Mma Dinare

19°35’13.2"S 23°34’28.3"E

98% (16 reviews)

Full review Our view Geographics Food & drink Children Wildlife sightings Communications Health & safety Activities Extras

Mma Dinare: Our full report

Set in riverine woodland overlooking the Gomoti River and its floodplains Mma Dinare enjoys a picturesque outlook.

This small camp offers a traditional safari experience in an excellent wildlife area. While the river and its floodplains host a wide variety of animals, don’t expect to spend time in a motorboat. That said, mokoro trips are offered for parts of the year, depending on water levels.

Mma Dinare shares a 272km² concession with its sister camp Rra Dinare. This concession and both camps are run for the benefit of the local community, through the Sankuyo Tshwaragano Management Trust. This means that staying here helps to provide employment, schooling and other benefits for the local people.

At full capacity, Mma Dinare can host up to 22 travellers in ten safari tents, built overlooking the Gomoti River floodplain. Each tent makes the most of the picturesque, ever-changing vista in front of camp. Large, partially shaded private decks complete with table and chairs provide an ideal viewing platform for spotting wildlife or relaxing with a book between activities.

Inside each timber-framed tent is a comfortable lounge area with a sofa, chairs and a coffee table, separated by sliding doors from the bedroom behind. The bedroom is dominated by a king-size or twin beds, which are shrouded by mosquito nets at night. In the hotter summer months (October to December), a ceiling fan helps provided welcome relief from the heat, often aided by dampened kikois. Bedside tables, a writing desk, chair and – to the back of the room – a luggage storage rack with hangers and a small safe complete the furniture. The back of the tent also houses an en-suite bathroom, with twin basins painted by a local artisan, a separate toilet and an outdoor shower.

The family tent at Mma Dinare can sleep up to four travellers. The main bedroom is identical to those in the other tents, save for an additional door that opens onto a short corridor and a second, slightly smaller bedroom. This second room has its own bathroom with an indoor shower, but no direct access outside, making it ideal for children travelling with their parents. However, we wouldn’t generally recommend this room for couples travelling together.

The tents are linked to the main area by a series of raised walkways with breaks in them to allow larger animals to cross. The main area is split into several sections, of which the two main sections are set beneath high thatched roofs and remain open-sided in all but the most severe downpours.

On one level is the main dining area where buffet meals are typically enjoyed at a large communal table. A slightly lower level is home to a semi-circular lounge/viewing deck with a self-service bar at one end, and a small curio shop behind, stocked with books, clothes, kikois and mementos.

On a separate level again are a small turquoise pool, set in a wooden deck and surrounded by sunloungers, and the camp’s firepit deck. Depending on the weather, breakfast may be served fireside in the early morning before travellers head out on their first activity of the day.

When we stayed in November 2023, we happily whiled away an hour in camp watching a passing herd of several hundred buffalo, watering and bathing in the river as they went – it seems that Mma Dinare, meaning Mother Buffalo, is a fitting name for the camp.

Activities from Mma Dinare include game drives, mokoro trips and walking safaris, with night drives also possible as this is a private reserve. While mokoro trips are also offered most of the year, the length and interest of this activity will depend on water levels, which tend to be at their lowest in November and December.

The team here is one of the few in Botswana that utilises both a guide and tracker on game drives, allowing them to actively track predators, often with great success. Furthermore, activities are limited to six travellers per vehicle, so everyone gets an unobstructed “window” seat (although the vehicles themselves are open-sided).

During our stay in November 2023 we enjoyed some excellent wildlife watching from Mma Dinare, perhaps no surprise given that the reserve borders the renowned Moremi Game Reserve.

Helicopter scenic flights and day trips can be booked in advance or in camp at an additional, fairly substantial, cost.

Our view

Mma Dinare offers excellent game viewing in the predominantly dry Santawani area in the far south-east of the Okavango Delta. The camp exudes a relaxed atmosphere and offers comfortable, though not luxurious, accommodation with a keen focus on wildlife watching. The inclusion of a guide and tracker team on all game drives is a real advantage when looking for predators and other animals.

Amanda Bond

Botswana expert

Geographics

Location: Okavango Delta Safari Reserves, Botswana
Ideal length of stay: Two or three nights here is an ideal length of time. We tend to recommend combining Mma Dinare with another camp with better access to water activities such as one of its sister properties: Kwara Camp or Splash Camp.
Directions: Light-aircraft flights into the nearest airstrip take about 15 minutes from Maun, or 1hr 20 minutes from Kasane. It's then a drive of 45 minutes to the lodge.
Accessible by: Fly-and-Transfer

Food & drink

Usual board basis: Full Board & Activities
Food quality: We understand that most dietary requirements can be catered for by the team at Mma Dinare with sufficient notice.

During our stay here in November 2023 the food was tasty and with plenty of variety, although meals were not as sophisticated as at some other camps.

A continental-style breakfast buffet is served from 5.30am until 6.00am before morning activities begin. This usually includes toast, muffins, cereals, yoghurt, fresh fruit, fruit salad, boiled eggs, fruit juice, tea and coffee.

Guests return from the morning activity enjoy a buffet style brunch/lunch, usually at around 11.00am. We didn’t have the opportunity to try this during our stay, but a typical meal might be a chicken quiche served with broccoli salad, apple and carrot salad, lentils, potatoes, cold meats and cheeses and fresh bread. This might be followed by fresh fruit for dessert.

High tea is served at around 4.00pm after a siesta in the middle of the day, before heading out on an afternoon activity,. We enjoyed cheese-and-bacon pizza rolls and ginger cake, accompanied by a fiery homemade ginger lemonade and rooibos iced tea.

After returning from the afternoon activity, dinner is served at around 8.00pm. To start, we tucked into some excellent sweetcorn fritters with salsa. This was followed by a buffet of chicken stew and battered bream fillets served with pap (maize meal), roasted butternut squash, sautéed cabbage, chakalaka, tomato relish and tartare sauce. Our dessert was a wonderful, if rather large, Amarula pannacotta.
Dining style: Mixture of group dining and individual tables
Dining locations: Indoor and Outdoor Dining
Further dining info, including room service: Private dining available on request
Drinks included: House drinks such as regional beers and wines as well as soft drinks and filtered water are included.

Children

Attitude towards children: Mma Dinare welcomes children over the age of six years.
Property’s age restrictions: Families with children under 12 are required to book a private vehicle.
Children under 12 are not permitted on mokoros or walking safaris.
Special activities & services: Children are offered an activity pack with colouring books and activities to enjoy during their stay.
It is often possible to arrange for camp staff, often one of the housekeepers, to child sit during meals and siesta. While these staff usually have children of their own, they don’t tend to be qualified childcare professionals.
Interpretive bush walks around camp can be arranged for children on request.
Equipment: None
Generally recommended for children: Given the expense of a private vehicle, and the age restrictions on certain activities we’d typically recommend Mma Dinare for families with children aged 12 and over.
Notes: Mma Dinare is an unfenced camp with raised walkways and unguarded pool, so any children staying here should be supervised by a responsible adult at all times.

Our travellers’ wildlife sightings from Mma Dinare

Since mid-2018, many of our travellers who stayed at Mma Dinare have kindly recorded their wildlife sightings and shared them with us. The results are below. Click an animal to see more, and here to see more on our methodology.

Buffalo

100% success

Elephant

100% success

Giraffe

100% success

Hippo

100% success

Lion

100% success

Wildebeest

100% success

Zebra

100% success

Leopard

86% success

Wild dog

83% success

Cheetah

79% success

Spotted Hyena

62% success

Roan antelope

25% success

Sable antelope

17% success

Aardvark

0% success

Black Rhino

0% success

Pangolin

0% success

White Rhino

0% success

Communications

Power supply notes: There is a back-up generator.
Communications: There is no WiFi or cellphone coverage, although limited WiFi access is planned in the future.
TV & radio: None
Water supply: Borehole
Water supply notes: All tents are fully plumbed with running water and flush toilets. Hot water is supplied by heat pumps.

Health & safety

Malarial protection recommended: Yes
Medical care: Guides and camp mangers are first-aid trained. In an emergency guests would be air-lifted to Maun or perhaps Johannesburg.
Dangerous animals: High Risk
Security measures: Guides and managers sleep in camp. After dark guests are escorted to their tents to prevent encounters with dangerous wildlife. Each tent has an airhorn for attracting attention in an emergency at night.
Fire safety: Extinguishers are strategically placed around camp, including outside each tent.

Activities

4WD Safari
Birdwatching
Guided walking safari
Helicopter
Mokoro
Night drive

Extras

Disabled access: On Request
Laundry facilities: Included. Laundry is machine washed on a cold temperature; smalls are placed in a separate bag. There is washing detergent in the tents for hand washing if desired.
Money: There is a small digital safe in each tent for valuables.
Accepted payment on location: With everything included there is little need to pay for anything here. However, for curio purchases from the shop travellers can pay by Visa or Mastercard, or in cash with US dollars, Botswana pula, UK pounds, euros or South African rand (dollars are usually best).