Reviews of DumaTau

"The new cabins were very hot with no shade in one of the hottest months of the year. Think the old camp, under the trees, would have been more enjoyable. We spent the afternoons under wet towels or in the pool. The owners of Wilderness Safaris knew of the problem, and tried to placate with excellent meals, but still it was hot in the cabins. Perhaps AC would help. The walk from our cabin, next to the last one, to the main activity area was very long and hot.

The actual safari was excellent, with viewing of a large pack of wild dogs for a couple of mornings. The dogs let our vehicle settle right into their midst, without ever seeming to acknowledge us. This was a testament to how well the guides had habituated them. This was my first experience to the excellent training of the guides by Wilderness Safaris." See all these reviews: 8n in Botswana; 3n in Mozambique; 2n in South Africa; 2n in Zimbabwe

"Our 3 days at Duma Tau were fabulous and excellent for a honeymooning couple. The new rooms are really comfortable with gorgeous views across the lake. The game is also all around you and the camp. On one walk back from the plunge pool (which was the nicest pool of the 3 camps with plenty of shade, a changing room and towels) we encountered a monitor lizard, a giraffe, 2 kudo, impala, guinea fowl, Jamesons firebirds and countless little bee eaters! The camp also has a lot of facilities with plenty of open space to enjoy private views.

The camp gave us 'private dining' on 2 nights out of 3, a bottle of fizz and made us feel very special. Thanks to Olivia for this who, as our host, was incredibly warm and generous. The rest of the staff were also very friendly and welcoming and nothing was too much trouble.

The gaming was the best out of the three camps and provided 4 days of non stop action. We saw pretty much everything at Duma Tau - 2 lions, 5 leopards (one on each of the 4 days we were there and on one occasion a mum with her pup - we did not see leopards anywhere else), a pack of wild dogs, a cheetah, endless hyena (including one in daylight), a hippo out of the water and in day light, a civet (apparently quite rare), a bat-eared fox (also rare) to name but a few. Our guide, Lazi, was top notch. He not only had the skills of a tracker but also was able to deal with guests, respond to our requests and have a laugh with us. He took us on a boat trip in mid-day siesta time which made a very long day for him.

The only non-positive comment about Duma Tau is the fact that it felt less intimate than the other camps and less Botswanan. There are a lot of non-Botswanan staff and the interactions that we had with staff generally felt more 'hotelly' than the other camps. What was great for us was the combination of Duma Tau with the other 2 camps i.e. because we were on our honeymoon it was great to be totally spoilt for a couple of days with high levels of service, but it was also nice to get to know a bit more about Botswana and the Delta life in the other camps.

The highlights - the whole thing!" See all these reviews: 8n in Botswana

"Very beautiful, modernised camp, great location near water.

Mocs, our guide is obviously a senior guide, very experienced. He was quite obsessed with the local group of wild dogs, so we spend most time looking and following them (they were hunting), while by-passing many other animals. Camp has a local big leopard, but we went looking only once.
Wild dogs are of course endangered, but so far, every camp had them.

This was our prettiest camp, superb friendly staff, but with the least variety of sightings." See all these reviews: 10n in Botswana

"Duma Tau provided a contrasting experience to our previous 2 Kwando camps. The camp had been rebuilt and resited in the last year and really was quite beautiful.

The staff again were incredibly friendly and helpful, the food was first class and the rooms were beautifully done (although a little smaller than the previous 2 camps). We had a great time here and it was a great camp to finish the trip.

Highlights here were going on the water on the last morning up to the Savute Channel and the elephant grazing by the verandah of our tent." See all these reviews: 8n in Botswana

"This is a very special camp with luxurious tents set on the water's edge. Immediately on arrival we watched a herd of elephants swim across the channel.

Our guide was excellent and took us to see a hyenas den. We also saw a leopard, lions, elephants, buffalo, warthogs, hippos and several species of birds.

On our last night we had a private candlelit dinner for two on a pontoon out in the channel. It was very special." See all these reviews: 14n in Botswana

"The new Duma Tau is a delight. The tents are lovely and the main building is magical at night.

We saw a huge range of animals and birds.

Excellent guide, Mocks, seemed to be able to find things to order. We even saw a cheetah, the only sighting in our last two visits to Botswana (they used to be a lot easier to find). Difficult to pick out highlights. We saw the wild dogs returning to their den and the puppies all coming out to suckle. Lunch on the boat while watching an enormous herd of elephants swimming across the Linyanti River was also something very special. We saw a leopard lounging in a tree then making a rapid descent to make an attempt at passing impala. Huge variety of birds and animals in the beautiful scenery along the Savute Channel.

'Roads' in this area are deep sand making for very bumpy drives, may not be an ideal area for anyone with back problems." See all these reviews: 11n in Botswana; 5n in South Africa

"As our first ever Safari Camp we sure struck it lucky at Duma Tau. Not only were the tents at the new camp absolutely beautiful, the lounge area open and sunny but Johann, Anya, and all the staff were marvelous. Sitting at either the bar chatting to Mr. B or at the dining table, looking over the river was Idyllic. With such a setting we did not object at all to being woken early, given a variety of yummy breakfast options, and put in a Safari vehicle with hot water bottles to head off on Safari. Our guide Tank with his wonderful knowledge, great driving skills and wonderful sense of humour made our stay there hard to beat. Our sunset fishing trip on the big boat was also a lot of fun.

Being next to the river and having a variety of animals wandering between the tents at any time day or night, does add to the experience. Although despite insisting she was fine on her own, our adult daughter did get a fright and I would recommend nervous people, especially children sharing tents." See all these reviews: 9n in Botswana; 3n in Zimbabwe

"When we left Chitabe we gave the feedback that is repeated in the overall trip comments. By the time we reached Duma Tau 2 hours later they had received that feedback and went to great lengths to make up for our concerns.

The camp is amazing - indeed its probably a bit too slick for my tastes - and the service was truly outstanding. There was also more wildlife in camp than in any of the others - including dozens of elephants plus a black Mamba!

The drives were good and in particular there were fantastic different lion sightings every day including very young cubs and also wild dogs." See all these reviews: 16n in Botswana

"Upon arrival here we trekked on the way to the camp along the Linyati River and saw a great variety of animals and beautiful scenery. We were able to observe several prides of lions and again a good variety of animals. One morning we found a pride breakfasting on a juvenile elephant between bouts of resting/sleeping.

Animal viewing was very good here and social activities such as having lunch on a barge in a Linyati channel was fun. The staff was fun to be with and very proud of the camp and allowed us to tour the facility behind scenes which was incredibly interesting. Our guide, Moses, was excellent. The food was also very good.

The manager of training guides even arranged for us to see a guide we had had on our safari the previous year when we were at Savute." See all these reviews: 15n in Botswana

"Food (especially breakfast and brunch) was suprisingly good.

Personally not keen on the habit of 'introducing' each dinner/wines - it is very unnatural. A note on the table would be perfectly OK.

Very much liked the style and atmosphere of the camp/rooms. During the day the rooms got very hot and the overhead fan could definitely be more effective.

Excellent guide (Moses) who took plenty of opportunities to highlight smaller/less noticeable plants/animlas which gave a much more varied understanding of the area and ecosystem.

There seems to be a ring around the camp where it is unlikely to see anything - each game drive we had to travel 15-20mins beofre we saw anything of interest. Having said that, a pride of lions were all in and around the camp the day before we arrived.

One evening we had an influx of mosquito/bugs but fortunately the following 2 nights the wind blew them away.

General landscape of hte concession very attractive down by Linyanti River + Savuti Chanel.

The promotional material indicated there was a swimming pool - there is not." See all these reviews: 6n in Botswana