Reviews of DumaTau
Wildlife sightings and reviews
51 independent comments and wildlife information from our travellers who have visited DumaTau and kindly agreed to share their thoughts. They do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa
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"Non stop action at Duma Tau"
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
"Duma Tau - beautiful camp"
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 review"
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
"Duma Tau is a very special camp"
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
"Duma Tau was wonderful"
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
"Our family loved Duma Tau"
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
"Duma Tau"
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
"DumaTau review"
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
"Duma Tau - atmospheric new camp"
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
"Lion's country"
All the staff were great and the the food was of the same high standard as the other camps.
My guide was Bobby and he was great throughout the trip. He spent a lot more time than other guides explaining the ecology and history of the Delta, though he knew how to put his foot down when there was action we needed to see. He also took us out on a boat one afternoon (between drives) to watch the Elephants crossing the lagoon, and took me fishing the other afternoon i had in camp.
Game viewing was spectacular with numerous Lion Sightings which included watching a pride of Lions steal a Leopards kill. We also saw plenty of Leopards and lots of other game.
The Elephants regularly cross the lagoon near camp and this is a truly amazing sight to watch." See all these reviews: 12n in Botswana
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