Key Takeaways
- Zarafa sits on the private 320,000-acre Selinda Reserve in northern Botswana
- Just four enormous tented suites (plus the two-suite Dhow Suites) — supremely private
- Fully solar-powered and carbon-conscious — a pioneer of eco-luxury safari
- Every suite comes with a Canon camera and lens kit to borrow — a photographer's paradise
- Overlooks the Zibadianja Lagoon and the elephant-rich Selinda Spillway
- Rates run roughly $3,000–4,000+ per person per night, all-inclusive
A Camp That Proves Luxury and Conscience Can Coexist
Zarafa Camp answers a question the luxury travel world has wrestled with for years: can a camp be genuinely opulent and genuinely responsible at the same time? Great Plains Conservation's answer is an emphatic yes. Zarafa is entirely solar-powered, built largely from reclaimed hardwoods and canvas, and designed to tread as lightly as possible on one of Botswana's most pristine wildernesses — yet it wants for nothing.
The camp sits on the private Selinda Reserve, a 320,000-acre concession in the north of the country where the Selinda Spillway links the Okavango and Linyanti river systems. It is elephant country on an epic scale — during the dry season, herds gather along the spillway in numbers that leave even seasoned safari-goers speechless.
With only four tented suites, Zarafa feels less like a hotel and more like a private wilderness home. The name means 'the beloved one' — after a famous giraffe gifted to a French king in the 1820s — and the whole camp carries that sense of rare, cherished treasure.
The Suites: Canvas, Copper and a Canon in Every Tent
Zarafa's four tented suites are among the largest in Africa — each an enormous canvas-and-timber pavilion raised on a deck above the lagoon, wrapped in gauze and shade. Inside: a four-poster bed, a wood-burning stove for cool winter nights, an indoor and outdoor shower, a copper bathtub, and a private plunge pool on the veranda where elephants often drink within metres of where you sit.
The detail that photographers adore: every suite comes equipped with a professional Canon camera body and lens kit, free to borrow throughout your stay. Whether you're a seasoned shooter or a curious beginner, it turns every game drive into a masterclass — and you go home with images you never thought you could take. For guests travelling together, the two romantic Dhow Suites offer an even more intimate, water-facing retreat.
The Wildlife: Elephants, Predators and the Spillway
The Selinda Reserve is one of Botswana's wildlife jewels. It's best known for its elephants — thousands move through the reserve in the dry season — but it also holds excellent populations of lion, leopard, wild dog, cheetah, roan and sable antelope, and a spectacular concentration of birds along the spillway.
Because Selinda is a private reserve, activities go far beyond the standard game drive. You can explore by boat and mokoro when water levels allow, walk with expert guides, and stay out after dark on night drives — freedoms simply not permitted inside the national parks. The famous Selinda Canoe Trail, a multi-day paddling adventure along the spillway, can also be arranged for the adventurous.
Dining, Service and Sustainability
Dining at Zarafa is intimate and unhurried — long lunches on the deck, bush dinners under the stars, and a genuinely excellent kitchen that leans seasonal and light. With so few guests, meals feel like a private dinner party hosted by your camp managers, and the wine list is thoughtfully chosen.
Behind the scenes, the sustainability credentials are serious rather than decorative: 100% solar power, minimal-impact construction, water recycling and a deep commitment to Great Plains' conservation mission, which channels tourism revenue directly into protecting land and wildlife. Staying at Zarafa isn't just a holiday — it's a tangible contribution to keeping this wilderness wild.
Who Is Zarafa For?
Zarafa is perfect for photographers (that Canon kit is a genuine game-changer), for eco-conscious luxury travellers who want their money to matter, and for honeymooners seeking somewhere impossibly romantic and private. Its elephant-rich setting and private-reserve freedoms make it a superb contrast to a water-based Delta camp — pair it with Duba Plains or Mombo for variety. See our roundup of the best luxury safari lodges in Botswana.
It suits couples and small groups far more than families with young children, and it rewards travellers who value depth and intimacy over a long list of facilities. If you want to feel like the last people on Earth — with an elephant herd for company and a camera in your hand — Zarafa is hard to beat.
Getting There
Zarafa is fly-in only, reached by light aircraft from Kasane or Maun to the Selinda airstrip, where your guide meets you for the short transfer to camp. As with all the great Botswana camps, the flight over the spillway — elephants scattered below, water threading through the bush — is a spectacular prelude to your stay.
Private Tours Cape Town arranges every element of your Zarafa journey — the flights, the photographic focus, and the perfect Botswana camp combination.
