Reviews of Vumbura Plains
(97%) From 15 travellersThey do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa.
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A good beginning at Vumbura Plains
Overall staff very helpful though one or two of the restaurant staff seemed a little bewildered sometimes.
Dinners were generally good, breakfast and brunches perhaps less successful (especially when compared with Duma Tau) but still perfectly OK.
Good variety of game both prey and predator. Sometimes very bumpy tracks.
Got a general feeling that some of the other guests were a little 'pampered' but suppose that is a result of it being a premier camp.
Rooms were huge - maybe unnecessarily so.
Guiding (Lazarus) was good, although he seemed to concentrate more on the larger animals rather than highlight some smaller birds/plants, however would still give him high marks.
Vumbura Main Camp.
Again a very good visit. In comparison with Chitabi we missed some of the informailty. The staff were very pleasant and helpful but we missed the informailty of all guests and staff eating together.
Guides were excellent, knowledgeable and went out of their to make the visit a great success. We were particularly impressed with all the guides knowledge.
We took a half day trip on a boat in the Delta. This was a little disappointing
Excellent Safari at Vumbura Plains
Vumbura Plains North is an excellent camp.
There are two Vumbura's North and South and the North side has a more modern main area and is a bit larger and certainly my preference. Vumbura's landscape is very enjoyable. If this is your first safari, the terrain can be quite different from area to area. Vumbura had a great open plains feel while also having other areas that look completely different which gives a great diversity of plant & bird life. We saw all the Big 5 except the Rhino which is no longer in this area, hippos, a few small crocs, zebras, giraffes, wildebeest's, mongoose, impala, kudus, red leche, etc and an outstanding assortment of Bird life.
One of the highlights of the trip was tracking a mother and 2 of its lion cubs. After an exciting, search, there they were and we followed them for over an hour as they were on the move right in the open in search of food. Animals were abundant and all different varieties. Another highlight of the trip were the elephants. There were many babies some of which were just born and in the two days we were in the camp, the elephants kept us company including during our candlelight dinners. Sometimes the mother wasn't happy that we were so close to her baby, but she soon realized we were not a threat and went along her business. This area is much greener than the Linyanti area in the time of year that I traveled (first week in Oct) and the safari drives are not as bumpy as some of the other camps.
We also had an opportunity to do a Mokoro. Although there is really no animal presence during this canoe ride, it is a great way to relax from the bumpy drives. My brother also went on a fishing boat do some small recreational fishing but more like relaxing. Because Vumbura is a premier camp, the drives were only the 3 of us on the trip and we were able to have private dinners as well. All of the staff were outstanding , the rooms were very large with a plunge pool and had everything from a hairdryer, all the incidentals such as shampoo, conditioner, bug spray and a fully stocked fridge which was not found in my Classic camp. October was hot but dry and the advantage was the evenings were not cold and there were hardly any bugs. Our guide was excellent and one thing to make note of is to tell your guide everything you are interested in seeing and he will do his best to find the animals for you.
One thing I wish I was a little more prepared on was the ammenities. I brought a few too many extra things and was quite surprised how the rooms all had shampoo, conditioner, bug spray and even outlets to charge your camera equipment. If you are traveling in the hot months, I highly recommend bringing rehydration salts and or a powdered gatorade. I have never had problems with heat before but because I was taking Malaria pills, I was dehydrated for one of the days (malaria pills tend to dehydrate you faster). Luckily I had a rehydration salt and made a quick recovery. Gatorade or Powerades were not available. One other small thing to make note of is that it is customary for all the staff to shake your hand. Certainly not a bad thing but If you are a germaphobe, just carry a small bottle of purell with you at all times. Also, what is great is that all the staff will know your name. Rooms were very large and the decor was beautiful.
This camp exceeded my expectations and I highly recommend it.
Okavanga Heaven
A wonderful camp with fantastic rooms and amazing views in the heart of the bush. Brilliant management team, guides, staff and hippos that definitely went bump in the night!
We can't praise it enough.
Loved the communal dinners with our fellow guests, guides and managers particularly the one out in the bush where the hyenas were waiting to join us!
Vumbura - outstanding rooms, cuisine & location
We arrived at Vumbura after a 10 minute scenic flight which once again showed that the high water levels were still rising higher. The camp was absolutely fantastic with a very unusual but eye catching main deck, bar and dining area. Our room was awesome! Very spacious and extremely comfortable. We were at the end of the walkway and so our views were superb – I've never taken a shower for so long before!! The food and service were excellent with a choice on the dinner menu which was a nice touch.
We did mostly game drives and one Mokoro trip which was brilliant as it was so peaceful and gave us a different perspective of the wildlife we saw on the water's edge. The drives were wet and dry and on some occasions the water level rose above the bonnet of the vehicle. I guess the game viewing was the only slightly disappointing part of the trip ( at both camps) as on many drives we or rather the Guides worked very hard to spot what we did. The water levels obviously had an impact on the game in that area, especially pushing out the big cats and so sometimes it was very quiet indeed but it did not in any way spoil things at all.
We were again looked after very well by Noku (Nick, I think), Kate and the staff. (I appreciated the typical English sense of humour of Noku). On the final morning the flight mode and times changed by the minute as water levels threatened to flood the airstrip. Only when we arrived at the airstrip was there an announcement that it would close and after some time we were then whisked away to Maun by helicopter – as you can imagine, a 35 minute flight at low level over the delta by helicopter was one hell of a way to finish off our holiday.
Vumbura Plains review
Beautiful rooms in a lovely location. Excellent service although they did seem to put out too much food!
A bird guide in the library would be a useful addition although our guide was particularly knowledgeable on birds.
A bush dinner was an unexpected and very memorable surprise.
Vumbura Plains review
We hade a excellant bush dinner at night.
But we felt more distant to the personnels, not so warm and engaged.
we had a lovely mokoro ride
Absolutely amazing
This camp was by far the best.
The 'tent' must have been 800 sq.ft each with a huge private outdoor lounge area and plunge pool. Very private with an amazing view of the delta. The camp offers both 4x4 safaris as well as mokoro rides which are lovely.
The staff and guides were all amazing and treated us very well. The camp was also very flexible, allowing for shorter or longer drives, day and night. We were very sad to leave.
Vumbura Plains review
Loved staying here.
The staff - particulalry Gordon, Tanya, Mia and our guide Sevara were amazing. Flawless!!
Rooms are fabulous, food was great, people were lovely
African luxury at its best
We were at vumbura Plains - not little Vumbura - an unbeatable destination in all repects
Read more about the whole safariExpert Africa comments
These travellers were upgraded from 'Little Vumbura' to 'Vumbura Plains' - which they clearly liked.
We have always believed that acting responsibly is the only way to approach tourism and we're one of
the few companies to hold AITO's original coveted 5-star status for responsible tourism. It's a lead
that others are now following.
