Linyanti Tented Camp

Each of the standard tents includes two three-quarter size beds, pushed together with bedside tables on either side. The rooms are spacious, and also feature a writing desk and chests for storing personal belongings. The tents are all positioned on raised decking, offering guests a stunning view of the marshlands which can be best enjoyed from the comfort of your private verandah. Sit out and watch the breathtaking African sunset before becoming entranced by the dazzling stars. Each tent includes an en-suite bathroom with a flush loo, basin, large shower and plenty of fluffy towels, and the roll-up windows allow guests to shower with a view.

Start the day with a light and refreshing breakfast before venturing into the bush on an exciting game drive. On your return brunch will be waiting for you. Enjoy traditional evening meals cooked in the camp’s boma, and swap stories with your fellow guests in the communal dining area which overlooks the sweeping marshlands and plains.

Embark on an exciting game drive with an experienced guide and learn interesting and surprising facts about the wildlife of the Linyanti Reserve. Drive up to large herds of elephants, zebra and lechwe and closely observe them from the safety of the specially-designed safari vehicle. If you are lucky, you might witness leopards prowling through the grasses, lazing lions or even an exciting wild dog hunt.

Night-time game drives offer the unique chance to find some of the reserve’s nocturnal creatures which can only be seen after dark. Search through the bush with a floodlight and look out for adorable bushbabies and honey badgers. Game Drives at night often focus on the smaller species of the bush.

Wander across the grasslands and explore the Linyanti Reserve with an experienced guide. Venture to the places that safari vehicles cannot reach, and spy on incredible wildlife without the noise of an engine to startle them. The professional armed guides will be able to teach you about the fascinating species that live on the reserve, and how to recognise and follow their tracks. Nature walks focus on the smaller details often missed during a game drive.

Hunker down in the photographic log-hide, just a short drive from Linyanti Tented Camp. The log-hide allows amazing photographic opportunities where guests can see the wildlife behaving in a natural manner, completely undisturbed by human presence. Capture incredible and candid wildlife photographs as herds of elephants parade past during the morning ‘rush-hour’, especially during the dry season when elephant populations are most dense.

King’s Pool is a Wilderness Safaris camp. Wilderness Safaris founded the Children in the Wilderness programme which aims to educate and inspire the next generation of environmental leaders by teaching them important life skills and about resolving environmental issues. This programme aims to “create a network of learning sanctuaries that uplifts and cares for our children and conserves the planet.”

Great numbers of children are involved in these programmes – 2,500 children attend rural, school-based clubs per year; more than 300 children per year are granted a scholarship which pays for their education and Wilderness Safaris and their partner destination host annual camps, which more than 500 children attend.

Wilderness Safaris created The Wilderness Wildlife Trust in 2003. This is an independent entity that fund-raises for money to be put into various conservation projects. This engages with projects which can be beyond the scope of the areas in which Wilderness Safaris operate, ensuring that “conservation is a driving force in reaching more people, wildlife and places.”

The Jao Concession and the University of Botswana have created a committee hoping to “encourage better engagement between local communities and the Jao Concession, specifically regarding curbing poaching and overfishing.” A total of 25 different projects are funded by the Trust annually, the past 10 years have seen the Trust finance more than 100 different projects throughout 8 different countries in Africa. Whilst Wilderness Safaris contributes to these projects logistically, the Trust “is involved financially in the projects, supporting research, habitat management and community upliftment.”

Wilderness Safaris partner properties all work under the sustainability ethos of conservation, culture, commerce and community.

With no one inhabiting these rural areas of Africa, accurate recordings of species could not be undertaken. Wilderness Safaris are present throughout the whole year which allows them to provide not just financial support but also logistical support to anti-poaching initiatives. Due to their presence wildlife numbers have increased dramatically with elephant, lechwe and puku growing markedly. The emphasis on ecotourism is changing lives “camps and lodges bring employment and training, opportunities for growth and travel, and exposure to another world.”

More than 85% of Wilderness Safaris’ camp staff come from remote and rural local communities and their job with Wilderness Safaris ‘supports a further 7 people as a result of their employment while every lodge bed indirectly impacts no less than 14 rural people through other elements such as revenue share, procurement and additional services.’ As a result of this, ‘80% of our staff feel that tourism has resulted in a positive impact on their home village.’

One of the community projects that Wilderness Safaris has partnered with is Pack for a Purpose, “a non-profit organisation that provides travellers with up-to-date information about required supplies for community-based projects.”

Wilderness Safaris is working to reduce the energy and fuel consumption of all of their camps, and only use eco-friendly detergents and chemicals the prevent pollution. Linyanti Tented Camp is entirely powered by solar energy and hot water is generated using solar panels and inverters. By utilising solar power, and making the most of Botswana’s sunny weather, Linyanti Tented Camp is able to supply a clean and consistent source of energy without the need for diesel-powered generators which are harmful and disruptive to the surrounding wilderness and environment. Wastewater is treated by an above around sewage plant, making sure that it is clean before it is returned to the environment.

Wilderness Safaris works in partnership with Save the Rhino Trust and three separate Namibian conservancies to help conserve and protect the rare species of the desert-adapted black rhino. These rhinos play a vital role in shaping the landscape of Africa, by grazing lawns and vegetation they help protect plant biodiversity and keep the plains hospitable to other herbivore species. Without them, whole ecosystems would begin to die out.

Wilderness Safaris Desert Rhino Camp works specifically in partnership with Save the Rhino Trust and acts as a rhino monitoring post, as well as a camp, to help increase rhino security in an otherwise unmonitored area. Due to an increase in recruitment, Wilderness Safaris and their partners have “dramatically and sustainably increased the range of desert-adapted black rhino in the north-west.”

Wilderness Safaris serves to protect and conserve the land in which they operate. The continent of Africa is unique, with over 1000 different mammal species, fauna and humans living side by side. With a commitment to ecotourism, they are helping to conserve biodiversity. Currently, Wilderness Safaris helps to protect over 2.5 million hectares of African wilderness and in 2015 they were awarded a medal by the government of Botswana for Meritorious Service to the country.

One of the ways they try to protect the environment is by making sure their camps have a light footprint. Trying to achieve “purposeful luxury” their camps are all built with environmentally sensitive architecture. Understanding the fragility of the wilderness they operate in, they make sure they minimise any negative impact they might have on the environment and the camps are thoughtfully placed in locations where they don’t take away from the wilderness of the area.

Wilderness Safaris has partnered with the Lion Recovery Fund along with other ecotourism operators to launch the Lion scape Coalition. Established in 2017 by the Wildlife Conservation Network, The Lion Recovery Fund works alongside the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation in order to help re-establish lion populations. Due to habitat loss/fragmentation, poaching and human and wildlife conflict, lion populations have halved in numbers within the last 25 years. The Lion scape Coalition is an initiative that encourages ecotourism competitors to collaborate to show their dedication to conservation and restoring lion habitats.