Valentines Day Dinner

Hope to see you there - on the Terrace!

Posted by Sedia Riverside Hotel on Wednesday, 10 February 2016

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.

Happy Valentine's Day

Love Celebrated at Sedia

Maun must be full of romantics. Sedia Riverside Hotel was packed for dinner on Valentine's Day. Candles surrounded the pool, live music serenaded the lovers and prizes for best dressed and best dancers were awarded. The dinner was a grande sucess.

Next to New Years Eve, Valentine's Day is the most celebrated day of the year. Cupid is busy at Sedia. Visit - you may also fall in love.

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.

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!

Home Made Chef = Home Made Cooking

Here we have "Captain" surrounded by his staff. Starting from the left, we have Mary Kgwathisi, Moitsholi "Dollars" Ngore, "Captain" and Dievenge "Dicks". Together they make the kitchen hummm.

Born and bred in Sedia Ward, Maun, Botswana Mompoloki "Captain" Bakwadi is the Sedia Riverside Hotel Chef. Cooking is a family tradition. His father has been a Chef with well known lodges and safari operation in Ngamiland.

Soon after joining Sedia in 2001, Captain was moved to the kitchen and trained under Edward Jakie - a chef of regional renown. The following year he was sent to the famous Victoria Falls Hotel for two weeks of on the job training. Shaka, Mary, Dollars and Dicks back up and support Captain in the modern and spacious kitchen.

Captain's favourite meal to present to guests is prawns - stir fried with butter, garlic and other secret herbs. Most visitors believe his best dish is fillet steak. For my tastes, he has taken the preparation of pizza in Maun to a new level - his 'Quattro' is hard to beat.

Traditional food is most often eaten by visitors from the bordering countries of Namibia, Zinbabwe and South Africa. Listen to Captain when he says to those who travel, "When you visit Botswana, I would really like to prepare a traditional African meal for you!"

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.