DUBA PLAINS
Okavango, Botswana

Introduction

Duba Plains is one of the Okavango Delta's most remote camps and is located in the furthermost reaches of the Okavango Delta in a very private reserve of 30,000 hectares. The camp is built on an island shaded by large ebony, fig and garcinia trees and surrounded by expansive plains which are seasonally flooded ~ usually from about May to early October each year, depending on the rains in central Africa. Since Duba has access to large islands, floodplains and marshes, the camp offers a diversity of experiences. Duba's real treat is its exclusivity and it is particularly suited to those who want to be far away.

Camp Description

Duba Plains is small and intimate, accommodating only twelve people in an exclusive area of about 35,000 hectares. Guests receive a highly personalised experience. Each of the six large tented rooms has an en suite bathroom with shower and flush toilet facilities as well as a veranda overlooking the floodplain. The dining room and pub are raised on decking under large riverine trees. There is a small communal pool too.

Game Viewing

The wildlife at Duba Plains is fascinating. As the vast open grasslands are often isolated from the mainland by deep waterways, the variety of animals is not as high as in other areas within the Okavango. However, Duba Plains more than makes up for this as it is a high impact game viewing area. Thousands of buffalo are hunted almost daily by up to four different prides of lions. Often the hunting is during the day - so one gets great photo opportunities. Lechwe, buffalo, elephant, tsessebe and warthog dot the savannah and hippo concentrate in the deeper channels. We often have productive hyena dens in the area that offer great hyena cub viewing. Leopard are found on the forested islands. Most of the Okavango Delta's birdlife is found in the area and birding "specials" like wattled crane and slaty egret are often seen.

The Owners

Duba Plains is in an enormous tract of prime wildlife country, on the Moremi's northern boundary. Our landlords at Duba Plains are the Okavango Community Trust, a trust which represents and administers the interests of all the local folk who live to the north of the Okavango Delta in these remote villages. These communities have been ceded this reserve by Government to manage in a joint venture, for photographic safaris. The villagers lease the land to Duba Plains and derive all the direct benefits in return. Money, jobs, training and the secondary businesses that can flow from such arrangements, all accrue directly to these communities. It is these villagers who can determine the well~being of the the wildlife in their area depending on their attitudes and survival needs.

Location

o Northern Okavango Delta in massive exclusive private reserve

Accomodation

Number of tents:
6 tents in total consisting of:
5 ¾ twin bedded tents
1 kingsize-bedded honeymoon tent (1 tent can be used as a guide tent)
This camp can accommodate 10 guests on a FIT basis with tour leader or alternatively groups of 12 guests without tour leader.
Tent details:
o Large walk-in luxury safari tents at ground level
o Tent entrance is a door
o Fans in all guest tents
o En-suite facilities with showers, interleading door to bathroom at back of tent
o All tents have verandas overlooking the flood plains
o Soaps, shampoos and insect repellents are supplied in each room

Activities

Mixed activity camp largely determined by the water levels.
Game Drives:
o Land game drives in open 4x4 Land Rovers - the camp has 2x 10-seater Land Rovers each accommodating a maximum of 7 guests, allowing all guests an outside seat.
o Night drives with spot light.
Walking Safaris:
o These can be offered from camp to view fauna and flora not normally seen from vehicles.
Water Activities: (seasonally available-best April to September)
o Water game viewing in mekoros (a traditional dug-out canoe) 4x 2 seater mekoros
o No boats
o No mokoros during low flood levels (usually late October to December) due to hippos.

Laundry policy

Laundry is done on a daily basis and inclusive in the nightly tariff with the exception of 'smalls' ie underwear, which are not washed due to local customs.

Extras payment

Curios and or imported drinks will be billed to the guest and settled on check out. Payment can be effected by cash (US$), travellers' cheques or the following credit cards: Visa or MasterCard. If guests feel that they want to tip, our recommended tipping schedule is as follows:
Guides - US$5.00 per person per day
General Camp Staff - US$3.00 per person per day
Specialist Guides (if applicable) - US$10.00 per person per day
(This is the suggested gratuity schedule only and is subject to service standards)

Flying Times

to/from Maun 40 minutes
to/from Kasane 1hr 20 minutes
Kasane to Victoria Falls 20 minutes but allow additional time for customs and immigration

Air Strip Details

Omdop airstrip located 5 minutes' drive from camp
Max aircraft weight: 2300kg. Unlicensed for heavier aircraft such as King Airs, however, King Airs can utilise Vumbura air strip.
Driving time from Vumbura to Duba Plains Camp is approximately 1 hour. (not possible from May to September when water levels are high).
Air strip co-ordinates: S19.01.39, E022.41.59

Electricity

o Camp has a 220v generator. Electricity is run in the kitchen and main areas when guests are not in camp. When guests return from daily activities, generators generally switched off (for peace in camp).
o 12v battery power (charged by the generator) is used for lighting and fans in each guest tent 24hrs a day. Hairdryers etc cannot work here.
o Video battery can be charged by the generator when guests on game drives. Hence bring spare battery and charging unit.
o Solar heated water for showers etc.

Guest Comments

Since I left you last I have had the best part of my six-month sabbatical. A crazy week in Mauritius and a simply amazing 4 day safari in Botswana. Now I am back in Johannesburg. Mauritius was the typical beach holiday, beach, sun, watersports, deep-sea fishing and general partying. Again South African hospitality shone through as I joined 9 others at a friend of a friends house. After this I flew out to Botswana another friend had organised the trip for me. After an hour flight I touched down in Maun (Botswana) I jumped into a six-seater plane and flew into the Duba Plains in the Okavango Delta. I knew I was in for a treat as the plane swung over thousands of running buffaloes, zebras, giraffes etc. We touched down on a dirt runway in the middle of nowhere having first carried out a topgun sort of flyby to clear the elephants from the runway. As we got off the plane we met with a National Geographic crew who were just leaving having just completed a shoot for a possible documentary on the lions (if its good enough for National Geographic its good enough for me). A short Land Rover ride later I was in the camp. Absolutely unbelievable the most amazing luxury in the middle of nowhere. The so-called tented accommodation was like a 5 star penthouse with Chippendale desks, sofa, huge double bed, inside shower, huge veranda and best of all a huge outside shower and plunge pool. As you looked out of a huge veranda overlooking a flood plain you could see every sort of animal imaginable (well within reason) crossing or drinking from the water hole, that includes lions, elephants etc. Each morning I would shower outside and watch these animals pass by 40 metres away (they probably got the bigger shock if you know what I mean, I felt very at home with the elephants). On the first night I had just fallen asleep in luxury when I heard a lot of rustling going on outside. With my no fear army training (having also dealt with the shark) I crept up (commando role to be precise) to the mosquito netted window and had a look out. Nothing, not even Sandhurst!, could prepare me for what I saw........ In front of me about a foot outside my window a bull elephant (these things are big) was bending over and looking straight at me. I stood there motionless, as did the elephant after what seemed an eternity he turned and carried on eating the vegetation above the tent. The next morning I left by the back door since my front veranda had the same elephant snoring on it. We sort of became friends as he returned every night sometimes with his family. Although the camp could take 12 there were only 6 of us. 2 retired Germans (surprisingly nice with a sense of humour) and 2 South Africans (always good for a laugh) and an American lady who would come out with the most bizarre comments and questions (She worked for the US federal government but thought China was part of Africa!!!). All these guys were safari addicts who had done everything possible and invested their life savings in the pursuit of safari and Kodak or Fuji (I have never seen such camera equipment more like a bazooka than a camera) We would do two game drives a day 6am to 10 am and 5 pm to 8 pm since at midday the heat would be too much. I wont labour on (much anyway) but we saw everything quantity and quality and a lot of ACTION. We saw 48 lions and more impressively two lion kills, lion warfare, hyena kills, cheetah kills, charging hippos and elephants you name we saw it. On average the guests with me had had 200 days on safari during their life and they all agreed they had never seen anything quite like it (lucky for once it makes up for the missed Marlin in Mauritius). A quick example: We followed a lion pride from 7 am (5 lionesses and two males) we were about ten meters behind them but when they were stalking the buffalo we were right there with the action with them around us. It was absolutely breathtaking we had left flanking right flanking one decoy lioness- all brilliant army manoeuvres (a bit more stealth maybe) well they went in for the kill the first three buffalo got away. The male buffaloes formed a line protecting their females and young ones. The lions charged the line. One of the lions got speared (he went off whining) meanwhile the other male had broken the line and had got a female buffalo the others moved in (we were already there) and that was it. The next bit is pretty gross as you see the lions tear this buffalo to pieces (unbelievable teamwork) the hyenas and vultures were next to come and the lions had to defend their prey. If you ever have the opportunity go to Botswana absolutely stunning country and amazing wildlife. If not watch out for the national geographic on the discovery channel on the Lions of Duba plains. Well I better leave you there, I am returning to England on Friday and will start my illustrious career as an accountant. I am sure it will face the same challenge of anacondas, whales, great whites, elephants and lions and certainly like Spanish no matter how hard I try I will probably never understand a word of it. If you ever get the chance between jobs go traveling, there are no excuses and you will be amazed how complete strangers or people you hardly know can be so kind. Anyway enough of the wise words. On to the trip!!!! What a trip!!!. This was a leopard and lion trip supreme. This was the case because we saw things that we had never seen before or never seen so well before in relation to leopards and lions. Mombo was a dream as usual - the camp is a fantastic place on its own , your staff were all superb. Here I have single out our guide - Julius - he is the best. Of course we have been guided by him on many occasions in past visits to the old Mombo, but he really delivered this time round - delivered big time on leopards with cubs. Not just one female but two separate females with cubs in lairs that were only tem minutes away from each other. This led to some rather uncertain moments when we wondered what was going on at the other lair - especially if things were quiet at the one we were at.Should we move over to the other lair? Would we miss anything if we did? Would we miss anything if we didn't? These are tough decisions but lovely decisions to have. I cast my mind back to the 70s and 80s when months of safari could only deliver a few sightings and only glimpses at that! Which brings me back to Mombo and what a fantastic cat (and everything else) place it is to a difficult customer like me - jaded as I am after three decades of African travel and adventure. This time we stayed at Little Mombo. The views are great from the tents . I love the way that BK the manager keeps things lively in the evening. By the way your new cook is superb, the menus and cooking several notches higher than it was last year - and it was really good last year. Mombo is the best camp in Southern Africa. But wait! You insisted that we go to Duba as well this year, and I have to say I was sceptical as all the stories I had heard about the lions and their interactions with buffalo there were rather too over the top for me to believe. You know what a sceptic I am. However, thanks for insisting!!!! Duba lived up to its reputation for lion kills and it did so in the space of one single days gameviewing -incredible. I am now a member of the Duba fan club. Unbelievable! That's what Rosemary said at the end of that day. Not only that, she decided to qualify the statement adding that it had been " the best days gameviewing in 83 years"!!! - referring to her life in Africa, including the decade in Botswana - and comparing this to the days gameviewing at Duba. The day was a spectacular one for us. It had to be - considering that on the previous three days guests had seen kills on every day - James, our guide, was saddled with two very sceptical and yet hopeful guests (us) - and lot of pressure was riding with him in his landrover. I was interested to see that he did not seem to be worried at all! He delivered big time and a few hours later we had seen the type of behaviour one would only gave expected to have seen at night at Savuti in the 80s - yet we had it in the bright light of late morning and it was all framed by spectacular thunder clouds on the horizon. In the course of that morning the lions chased and stalked two warthogs, tried to dig another warthog out of its burrow, and made three spectacular forays into a herd of a thousand buffalo each time getting a buffalo calf, dropping the calf's on two occasions as they were forced back by buffalo bulls but finally succeeding with the third attempt. The calf was only an appetiser for the thirteen lions. but when this final attempt was over it was 10 pm and getting unbearably hot in the landrover, and so we returned to camp for brunch. What really hurts is that if we had stayed with the lions we would have seen them take a full sized buffalo because when we found the lions (still close to the herd) that afternoon they were busily eating a large buffalo!! I loved Duba camp. It was much more like the safari camp from another era, and had a lot of the character that made the old Mombo such a special place, and of course all the staff - every one of them - were supurb as usual. Again I am struck with the quality of your guides and James was up there with the best I have had the pleasure of knowing. Best of all he delivered and thats what counts at the end of the day, and he did it with style. Colin - Thanks very much from Me, Clarissa and Rosemary. That was the best cat safari I have ever been on. Thanks again!
Paul Augustinos

We have recently returned from a month's holiday in southern Africa including a week's safari with yourselves. Needless to say we had a spectacular time and I thought you might like to see an extract of a report we have been sending to our friends! "The week we spent in Botswana before Christmas was just amazing and I cannot recommend you highly enough. Although under canvas (sometimes thatch as well) and always raised off the ground on decking, there was no lacking in comfort - hot and cold running water and flush loos en suite, as well as an external shower totally private to each tent but overlooking the veldt which was absolutely brilliant! The tents were superbly comfortable and kitted out without being over the top. We were up at 5.00 each morning before a light breakfast at 5.30 and then off in the Land Rover (with tiered seating), motorboat or mokoro for a four-hour expedition. Then back for brunch at 11.00. You were then free to relax - swim, sunbathe, read, or take a siesta - until four when a light tea was served and it was off again for about four hours. During the morning excursion, elevenses was served en route and sundowners were served (our choice chilled white wine) with canapes just before sunset! And then back to camp for dinner with a whole range of very interesting fellow guests, many of whom at this time of the year turned out to be our children's sort of age group. The camp managers (usually white South Africans) and their staff (local Tswanas) were quite the most friendly and informative bunch you could imagine and the local Tswana guides were quite charming and incredibly knowledgeable. They could steer us through hundred yard stretches of water 4ft deep or safely over loose sand in the manner born, and at night could drive one-handed whilst shining the spotlight and picking out and commenting on the animals. We saw a phenomenal range of birds, large and small, even more than we might have expected as of course being summer all the migrants were there as well. But there were also lots of flowers and blossom and that meant butterflies, dragonflies, damsel flies, fireflies et al. Needless to say Harley was in his element! This was perhaps our main point of interest on this trip, having seen most big game during our years resident in Africa, but we were still delighted to encounter a huge variety of animals including my first ever sighting of a wild leopard - and a second sighting at a different camp! The only things we didn't see on this occasion were rhino, which are not to be found in the areas where we were, and cheetah which we just missed on a couple of occasions although fellow guests were luckier! Harley and I were often on our own on our drives although sometimes we would be joined by another couple or singleton, but they never put more than six guests on a vehicle at most. Altogether we spent seven nights away and stayed in three camps sited in very different terrain to give us maximum exposure and it worked very well." It is hard to single out a particular camp above the others but we did have a very special time at Duba Plains where we found Tanya, James and Lucy and their team so welcoming, but we must also mention Craig, Lisa and Pinky at Xigera and Debbie, Brandon, Kath and Ross at DumaTau. Please tell this latter team that we were asking after the baby squirrel, Atep! We definitely plan to travel with you again and hope to visit Namibia under your guidance in the not too distant future!
Sincerely, P.K & H.K

We always send you our evaluation of the camps we stayed in while visiting Botswana. We were privileged to be in good hands with Tanya at Duba Plains and Corle at Little Mombo. These two dynamic women should be promoted within your organization or given huge raises. Their organizational skills coupled with sincere concern for the tourist puts them right at the head of your employees. Duba Plains is an extraordinary paradise. Attention to detail is everywhere, James and Tanya are superb ambassadors of Botswana, and Africa. James has an exceptional knowledge of lions and will someday be compared to Cynthia Moss and her elephants. Tanya's menu's were delightful, delicious and well-balanced. I will never forget our first night at Duba Plains. The vehicles got stuck in mud and Tanya walked through 10 inches of mud to reach our vehicle. Within 30 minutes of reaching camp, she had transformed herself into a beautiful Cinderella and had a superb supper waiting for us. Her elegance reminds me of Jackie Kennedy. Guide Sealy and tracker Reagan were experienced and knowledgeable. Our first morning game drive we witnessed 30 separate lions. We witnessed mating, a kill and 17 females hunting a herd of buffalo. We have never seen 17 lions surrounding, singling out and attempting to eat breakfast on the hoof. Our guides did not worry about getting back to brunch at a certain time because the game viewing was exceptional. I have M.S. and there was always a helpful arm ready to assist me in or out of the vehicle or to our tent. Why would you ever want to leave Duba Plains?
David & Ruth Arendsen

We loved our stay here. It is one of our favorite places and we hope to return again. We loved the total ambience and friendly staff and the charm of Britt and Cardo.
B.G and H.G., New York USA

No words to praise sufficiently the entire enterprise. Friendly and efficient since we landed in Maun to sunset drinks - keep it this way
M.C. and D. C., Australia

I was looking through our Africa pictures yesterday and was reminded of what a great time we had with you guys at Duba. I have to say, Duba was, by far, our favorite place of the whole trip. You guys really run a great camp and have a wonderful staff. I don't think I have ever been as relaxed and comfortable as I was there. I recently found a wind chime that sounds exactly like the reed frogs so every time the wind blows here, we're reminded of the wonderful evenings spent at Duba.
K.K. and R.K., Texas, USA

The management made us feel like we are family and we will keep a great memory of our stay .
B.B and B.B., Virginia Beach

We cannot tell you enough how much we enjoyed this trip and we will return J.H., Victoria, Australia Guys and Girls - you are doing a fantastic job and setting a new standard for Customer Service 'a la Bush'. Thanks for everything to a Super team
S.R and T.R., Australia

Our stay was most enjoyable. Everyone from the managers to the guides were wonderful. The food was delicious and plentiful and the service was outstanding. We will have many fond memories for years to come.
B.B. and J.B., USA

If I had to build a lodge, I would come here to learn. In fact I would probably copy it! The food was excellent and so refreshingly different, and boy do they go the extra mile here.
B.C.

Of all the camps we visited, Duba plains was the most joyful. We certainly will come back as soon as we can to this very special place.
RP. and U.P., Brazil

Your staff was incredible. They made us feel very welcome and were flexible with choices. The food was amazingly good.
J.A. and M.A., USA

The natural beauty combined with the unbelievably enthusiastic and knowledgeable guides and managers made our stay most enjoyable.
N.B. and D.B., USA

We enjoyed seeing the four Lions and eleven cubs and being able to watch them interact for an hour and a half was wonderful.
C., K., S. and J.B., USA

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