ENCOUNTERSAFRICA
9-Day Duba & Selinda Safari

Botswana - Fly-in safari

9-Day Duba & Selinda Safari

Duration
9 days
Countries
Botswana
Suited to
2-8 guests
Pricing
From USD 33,480

The journey

Updated on 23 August 2026

This is a two-act safari built on private ground. Duba Plains sits on a 77,000-acre island concession in the heart of the delta, famous for one of the longest-running predator stories in Africa: lion and buffalo locked together on the same floodplains, hunting and being hunted in daylight. The camp, rebuilt by Great Plains as a five-suite art-filled hideaway, runs custom Land Cruisers that wade the channels between islands. Selinda Camp is the second act, north-east on the Selinda Spillway, where 130,000 private acres carry some of Botswana's best elephant viewing and its most reliable wild dog packs. Where Duba is water and buffalo, Selinda is open woodland and movement, and four nights in each gives both stories room to play out. Both reserves cap vehicle numbers, so sightings are private almost by definition. May to October is the dry-season peak; the green months bring storm light, birds and gentler rates.

Your camps, day by day

Stay 1

Into the Duba Concession

From Maun a 30 minute Cessna hop lands you on Duba's island airstrip, met by a custom Land Cruiser that fords a channel or two on the way in. The camp's five suites face a floodplain that hums with lechwe and buffalo. Afternoon tea, then straight out: the light on the water in the last two hours is the best of the day.

Stay 2

Lions in the Water

Out before sunrise to find the pride while the night's cold still holds them together. Duba's lions hunt buffalo in daylight more than almost anywhere in Africa, and when the herd starts moving the whole day can hang on the standoff. The vehicles wade after them; you stay dry, mostly. Brunch happens whenever the lions allow.

Stay 3

Channels and Islands

A slower register: mokoro or boat in the morning when water levels allow, poling past painted reed frogs with fish eagles calling above, then an afternoon drive through the fig and jackalberry islands where leopard lie up. Red lechwe cross the shallows in their hundreds ahead of the vehicle, throwing spray with every jump.

Stay 4

The Full Duba Day

A final full day on the concession, shaped by what the week has shown: back with the buffalo herd as it grinds across the plain, a morning at the heronries and hippo pools, or a long loop to the western islands. Dinner is under lantern light with the camp's small brass-and-leather bar open late for whoever wants to compare notes.

Stay 5

North-East to Selinda

The 35 minute flight crosses from wet delta to the drier mosaic of the Selinda Reserve. Selinda Camp's three grand tented suites sit under ebony trees on the spillway's bank, all dark wood, brass and campaign furniture. By late afternoon you are out among elephant coming down to drink in numbers the Linyanti is known for.

Stay 6

The Spillway

The Selinda Spillway is the thread the whole reserve hangs on, and in the dry months its pools pull everything in: elephant bulls shoulder to shoulder, buffalo, roan, and the lion that work the margins. The morning follows it east; the afternoon west, ending with sundowners on a bank where hippo grumble in the last light.

Stay 7

Running with the Pack

Selinda is wild dog country, and when the pack hunts at dawn the drive becomes a pursuit, the dogs flowing through the mopane at a pace the vehicle can barely honour. In denning season, June to August, the morning may instead be spent parked at a respectful distance while pups spill over each other outside the den.

Stay 8

Last Day on Private Ground

A closing full day with nothing owed to a schedule. Walk a stretch of the reserve with your guide for an hour of tracks and termite architecture, take the boat out if the spillway is holding water, or simply follow the morning's radio traffic to whichever cat was found at first light. The final dinner is out under the ebony trees.

Stay 9

Selinda to Johannesburg

Coffee at sunrise, a short drive to the airstrip, and the 50 minute flight back to Maun for the early-afternoon Johannesburg connection, landing in time for evening international departures. Eight nights on two of the most privately held pieces of wild country in Botswana, and not a fence between them.

Safari highlights

  • Four nights at Duba Plains in a 77,000-acre private concession
  • The Duba lion and buffalo interaction, hunted in daylight
  • Four nights at Selinda Camp on the Selinda Spillway
  • Botswana's most dependable wild dog country
  • Custom vehicles that wade the delta channels
  • Both camps limited to a handful of suites

What is included

Included

  • 8 nights accommodation, per person sharing
  • Return regional flights Johannesburg-Maun in economy class
  • Light-aircraft sectors Maun-Duba, Duba-Selinda and Selinda-Maun, with airstrip taxes
  • All meals, house wines, local spirits, beers and soft drinks
  • Twice-daily game drives, and mokoro or boating where water levels allow
  • Private concession fees, government levies and VAT
  • Botswana Tourism Development Levy of USD 30 per person
  • Laundry and emergency medical evacuation cover

Not included

  • International flights to and from Africa
  • Visas and entry permits
  • Comprehensive travel and medical insurance
  • Premium spirits, champagne and imported wines
  • Gratuities for guides, trackers and camp staff
  • Items of a personal nature, curios and telephone calls

Frequently asked questions

How much does a 9-day Duba Plains and Selinda safari cost?

From USD 33,480 per person sharing, rising to about USD 39,380 in peak season. The price covers eight nights split between Duba Plains Camp and Selinda Camp, all meals and house drinks, private concession fees, three light-aircraft sectors and the return Johannesburg-Maun regional flights. International flights to Africa are excluded and quoted separately.

What is special about the lions at Duba Plains?

The concession's floodplains hold resident buffalo herds that cannot leave the island system, and the lion prides that live off them have adapted to hunting in water and in daylight. The interaction, filmed for years by Dereck and Beverly Joubert, still plays out most weeks. Watching a pride wade a channel chest-deep towards buffalo is Duba's signature sighting.

When is the best time to go?

May to October is the dry-season window, with the delta flood usually peaking at Duba between June and August and the Selinda Spillway drawing elephant through the winter. September and October are hot, dry and excellent for predators. November to April is green season, with lower rates, dramatic skies and superb birding, at the cost of some concentration.

Are international flights included?

No. International flights to and from Africa are excluded and booked separately, normally via Johannesburg. Included are the return Johannesburg-Maun flights, about 1 hour 40 minutes each way, plus the Maun-Duba, Duba-Selinda and Selinda-Maun light-aircraft sectors. Light aircraft restrict luggage to 20 kg per person in soft-sided bags.

How exclusive are these reserves really?

Duba Plains shares 77,000 acres with only its sister camps, and Selinda's 130,000 acres carry two small camps in total. Vehicle numbers at a sighting are capped, usually at two, and off-road driving is permitted, which national parks do not allow. In practice you can spend a full day in either reserve and not see another guest vehicle.

Is this safari malarial?

Yes, both the Okavango Delta and the Selinda area are malaria zones, with risk highest from November to April. Prophylaxis is recommended year-round; consult a travel clinic about six weeks before departure. Both camps provide screened suites and repellent. Yellow fever certificates are needed only when arriving from a country with transmission risk.