Reviews of Linyanti (From 5 Acclaimed Safari Experts)

Expert

Harriet Nimmo –

ZA

Visited: September

Harriet is a zoologist with more than 20 years’ experience. She has the privilege of working with the world’s top wildlife photographers and photo-guides.

1 person found this review helpful.

Beautiful Waterfront Setting

Overall rating

4/5

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Linyanti is a private concession with just a handful of high-end lodges, so it feels very wild and you will see few other safari vehicles. The concession borders the western section of Chobe National Park and with no fences the wildlife is free-roaming. The landscape is varied with mopane woodland, open grasslands and, best of all, the beautiful river frontage along the Linyanti River and Savuti Channel. There are lots of elephants, sploshing around in the water, and big herds of buffalo. Linyanti has a great reputation for wild dogs – having said that we failed to see this wide-ranging carnivore during our stay here, although we did see lion. As this is a private concession, the lodges offer night drives and nature walks, and you are allowed off-road at predator sightings.

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Expert

Emma Gregg –

UK

Visited: November

Emma is an award-winning travel writer for Rough Guides, National Geographic Traveller, Travel Africa magazine and The Independent.

5 people found this review helpful.

Wildlife drama, off-road and on foot

Overall rating

4/5

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The Linyanti Concession, which lies just west of Chobe, shares all the wildlife drama of the national park, but serves it up in a smaller, wilder, more exclusive package. It also hogs some superb riverine habitats – the riparian forests and open floodplains bordering the Linyanti River, a continuation of the Chobe, which waters the region all year round. Antelopes, monkeys and hyenas are here in abundance.

Like its larger near-neighbours, Kwando and Selinda, Linyanti is a private reserve where walking, night drives and off-road driving are all allowed. This adds a wonderful extra dimension to the experience of immersing yourself in the bush. I think it’s worth researching your choice of lodge carefully, though, as Linyanti is a place where the highest rates don’t necessarily guarantee you the best wildlife-watching.

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Expert

Anthony Ham –

AU

Visited: Multiple times

Anthony is a photographer and writer for travel magazines and Lonely Planet, including the guides to Kenya and Botswana & Namibia.

8 people found this review helpful.

Home of the Wild Dog

Overall rating

4/5

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Just beyond the boundaries of Chobe National Park, east of the Okavango Delta, these private concessions have the best of Chobe’s wildlife and the pick of the delta’s scenery but with a far stronger sense of isolation. Luxury lodges have vast stretches of land to themselves, and because the land is privately owned and run, you can enjoy night drives and head off-road in search of wildlife. Linyanti is arguably the best place in Africa to see the endangered African wild dog, while lion, leopard, cheetah and hyena round out an impressive portfolio of predators. Elephant, buffalo and giraffe are also common. The scenery is also a big draw, and I always like to think of the marshes as northern Botswana in microcosm – reed-filled waters ideal for exploring by boat and classic delta scenery alongside surprisingly dense mopane forest and sweeping grasslands. The birding here, too, is outstanding and best observed from the water.

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