Reviews of DumaTau

"This camp has a significant problem. The orientation of the rooms is such that the balconies are in full sun - without any shade - for that part of the day when guests would want to use them, from midday to gone 3 o'clock. The canvas walls are heating up during this time and the presence of small animals prohibits the door being left open to admit a draft. Two fans help a little, but only re-circle the air. The only relief from the increasing heat is to use the common areas which are open to the cooling breezes. The problem can be solved, as it has for the bar area, by installing wind-down blinds. As is stands at the moment, I would be strongly advising future travellers to avoid this camp, which would be a shame because in all other respects, it was lovely.

Our guide here, Lazy (Lazarus) was excellent and with Ona at Little Vimbura, was our other "10 out of 10" rating.

A general comment applicable to all camps about the food. The presentation was first class and the choice remarkable given the difficult supply logistics. All meals were a delight and the temptation to over-indulge difficult to resist. Our only negative comment is that with one exception, the evening meal meat courses were almost always overcooked, or bordering on being so. And conversely, the vegetables had on some occasions merely been shown the water - we quickly learnt to avoid the french beans!" See all these reviews: 14n in Botswana; 2n in Zimbabwe

"Our 2 days at Duma Tau 25/6 to 27/6 were a fantastic introduction to the Linyanti Reserve. Duma Tau team were really lovely and our guide ' Name ' was very patient and thorough.

Having been on safaris before in the kruger, we knew that the ' big five ' would always be there so best time was when we spent a whole morning tracking a pride of lions and our guide's expertise led us to them and what an awesome sight. The game viewing here was generally excellent and the camp very exclusive and friendly. Lovely scenic pool which my kids enjoyed and elephants came up to them from the lagoon right up to the pool.

Food excellent and out lodges were lovely too - only issue was no hot water in our lodge for the 2 days and only had hot water on the final morning. It didn't effect my our overall experience but my wife was not best pleased! They did try to fix the issue twice to no avail.

That not withstanding, it is a lovely camp indeed and the staff and manager very friendly." See all these reviews: 4n in Botswana; 2n in Zambia

"Wow, what an introduction to Botswana! We absolutely loved the camp, the experience and the team.

Our exceptional guide, Mocks, met us at the airstrip and from the first offering of an ice cold washcloth, we knew we were in heaven. The amount of game and the ability to get close was phenominal. I had hoped to see leopards - no problem. We watched spellbound as a leopard snacked on its impala kill high in the tree. Pure magic! Following the wild dogs around for 2 days was exceptional. We loved the background knowledge that Mocks had regarding the local wildlife.

The only drawback was the amount of excellent food versus the noncaloric output unless you count bouncing around in a safari vehicle." See all these reviews: 6n in Botswana; 1n in South Africa

"What a stunning setting. The room was wonderful and delightfully different. We had an excellent guide called Godfrey who was on loan from Kalahari Plains, as they were short staffed.

The terrific diversity of things to do, outweighed the low diversity of game. No Tau for starters!! A name change may soon be necessary!! That said we saw 2 packs of wild dog at war.. probably one of the most shockingly disturbing spectacle we have ever witnessed. Every guest from all the landrovers wanted to go back to camp afterwards minus sunset drinks - which tells you a lot. Despite being a bigger camp, it is not surprising that they were full." See all these reviews: 9n in Botswana; 3n in Zambia

"The larger size and more commercial feel of Duma Tau contrasted with the more personal nature of the first camp.

We were assigned a guide who was initially pursuing the agenda of another guest. As we adjusted to the camp and our guide to us, we started to enjoy the facilities and the large amount of game that is attracted to the channel. Flame, our guide, really pulled the stops out for the last day and managed to find a leopard and wild dogs.

The food at Duma Tau is excellent and the tents comfortable and well furnished. We enjoyed our stay and the contrast with the Kalahari." See all these reviews: 8n in Botswana; 2n in Zimbabwe

"This is definitely a five star camp. The staff and accommodation were excellent. Our guide, Mocks, had the most incredible ability to track and locate so many species of wildlife. We followed Leopards and Lions through the bush, saw a herd of Elephants crossing the river and enjoyed our evening meal with an Elephant eating leaves from a tree less than 10 metres away.

"Do you ever see Hippos out of the water" asked my wife. "Very rarely" replied Mocks, but within less than fifteen minutes, across an open area of grassland ran three Hippos, before descending into the water, leaving just their heads visible, as usual.

These are memories that will last forever. Thank you DumaTau." See all these reviews: 8n in Botswana; 2n in Zimbabwe

"Lovely camp to start with on our trip. The amenities were appreciated and the camp staff was gracious.

There did seem to be a discrepancy between administrative staff and the (local African) staff that organized game drives, kitchen/food, etc. Some of the latter did not quite know what to make of 4 men traveling together and certainly were puzzled when they heard we were two couples - this didn't really hinder our overall experience here, but there were some awkward questions about the nature of our relationships that could have been avoided had they been told that we were gay men.

We particularly enjoyed the sunset boat ride on the lake/swamp in front of the lodge where we saw a beautiful sunset and saw elephants swimming. The staff organized a special seating/dinner and sparkling wine for Michael's birthday, which was very nice. Separate seating requests for our group were accommodated. We liked the room, but would have appreciated an outdoor shower (and more hot water). The food was inconsistent - some good and some just mediocre." See all these reviews: 8n in Botswana

"The camp was beautiful and I really liked that the cabins were so separate. The view of the the water was especially nice. One of the best parts of our stay at this camp was the walking tour led by Brian, and the sunset boat ride on the large boat was a close second. We had all the cocktails and hors d'oeurves we wanted and saw a spectacular sighting of elephants doeing a water crossing. It would have been nice to have had the chance to do more walking tours. It seemed that only one was available. Our guide was very knowledgeable and we saw many, many animals, which was great. I also really liked the fact that we had our own landrover for just the 4 of us, and that we had our own table for dinner. (I don't like being thrown together with strangers at meal times; and it was not so easy to get our own table at the other camps).. Cocktails offer a time when one can (if one wishes) mingle with other guests.

One very important suggestion I would make is that the morning tours should srart later. It was very challenging to be awakened at 5:30 am, and because the guides needed to awaken us and accocmpany us to breakfast, there was not much flexibility. I would suggest that the morning tours start out at 8 am instead of 6:30. This would allow the guests to get a decent night's sleep, it would be warmner and there would be no need to be woken up and accmpanied to breakfast since it would be daylight by then. Also, I am pretty sure we did not see any animalsat before 8 am or even 9 am that we did not see after 9 am. In fact, on our last day in the camp, we arranged with our guide to depart a little later in the morning because we planned to go directly to the airport for out next camp after a couple of hours of sightseeing, and that was great. Everything was more relaxed and enjoyable.

I realize that, by departing the camp at 8 am instead of .6:30 am, we would have less time on the morning rides, since we needed to be back for lunch at 11 - 11:30. But, 3 1/2 hours is more than enough time for a ride, especially since there were afternoon rides as well. After 3/ 1/2 hours, I felt ready to return, take a bathroom break and relax. But by starting out at 6:30 am, the rides were sometime 4 - 5 hours. That is a long time to be riding around in a bumpy landrover in the Kalihari sand." See all these reviews: 8n in Botswana

"Duma Tao means Roar of the Lion, which was delivered- one lion and two lionesses! The camp is situated on the Savute channel with a spectacular view, across the channel to Namibia, where we watched several dozen elephants crossing sans passport of visa! When the elephants came, we were offered to slip out onto the water on a boat that was more like a floating lounge! The sunsets were the most beautiful I'd ever seen, with purple clouds mirrored in the glass-like water. The rooms had every amenity, even a private pool!

The highlight of Duma Tau was our guide, Tank, who is matchless in skill, knowledge and insight. Tank not only found the lions and all of the wildlife, but he knew exactly how to situate the jeep to set up the best shot! It was a privilege to have him as our guide, and lovely to spend time with him.

The staff made special accommodations for me to try the local cuisine (pap and morogo), which I requested. I so enjoyed it that I requested it at every meal for the rest of the trip!

Although Duma Tau is owned by Wilderness Safari, it is unique and has its own character. The management is superb, and raises the bar for luxury safari. We were treated like royalty- kings of the jungle!" See all these reviews: 14n in Botswana

"Wonderful place. Service great; food (way too) plentiful; land rover trips excellent.

Having said that (and it's in no way Expert's or Duma Tau's or Wilderness's fault): we tired of the earliness of the safaris. The early safari and then siesta might work for those who can snooze during siesta. I can't. And I need my beauty sleep:) And to be honest, I'd rather go out at 8 (and miss the early animal activity which I know exists) than at 6. At least optionally.

Also I discovered that Wilderness is heavily into eco-, with solar and all the rest. Very good stuff, and it ought to be promoted (by them and you) more than it is." See all these reviews: 6n in Botswana; 2n in Zimbabwe; 2n in Namibia