Reviews of Duba Explorers Camp
Wildlife sightings and reviews
22 independent comments and wildlife information from our travellers who have visited Duba Explorers Camp and kindly agreed to share their thoughts. They do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa
91% success
86% success
17% success
73% success
100% success
100% success
100% success
100% success
100% success
90% success
75% success
71% success
28% success
5% success
0% success
0% success
0% success
"Duba Explorers Camp review"
The managers (KP and Tseppo(?)) run a tight ship and were well briefed on our dietary requirements which were well reflected in meal choices. Main courses ( from a choice of two) can be ordered for dinner, which is communal in the open.
Tent was spacious, very well equipped and with lovely furniture - probably the most comfortable of the places we stayed. They are stocked with toiletries so there is no need to bring your own (and best not to as camps are trying to prevent chemical run off into the wetlands). Views from communal deck and our tent were enchanting over the river.
Wake up call is 5am (with very welcome tea/coffee and biscuits) with game drive departures at 5.30am. Game drives run until about 12.00 with lunch served around 12.30. ‘Bush breakfast’ is taken on the drive about 8.30 - generous and tasty.
Dinners were scheduled for 7.30 which could be tight if the afternoon game drive ‘overruns’ (we had a 5 minute walk to our tent, and occasionally we felt there was insufficient time to freshen up for dinner).
Game drives finish with welcome cold towels on return. ‘Personal’ metal cold water bottles – which you can keep (topped up for every drive) are a nice touch.
Game drives were fabulous. Our guide Zacharias was a delight – studious, and dogged in pursuit of sightings for us. His dedication meant occasionally sundowners were missed -but when Wild Dogs and Leopards are on the menu, it’s really not surprising!
We are keen birders so once Zach was aware of this he did switch his attention to spotting birds for us too. He and other staff went our of their way to secure us a sighting of Pel’s Fish Owl – which we did successfully and had a sighting of a juvenile alongside the resident pair - the first confirmation of breeding the camp has had. He also conducted a walking safari for us which was a real highlight.
In summary , we found Duba Explorers to be a superb camp with highly professional and friendly staff and excellent food." See all these reviews: 9n in Botswana
"Duba Explorers Camp review"
The rooms were charmingly decorated and very comfortable. The staff were outstanding and went out of their way to make guests feel at home.
The chef was very keen to produce excellent food including a full tasting menu one evening.
The guiding was excellent and we saw everything apart from leopard but including following wild dogs. The helicopter transfer was a huge surprise!
We will always have very happy memories of Duba Explorers." See all these reviews: 10n in Botswana; 2n in Zimbabwe
"Duba Explorers Camp review"
The cold spell started when we arrived here, but we still loved every moment out in the bush. Highlights included a large herd of relaxed Sable, a family of Ground Hornbills and a Wild Dog hunt which could have easily made the grade for BBC Earth" See all these reviews: 16n in Botswana
"Duba Explorers Camp review"
The individual tented rooms are well spaced with outer decks overlooking the stream and at the time we visited a grassy area visited by elephants, eland and hippos. Breakfast is served as part of the morning game drive.
Evening meals are taken at a communal table on the large deck at the main lodge and there is a large fire pit to sit around before dinner and share stories. There is a cute plunge pool set up on the back of an old truck that is great for cooling down in.
Our guide, Zac, was excellent finding animals and birds. Excellent sightings of leopard, lion, giraffe and elephants." See all these reviews: 12n in Namibia; 8n in Botswana; 2n in Zimbabwe
"Duba Explorers Camp review"
Our first night was in tent 1, absolutely perfect view over the water but marred by a terrible smell from the toilet. Moved to tent 2 which had as grand a view and as comfortable and elegant as could be.
The bird-life and game around the river made time spent in camp enjoyable. The game out on the game drives was a bit scarce. Oddly in 4 days we never saw a buffalo or a lion which of course Duba is famous for. The roads felt quite rough, not sure if it was the washboarding or the condition of our vehicle. Instead of drives we chose a couple of mokoro rides which were lovely.
There were highlights however. We spent many hours on night drives and saw great sightings of wild cat, a leopard, genet, Giant Eagle Owl, and just totally thrilled by the brilliant stars in the dark skies.. and an elephant came by and gave us a wake=up call one morning.
The lunches were good, a variety of salads and other interesting dishes. The French style dinners were a bit fussy for us, though the chef did the best sticky toffee pudding ever." See all these reviews: 11n in Botswana
"Duba Explorers Camp review"
Our guide Isaac is a true gentleman, kind and caring, with very extensive knowledge, using in vehicle guidebooks to illustrate certain wildlife sightings, always positioning the vehicle for the best photography light. His trainee KG is lucky to have him as a mentor. The highlight wasn’t the numbers of wildlife but the upclose encounters: we followed a leopard for 1,5 hours and a lion for over an 1 hour, gaining a real insight in their behavior instead of just a snapshot photo moment.
The water activities, mekoro and boat trip, were a welcome diversion from the gamedrives. Camp managers Anastasia and Teddy were always there to send us off or welcome us back and always in for a good conversation at the campfire, we felt taken care of. A minor detail: apparently the forms we filled out at home and were sent by email did not come through as we had to redo everything on arrival." See all these reviews: 13n in Botswana
"Duba Explorers Camp review"
A warm welcome by Corine and Anastasia. And off on our first evening drive with Isaac and K.G. Right from the start it was evident that Isaac was a special, different sort of guide. Apart from being very pleasant company, his ability to inspire you with his narratives, his knowledge and love for the country was very impressive. K.G. is a lucky person to have Isaac as his tutor.
I also loved the boattrips, with on our last evening the sundowner where the staff had set up a complete bar and Anastasia was present as well. Wonderful memories." See all these reviews: 13n in Botswana
"Duba Explorers Camp review"
However he eventually got through and another vehicle was sent. There is a zone near the airport where the radio has no connection. This needs to be addressed either technically or by avoiding that area in future as obviously mobiles dont work either!
the camp itself was lovely and so were the staff. Animal sightings were scarcer here. We did see some leopard, cheetah, hyena etc but we also had some fairly fruitless game drives.
What stopped the review being average or less was the camp itself but also we probably saw/ videoed/ photoed the most iconic leopard photo of the whole trip here!" See all these reviews: 6n in Botswana; 5n in South Africa; 2n in Zimbabwe
"3 Nights at Duba Explorers Camp in Late June"
It felt that the furnishing of the tents was a bit "overboard" attempting to recreate the setting of a camp in Africa many years ago.
Wonderful staff and guide (Matt).
Able to get good photos of malachite kingfishers near camp via mokoro.
Encountered the tail of a leopard, a sleeping cheetah at 40 meters, and large groups of impala and zebra on a walking safari.
Absolutely classic sighting of a leopard on a dead tree branch en route to depart at the air strip." See all these reviews: 8n in Zambia; 7n in Botswana
"Duba Explorers Camp review"
Game viewing was wonderful. We stayed here for 4 nights and saw wild dogs and leopards every day.
Staff were friendly and food was excellent." See all these reviews: 7n in Botswana
Holiday styles & special interests in Botswana
From birdwatching breaks to walking holidays, find great ideas for your trip in Botswana.
Other lodges in Okavango Delta Safari Reserves
Alternative places to stay in this same area.