Thamalakane Dry - Terrace Bar and Pool Wet

Looking across the Thamalakane River at Sedia - where a rainbow is always shining.

Posted by Sedia Riverside Hotel on Wednesday, 27 January 2016

Welcome to Sedia

                                Check into Sedia Riverside Hotel and enjoy the ambiance.

Sedia Hotel Flood Research

Camp in the best of comfort, close to what may well be the greatest flood of your lifetime. Book an accommodated tent and do your own research on what could be the 'mother of all floods.'

Sedia Riverside Hotel is also an internet hotspot - bring your laptop and keep up to date with the latest research information. Walk the banks of the mighty Thamalakane River while you still can - marvel at the majesty of a vibrant river in full flow. Get close to the action - these are the good old days!

Chameleon Staying at Sedia Hotel, Maun

A special guest at Sedia Riverside Hotel - a large Chameleon. Just moments before this shot the Chameleon put on a great display of dining skills. The tongue can extend upto 1.5 times their body length and it is very accurate. For this dinner the Chameleon was dining on emerging termites that were starting to fly out of their holes in the ground. Ah, a feast fit for a Chameleon!

Tour d'Afrique Rests At Sedia Riverside Hotel

' Tour d'Afrique' is on it's annual Cairo to Cape Town 12,000km bicycle tour. Over 50 tour riders and support crew were at Sedia for a two day rest. Their trip takes 95 days. The stopover gave them a chance to do a mokoro trip, go for a game flight or just relax around the pool and fill-up with some luxury - like cheese cake. Early Monday morning they were back on the road and heading for Windhoek, Namibia. Everyone looked strong and in great shape. Cape Town and the finish line is calling them. Good Luck to the Tour dAfrique group!

Pelicans Camping At Sedia Hotel - Maun

The beginning of June has brought flocks of Pelicans to Sedia Riverside Hotel. Come the end of the day, they arrive in the hundreds and hundreds. First they enjoy the thermals and show their majesty and grace in the skies. Then the Pelicans circle lower and finally they land on the banks of the Thamalakane River - to rest for the night.

The final sunlight of the day makes the scenes spectacular to watch. Some Saddle-Backed Storks are also camping with the Pelicans. We hope they continue to camp with us for a long time. We enjoy Pelicans In Residence.

Tour d'Afrique at Sedia

The 2007 version of the Tour d'Afrique has just been through Sedia Riverside Hotel. Over 30 bicycle riders from 12 countries have just visited for two days. They are a colourful group with all the biking gear you can imagine. The group is expected in Cape Town on May 12th - go and celebrate the tour with them.

It is the annual Cairo to Cape 12,000 km. bicycle ride. In the picture you see the support vehicle and some of the bikes. They arrived on Saturday, had a rest day on Sunday and were back on the road early Monday morning. These are serious bike riders and they have serious fun. Click on the link above to find out more information.

Sedia Riverside Hotel From Space!

Sedia Photo - Out of this World

Here we have Sedia Riverside Hotel from Google Earth. At the top of the picture is the main hotel and guestrooms - then there is the terrace area and pool. Around the ourside you see the chalets. Towards the Thamalakane River you have the camping area.

Here is how we look from space - how the Martians kind of see us. Come and see for yourself, how we look from ground level. We guarantee you will have a soft landing.

Sweden Invades Sedia Hotel, Maun - Pink Caravan

'Pink Caravan' at Sedia Riverside Hotel

Three or four times each year the 'Pink Caravan', a Swedish Overland Tour Company visit our campground. Each visit is 2 or 3 days of rest, comfort and Mokoro Trails trips into Moremi Game Reserve.

Each group is more than 30 young people, on holidays - visiting Southern Africa. They bring a wonderful spirit of maturity and enjoyment. Stop in and enjoy the spirit and sense of adventure they bring with themselves.

Overlanders at Sedia

Overlanders travel rain or shine. Here we have Jean-Christophe Devillers and a joyeux group of French travellers sitting back and telling some after dinner safari stories. Jean-Christophe works with Trans Africa Expeditions and camps often throughout the year at Sedia. He is one of the more experienced Chef d'expedition in Southern Africa. His personal company is enjoyed by all our staff when he visits.

All French travellers should click here to visit the Trans Africa Expeditions. Enjoy

Sedia Relationship Building

Sedia Riverside Hotel and Mo Happy People

Sedia Riverside Hotel and Mo Happy People Travel and Tours have developed a new working relationship to start the New Year. Both hospitality companies look forward to providing highly satisfying visitor experiences. In the picture you see members of staff from both companies dining with guests from Germany.

Mo Happy People Travel and Tours was established to offer and render quality travel, tourism and hospitality products, services and advise to prospective customers and clients alike. Passion and the love for our job encourage us to exceed your expectations. Click on the link above and visit their site.

Their Vision is to Become Your Absolute One–Stop Travel, Tourism and Hospitality Solution Company, Providing You with Quality Travel, Tourism and Hospitality Products, Services and Advise.

The Travel Net - Africa

The Sedia Riverside Hotel has recently been highlighted on The Travel Net a webside about world travel. Click on the above link and visit the site. What follows is an introduction taken from their article:

David blogs of Africa and in particular that beautiful unspolied parcel of wilderness – the Okavongo Delta. Tourists travel to the Okavongo Delta from all over the world for the amazing wildlife viewing opportunites. The elephants and hippo are especially plentiful.

The Sedia Riverside Hotel sits at the edge of the Thamalakane River and because of its location the hotel is considered a prime travel destination by travelers. In one of his posts David writes of the hippos that he saw just down river from the Sedia…
Continue reading ‘The Okavongo Delta is a Bird Lovers Paradise - Botswana’

"Ke Mo Sedia!"

Maun Celebrates Life at Sedia

Sedia Riverside Hotel is a special place in Maun. The reasons people celebrate at Sedia are as long as your arm. During any given week there are wedding reception, company parties, a child’s birthday party, training workshops in the Conference Centre, a special dinner with your wife of girlfriend or a football team celebrating their winning end to the season.

Many people arrive back in Maun for a visit. They sit at a shady terrace table and work their cell phones. “Ke mo Sedia… Ke mo Sedia…” Soon their table is full of old friends, pleasantly chatting away – their conversation mixing with the splashing coming from the pool and gentle breezes rustling the shade giving leaves. Who could ask for anything more!

Daily Post, Liverpool - Review

Trevor Peake Review - Sedia River-side Hotel

Trevor visited Sedia Riverside Hotel in June, 2006. Other excerpts from Trevor's visit can be found at Afro Trek Safari:

"With 28 bedrooms, all en suite, six chalets, which are sizable detached two bedroom dwellings, a couple of bungalows, ten permanently erected tents and a large caravan site with good facilities, the Sedia set-up is a big undertaking."

"Allan and Janet have furnished all the rooms and chalets with beautiful examples of African art and crafts over the years, and there are carvings, masks, pictures and basket-wear throughout the hotel, with the reception area a genuine sight to behold."

"The facing wall as you walk in is dominated by a five feet tall carving of the African continent featuring the 'big five' - lion, elephant, rhino, buffalo and leopard. I counted ten carvings of giraffes, some over siz feet tall, eight hippos, a couple of elephant, rhino and buffalo, and numerous masks and birds, a splendid introduction to the Sedia experience."

A Botswana September

September at Sedia Riverside Hotel

The month of September is now with us. It's dry, dusty and windy. The grass has gone, the leaves have fallen - it's the time of year when, it could be said, nature bares it's soul. This bareness is very short live, with many trees already pushing through new foliage and certain tree species actually blossoming.

Within our complex at Sedia Riverside hotel, we are fortunate in having one Kigelia africana or Sausage tree. Not only is it sporting new leaves, but also boasting several flowers in the bud stage on their hanging racemes. These are in full blossom within a day or two, no doubt to the delight of Peters Epauletted Fruit Bats. They will devour the fruit and also feed on the nectar of the large flowers. The flowers are cup shaped and very vivid in colour, being dark red to maroon.

The large sausage shaped fruit which eventually materializes, up to 500mm long and 150mm in diameter are very heavy - made up of a fibrous pulp with seeds embedded inside. These large, heavy fruits have a tendency to fall at the most unsuspecting moments and could prove lethal to an innocent by-stander taking a breather in the shade beneath a Kigelia africana.

David Livingstone camped under one such tree in a village in Northern Botswana, before setting eyes the next day on a magnificent waterfall 70 km away. That waterfall is now known as the Victoria Falls and the village, where he camped the night before coming across the falls , is known as Kazungula.

Maybe it's a pity he didn't have an encounter with one of these sausages during his stopover that night. Just think, the whole course of recent African history could have been changed by a falling sausage!

Wildlife Extremes Sedia Style

Many of our guests go on safari during part of there stay. The majority want to see and shoot photos of the 'Big 5.' They are in search of Lion, Leopard, Buffalo, Elephant and Rhino. In particular people seem to want to see the big cats. What about the 'Small 5?'

For people who like the contrarian view, humour or just something different - think about the Small 5 the next time you are on safari. Check with your guides, reference books and fellow guests. Make sure these Small 5 are not missed:

1. The Ant Lion is an insect wit four wings and looks like a dragon fly. They create funnel shaped traps to catch their ant prey.



2. The Leopard Tourtoise is the biggest land tortoise in Southern Africa at ever 20kg. We can see the shell pattern in the photo.



3. The Buffalo Weaver nests high in trees where the branch forks and makes it nest from twigs and course grasses.



4. The Rock Elephant Shrew can weigh in at over 50 grams and up to 250mm in length.



5. The Rhino Beetle has a horn in it's head, much like the Rhinoceros.

You will probably have to get closer to the Small 5 to get good pictures. Regardless, it provides good diverion during tea breaks, meals or around the campfire at night. If you get a good photo, I would be happy to show it here.

Beware - Hippopotamus Crossing

It's late on a Sunday morning and I'm watching these two hippos from across the Thamalakane River - about 300 metres down stream from the hotel. They have been eating the river grasses and wading along the far shore for the last half hour.

The 'far shore' is the best place to watch hippos. They can be very territorial. Males like to mark their territory so that other hippos are aware and act appropriately. It is said that they kill more humans than any two other animals, in Africa. When the ears start to flick quickly and the mild, deep grunts become loud snorts - its time to move away.

Although hippos look fat and seem to have a smile on their face, they are all muscle and very serious. Top sped on the open malapo can be over 30 kilometres per hour. Reaching lengths of up to four metres, hippos will at times attack a boat twice their length.

When you see a group of hippos sleeping together on a river bank, it is hard to believe they can be so reactionary. Field glasses give you the freedom to be at a safe distance and see closely inside their mouth's when they yawn.

Do you want to work up a hunger for lunch? Tha 'Old Bridge' is just about two kilomentres up stream and a picturesque walk. When you stand in the middle of the bridge and look downstream, you are looking at the Hippo Pool. If you are lucky a group of hippos will we lounging on the banks.

Bird Lovers Paradise

Mid-June and the Quelas' are flying in their dynamic formations over the Thamalakane River - here they are in front of Sedia. Two years ago, when Lake Ngami finally refilled, the numbers were in the 10's of thousands. Now they are just in the thousands - but still a marvel to watch.

Sundown is an active time, with many flocks all returning at the same time from the day of foraging. The occasional flash of silver as they swoop and dive is eyecatching. With their special navigation skills, they all seen to find the right temporary rousting tree. The chatter escalates each time a new flock joins a tree. It seems that there is much to talk about after a day on the wing.

A late afternoon walk down to the river is often rewarded with a view of the 'high priest' of river fishing - the African Fish Eagle. What could be better than two in one tree. Few fishing trips are complete without a story of the Fish Eagle stealing a fish from a boat. With a good storyteller, you can almost see the extended talons ready to grab it's catch of the day.

Bird lovers have identified over 130 different birds in and around Sedia. They mark the seasons and for many make the trip. A checklist is available for the enthusist, to help keep track of their sightings and sounds

Your welcome at Sedia Riverside Hotel

It is a unique hotel, small with just 24 rooms and 8 chalets and a delight for those in search of something with character. Extensive lawns and gardens back onto Sedia Riverside Hotel, in which a large swimming pool is the principal feature.

Step inside the cool reception area and enter an oasis of relaxation with a very welcoming, cosy ambience. This atmosphere of contentment is made complete with a splendid cross -cultural mix of Euro-Afro cuisine, prepared with a contemporary flair by expert chefs and served either indoors or al fresco on the poolside deck.

This shady poolside deck area offers a good relaxation area, overlooking the lawns with refreshments always available. It is the perfect place to unwind and relax, all discreetly hidden behind the Hotel.

Whatever the reason for your visit, you are sure to have a very comfortable stay at Sedia. No matter if you’re a business person seeking a comfortable and quiet place to rest after a hard days work, someone participating in a meeting at our Conference Centre, or just passing through to one of the many National Parks and Game Reserves in the area, our individually styled rooms should suit your requirements.

We have singles, doubles and twins all are readily available with private verandas overlooking our lawns and gardens. The guest rooms, all en suite, have been cheerfully decorated with an individualistic African theme each with its own private veranda overlooking the lawns.

The rooms provide contemporary facilities and fittings including air conditioning, satellite television and complimentary tea and coffee. The Chalets are fully self-contained and include air-conditioning, spacious lounge with T.V. (digital satellite) kitchenette with fridge and veranda overlooking the lawns. The life style at Sedia Riverside Hotel can be al fresco, with breakfast taken in the garden, while lunch and dinner may be enjoyed under mulberry trees on the poolside deck or inside the restaurant. But where to eat and drink is a matter of mood and appetite, coolly casual or a bit smarter perhaps with light Euro-African cuisine, ideally suited to the climate.

You choose either from the buffet or a la carte - taken in the garden, on the pool deck or in the candle-lit air conditioned restaurant, embraced by the moody African decor. Our quality chefs and their team are always prepared to tempt you to an array of gourmet delights.