Duma Tau Camp is situated in north of Botswana's Linyanti Reserve, immediately beside the permanent waters of the Linyanti River. In ecology this area is very like the northern Riverfront of Chobe National Park, with open floodplains beside the water, an adjacent band of riverine forest, and then dense forests (mostly mopane) stretching away south.
More than many areas in Botswana, the game in the Linyanti can be quite seasonal. When the rain stops, and the standing pools in the bush dry up, game increasingly migrates to areas like this, where the water is permanent. This is especially true for elephants and buffalo, but also for many species of buck and plains game.
Thus the game around Duma Tau is at its best in the dry season – from around June to November, as the area gets drier, and the river more vital to the animals as a source of water. For the rest of the year there is resident game, although it isn't seen in the same densities – you'll have to work harder! However, many animals here have their young at this time, the bird-watching is excellent, and the environment green and fresh and highly photogenic … so there's lots to see and do.
Duma Tau camp stands along a stretch of the Linyanti River, close to the Zibadianja Lagoon (the source of the Savuti Channel), under towering jackalberry (African ebony), sausage and wild mangosteen trees.
DumaTau has ten rooms - large, walk-in tents standing on wooden decks, each with thatched roof, en-suite facilities and a separate outdoor shower. The canvas walls allow guests to enjoy the night sounds of Africa from the comfort of their beds! The bathroom facilities are en-suite, with hot and cold water and an outside shower-with-a-view. One tent is suitable for a family sharing.
Activities include boat trips and occasional short walks, but the focus is very clearly on the 4WD game drives (day and night). Although backed by forest, Duma Tau's area also has some open floodplains to the west, and the Savuti Channel to the south, allowing guests to explore a variety of habitats from the camp.
The name 'Duma Tau' means “roar of the lion” in Setswana, and there are great opportunities for seeing lion here. When we last visited in May 2008, we had a superb morning during which we first tracked two magnificent black-maned lions (who posed beautifully for photographs when we found them), and then a little further on we found two sleek and relaxed cheetahs resting in the shade. Our guide told us that the day before, these cheetahs had pulled down an impala and started eating, then the two lion had come and stolen the kill, then as they were chasing the cheetahs away a leopard came and took the kill up a nearby tree!
Wild dogs do regularly den in this region, and pass through, but we didn't see any on our last visit here.
In addition to the activities, there are several excellent game hides near the camp – one overlooking a waterhole and the other overlooking the Zibadianja lagoon. Guests spending three nights at DumaTau or its sister-camp, Savuti Camp, have the adventurous option of pre-arranging a night sleeping out in one of these game hides. Just request this when we book the camp for you.
In conclusion ... we can highly recommend a visit to Duma Tau for great game-viewing between about June–Nov. It's a lovely camps and there is a good population of cats here, plus plenty of elephants, buffalo and other game. If you visit out of this period, then expect a stunning environment, but you'll have to work harder for good game sightings as the density of animals is lower.
Directions: The camp is reached by a 50-minute flight from Maun (or a 45-minute flight from Kasane) and then an hour's game drive transfer.
Accessible by: Fly-and-Transfer
Key personnel
Owner: Wilderness Safaris
Food & drink
Usual board basis: Full Board
Food quality: Duma Tau serves very good quality food; the meals that we had on our last visit were delicious, well presented and bountiful.
Our early morning breakfast was served before the morning activity, and included cereals, fruits, yoghurts, juice, toast and porridge with tea and coffee.
We had Brunch at DumaTau soon after we returned from our morning activity; we found this hearty enough to set us up for an extended siesta! It was a buffet and we were offered chicken kebabs, a full cooked breakfast option (with eggs to order!), a huge selection of salads and freshly baked bread.
Afternoon tea was served around 3.30pm, and we were offered a light savory snack (filo pastry bundles filled with mushrooms) with some form of cake – which looked delicious. Tea, coffee, iced rooibos (redbush) tea and juices were on hand. We had the choice of eating at the main area, or at the viewing platform overlooking the seasonal Chankalamu Lagoon.
Duma Tau's 3-course dinner was in the dining area, and began with a delicious tomato and basil soup with a fresh warm bread roll. Our main course was a melt-in-the-mouth steak served with julienne vegetables and creamy mashed potato. Our meal was rounded off nicely with a light malva pudding followed by tea or coffee.
Dining style: Group Meals
Dining locations: Indoor and Outdoor Dining
Room service: Room service is not available – this is a safari camp!
Cost of meal e.g. lunch: Included
Drinks included: Soft drinks, bottled water, spirits, local beers and a selection of (generally) South African wines are included. Imported wines and spirits and champagne cost extra – and may even need to be requested in advance.
Special interests
Birdwatching: As the camp is close to water, you can view a good variety of water-birds right from the deck! On our last visit, our bird-list included wattled crane, painted snipe, bateleur, eagle owl, hornbills, sacred and hadeda ibis, malachite kingfisher, and a very bold little crested barbet which allowed me to approach to less than a metre to photograph him!
- See more of our suggestions of the best places for birdwatching in Botswana
Photographic: The game vehicles used by DumaTau are open-sided which makes them particularly suited to wildlife photography. In addition, the guides are excellent at finding a good spot to photograph and positioning the vehicle – I particularly appreciated the fact they found a shady spot – much needed when photographing animals in the sun!
- See more of our suggestions of the best places for photographic in Botswana
Wildlife: DumaTau's area is well known for its population of cats and during my brief stay I saw leopard, lion and cheetah. During the dry season there are also plenty of elephants in this area, and some even come through the camp. Wild dog are also often seen in this area, and there is a great variety of other plains game including large herds of buffalo, zebra and impala.
- See more of our suggestions of the best places for wildlife in Botswana
Children
Attitude towards children: Generally children over 12 years are welcome, but please take into account the restrictions below.
Age restrictions: Children of 12 years of age and over are accepted. Occasionally the camp accepts younger (between 8 and 12 years old), but only if the whole camp is reserved for one private party of people. Children below 8 years of age are not accepted here.
Activities: No special activities are offered.
Equipment: No special equipment is available
Generally recommended for children: Yes, for children of over 12 years of age.
Notes: Duma Tau is very open with dangerous wildlife walking through the camp, so children will need constant and close supervision by adults.
Central communications
Power supply: Generator
Communications: For most purposes, consider yourself out of contact here. There is no mobile reception, no direct fax or phone and no email! Swift radio contact can be made with Maun if there is an emergency.
TV & radio: No radio or television!
Health & safety
Malarial area: Yes
Medical care: All camp managers are first-aid trained and a comprehensive first-aid kit is kept at camp.
Dangerous animals: High Risk
Security measures: Because of the Okavango's large population of dangerous game, and the fact that Duma Tau is unfenced, guests are escorted to their rooms after dark. Alarms are provided in the rooms in case of an emergency.
Fire safety: There are extinguishers on the balconies of all rooms.
Extras
Disabled access: Not Possible
Laundry facilities: A full laundry service is included, save for the washing of underwear. Washing powder is provided in the bathrooms for this purpose.
Money: No exchange facilities are offered. There are safe deposit boxes in the rooms.
Accepted payment: Mastercard and Visa credit cards are accepted. Diners and Amex are not. No commission is charged on credit card transactions. Rand, £, $, Euros and Botswana Pula are accepted.
too short a time in Duma Tau
I did unfortunately arrive at Duma Tau during a very unseasonal thunderstorm which lasted all night and wiped out the first game drive. The next day it all cleared away and i was able to appreciate th...
Fabulous big cats and staff at Duma Tau
Our favourite camp overall. Staff particularly welcoming, friendly and attentive. Customer satisfaction was obviously their overwhelming priority.
Ambience was very relaxed and view from room supe...
DumaTau review
A slightly larger camp resulting in more vehicles around when out on game drives. However, this is offset by more vehicles able to find game and direct other vehicles.
As we found a number of inte...
Click on the links below to read sections from the Bradt guidebook which are related to DumaTau.
Duma Tau Put Duma Tau into context – read more about it in the Bradt travel guide to Botswana.
Useful links...
We want you to understand more about DumaTau. We're also confident that a trip there with us cost you the same or less than booking it any other way, even directly. So follow the links below.
DumaTau's homepage This is DumaTau's homepage on the website of Wilderness Safaris - who run the camp. It's a little slow to load - but very good and worth the wait.
Duma Tau