful environment.

Each Duba Plains guest suite comes with a pair of high-quality binoculars for guest use as well as a professional camera set, including a camera body and lenses. Photos will be downloaded to a memory stick on guest’s departure. Photographic tuition through the Great Plains Wild Studio can be arranged for guests (at an additional cost and booked in advance). Tuition can be either on company cameras or own guest’s personal cameras.

Enjoy an aerial viewing experience with great scenery across the northern part of the Okavango Delta. Add a 15-minute champagne stop on palm island en route. Must be booked in advance and is subject to extra cost and availability.

Explore the Okavango Delta's permanent water channels by mokoro (when water levels allow). This is truly a refreshing yet peaceful experience allowing for wildlife and bird viewing from a unique perspective.

Daily land excursions allow guests to immerse themselves in the wonders of the Okavango Delta, a region as famous for its tawny grasslands and verdant riverine forests as the flood plains that fill with crystal clear waters each year.

Xigera Safari Lodge offers guests the freedom to create their own Okavango Delta adventure, which is why we offer a uniquely flexible approach to our daily safari game drives. While there is always the option of an early-morning drive – when the cooler temperatures offer ideal conditions for game-viewing – guests who prefer a slower start to the day, perhaps with a rejuvenating Spa treatment, may also choose to head out later in the morning.

When out on game viewing, guests will soon discover just why Xigera’s location is so remarkable. Situated on the western fringes of the Moremi Game Reserve, the surrounding islands and grassland promise some of the finest wildlife game viewing opportunities Botswana has to offer. While the Okavango is perhaps most famous for its watery channels, with our expert guides to lead you, look forward to unforgettable wildlife encounters on land.

Our Vehicles:

Guest comfort on safari game drives is paramount. That’s why Xigera Safari Lodge operates a brand-new fleet of custom-built 4x4 vehicles, seating a maximum of both 4- and 6-seats. Especially adapted for the demanding environment of the Okavango Delta, these supremely capable off-road vehicles ensure no sighting is out of reach. Please note no night drives due to Moremi Game Reserve National Park regulations.

In the company of expert guides, see the puff of dust rising from your boot, lit by the morning sunrise. Feel its warmth on your cheeks, and the rustle of turpentine grass as you walk by. Hear the alarm call of a Lechwe at close range and lift your gaze to admire the African Fish Eagle soaring overhead.

Walking safaris – led by our expert guides – are an opportunity to get your feet into the soil of the African wilderness. To truly connect with nature, and feel your senses sharpen.

Only on foot can you truly appreciate the raw beauty of Africa.

Water is life at Xigera. As the floodwaters ebb and flow, they provide unforgettable opportunities to discover the wilderness from an entirely new perspective.

An experience unique to the Delta is a morning spent gliding along flooded channels by mokoro, the dugout canoe used by generations for transport in a region where there are many more rivers than roads. Though traditionally carved from a single tree trunk, at Xigera Safari Lodge our innovative glass-bottomed mokoro – allow for incredible views of the Delta both above and below.

Our mekoro are pushed along by experienced polers who grew up in these unique boats. Our polers stand to navigate through the water, and because the mekoro have no motor they are essentially silent, allowing us to approach even the shyest species without disturbing them.

Seasonal motorboat excursions allow for exploration of the deeper rivers and lagoons that are home to crocodile and large pods of hippo. Our Double-Decker boats allow for fantastic wildlife viewing from the water. Please note that boating is seasonal water levels permitting.

From the Coppery-tailed Coucal to the Western-banded Snake Eagle, Wattled Crane to Lesser Jacana, walking safaris are an ideal opportunity for enthusiastic bird-watchers to admire the over 500 species recorded in the Okavango Delta. Xigera’s exceptional location on the fringes of the Moremi Game Reserve delivers some of the best birding Botswana has to offer.

In Season, head out with our expert guides for fishing excursions on the water. Available from March to November.

The healing power of nature is ephemeral, yet undeniable. From the simple serenity of escaping into this untamed wilderness, to the deeply humbling nature of immersing yourself in a vast and ancient landscape, your hours at Xigera will leave you feeling revived, refreshed and rejuvenated.

Hand-in-hand with the simple restorative powers of being at one with the natural world, our spectacular spa provides a tranquil haven for travellers.

Meticulously designed to frame breathtaking views of the seasonal flood plains and lush riverine forests, in its soothing colour palette and organic textures, the spa exists in perfect harmony with the surrounding landscape.

At Xigera Safari Lodge our extensive selection of body and facial treatments has been custom-created to focus on three pillars of wellness: restoring, calming and purifying.

Our signature B|Africa spa treatments are complemented by an exclusive collection by Tata Harper, creating holistic spa rituals that offer a multi-sensory escape for guests.

In tune with our nature-first commitment to sustainability, all treatments showcase wellness products that are hyper-potent, 100% natural and non-toxic.

The lodge showcases a modern fitness centre – with state-of-the-art equipment from Technogym – alongside a swimming pool with a stunning relaxation deck gazing over the river.

Xigera Safari Lodge has reimagined the magic of an African safari, and that innovation continues far beyond the lodge.

For a truly immersive discovery of the Okavango Delta, discover our remarkable Baobab Treehouse, situated one kilometre away from the lodge, with a guide stationed close by. Here, amid the seclusion of this sculptural tree house you will experience Africa at its most raw, and most remarkable.

Amid a stand of indigenous Croton trees, the striking steel structure – built in the evocative shape of a Baobab tree – ascends nearly 10 metres above the floodplain, offering panoramic views from each of its three levels.

The structure’s design was inspired by an iconic painting of a solitary baobab tree by Jacobus Hendrik Pierneef, one of South Africa's master landscape artists. Inside the tree’s ‘trunk’, a winding staircase climbs nearly four metres above ground, delivering guests to the spacious bathroom on the first level.

The bedroom is located on the second level, beautifully appointed with carved timber furniture by celebrated designers such as David Krynauw, John Vogel and Adam Birch. Both the bedroom and bathroom spaces have canvas walls that can open up entirely to the outside environment, or be zipped closed to allow for privacy and protection from the elements. Sounds from the surrounding bird-life, animals and insects drift through the tree-like branches and screened windows into the tented structure.

Ascend to the top of the ‘baobab’ and the drama truly unfolds, with an open-air deck for lounging, reading and watching wildlife pass undisturbed below. A serene, hidden – and entirely safe – eyrie from which to witness the magic of the Okavango Delta at dusk or ¬– if you choose to spend the night in the open-air king-size bed – to marvel at the jet-black sky punctured by the stars of the southern sky.

The Baobab Treehouse Experience is tailor-made for each and every guest. Arrive after lunch for sundowners and a picnic-style dinner on the deck, or depart Xigera Safari Lodge after dinner for an unforgettable night’s sleep in the tree house of your dreams.

Please note the Baobab Treehouse is at a surcharge and cannot be pre-booked.

At the heart of Xigera lies The Boma, Blacksmith Conrad Hicks' totemic sculpture Structure of Self. This is our centrepiece of al fresco dining where you can savour the vibrant flavours of Africa while soaking up unforgettable local cultural experiences and story telling from our staff.

From bush breakfasts and wild picnics to ‘feet in the water’ sundowners, memorable dining experiences are waiting to be discovered in the bush...

As with so much of Xigera, we let you create and curate your own dining experience. Our talented chefs have an ‘anything, any time’ approach, allowing you to choose what you would like to eat, when you would like to enjoy it, and where you would prefer to dine. Whether it’s a bush breakfast or a picnic on your private deck, our chefs are always happy to oblige. They say the Swiss invented the clocks, but Africa owns the time. At Xigera, that time is yours to savour.

A living art gallery...
Join one of our managers or guides on an insightful and informative journey around the Lodge, taking in the key pieces that are showcased in our beautiful public spaces, from the Bar to the Boma, and from the Library to the Lily Fire Place.

Our team will share the background and stories behind Xigera’s living art gallery, highlighting the African creativity and craftsmanship of the bespoke works commissioned exclusively for the lodge from some of Africa's most exciting artists and artisans.

Take to the skies to view Xigera from an aerial perspective – the only way to get a true sense of space and place.

A helicopter game flight will take off right from the lodge. Guests are each given a headset to connect directly with the pilot, giving a unique opportunity to ask questions as you soar over the bush. Choose from scenic flights between 30 and 90 minutes, and you will get a bird’s eye view of the Okavango, certainly one of the best ways to view this spectacular landscape.

This is a wonderful way to view the flora, fauna and wildlife that surrounds Xigera, and allows for ample wildlife or landscape photography shots from the skies.