Reviews of DumaTau

"DumaTau means “roar of the lion” and it lived up to it’s name. Every night we heard the lions roaring, sometimes near and sometimes far. We saw almost every member of the large pride including a couple of very young lion cubs with their mother. But DumaTau is also about elephants in the dry season.

DumaTau is a luxury camp that lives up to its description. The tents are very large with a large bedroom, double-sink vanity, indoor/outdoor showers and a large living room with a sofa, fully-stocked mini refrigerator, and coffee station. There is a large deck facing the Linyanti River with outdoor seating and a small pool. A localized air-conditioning unit blows cold air over the bed and was welcome during the day because temperatures were quite warm. Turn off the ceiling fan if using the A/C or it blows the cool air away. It cools off nicely at night.

WiFi was good in the rooms. There are USB plugs above the night stands on each side of the bed which are convenient. The open closet area has a South African socket and a UK 2-pin outlet just above a shelf and that is where I charged cameras and batteries. It is more space than necessary, but it is very comfortable. In spite of the tent’s large size, we still heard lions, hyena, hippos, frogs and birds at night and in the early morning. The entire front of tent facing the Osprey lagoon is netting and therefore open air.

The lagoon is a big presence in camp, as the camp is built along it. The rooms are connected by a raised walkway that drops to ground level in places to allow elephants to move through camp. The dining area includes indoor and outdoor seating on two levels. The bar is very large with seating in two areas. There are two fire pits, one on a floating deck in the Linyanti lagoon, and the other adjacent to the bar; breakfast was served around this fire pit. A buffet of cold cereal, yogurt, fruit and muffins was served and warm options including bacon and eggs were available from the fire. The dining area, fire pits and bar are the center of camp with rooms on either side. At one end there is also a snack shack, swimming pool, gift shop and massage suite. Beyond is Little DumaTau.

Lunch was served on the deck and we ordered from a menu. One day we had lunch on the patio boat. It was a real treat to float along the river and watch elephants crossing the river while enjoying a delicious lunch. Another day our guide, See, and I had been fishing in the morning and caught several three spot tilapia and a bream, which we brought back to camp. Chef Crisper prepared one of the tilapia for us for lunch and See gave the others to members of the staff.

There was a group of 10 in camp when we arrived and they had requested a boma dinner that night, their last night. We were invited to attend and it was one of the highlights of our stay at DumaTau. The music and dancing were energetic and very fun.

We saw elephants crossing the waterway almost constantly during our stay and camp staff told us some days they saw larger than usual numbers crossing all day. We were fortunate to see a young leopard with her kill, many hippos, giraffe, water buck, wildebeest, buffalo and many birds. Our morning fishing was a highlight as we had very good luck with tilapia and tiger fish. Another highlight was an explanation of the topography and geology of the Linyanti area by See. His knowledge of the regions geology is as comprehensive as his knowledge of the area’s bird, animals and plants. We thoroughly enjoyed the time we spent with See." See all these reviews: 12n in Zambia; 10n in Botswana; 6n in Zimbabwe

"Clearly a lot of time and money has been spent in creating this new camp away from it's previous location but our overriding impression was that it was more akin to a Holiday Resort rather than a place to absorb the true experience of the sights and sounds of the African bush.

The well-constructed cabin was too large, with separate areas of a lounge, entrance hall, bedroom and bathroom, plus an outside shower and a plunge pool. But - with early wake-up calls and 2 game drives every day, which were very enjoyable, how much time was there to enjoy such amenities.

We were not happy with the maintenance. we reported a bedside light not working and, after a few reminders, had to solve that problem ourselves. Also, there was a hole on the ceiling that allowed a Tree Squirrel to enter the room and this was not repaired properly so it came back every day. On our last day we found it on the lounge floor, barely alive, and later saw it outside dead, on the ground.

However, we did enjoy all animals that we came across on our drives, including a single Wild Dog that had split from the pack and met up with a male and had pups, only for the male and all the pups, except one, to be killed. There were multiple sightings of Lions, one group comprising 2 male, 4 female and 6 cubs, and the other group just 2 male and 3 female. Being near permanent water there were numerous Hippo pods as well as Crocodile, Elephant and Waterbuck. There were also Kudu, Steenbok, Reedbuck, Warthog, Baboon, Vervet Monkey, Wildebeest, Buffalo, Giraffe and Zebra. We were also lucky to see a Wild Cat, a single Honey Badger early in the morning, as well as a lone female Leopard.

Being located on a lagoon/river there were boat rides available and the opportunity to watch an elephant, with a young one, cross one of the waterways.

On Monday evening we were treated to a 'Boma' event where we all sat around in a semi-circle and were then treated to most of the camp staff performing traditional dancing and singing; then we had a buffet-style dinner in one long row of tables." See all these reviews: 12n in Botswana

"Due to a fire near Savute Camp (the lodge we had originally booked) we were transferred to Duma Tau - both Wilderness camps. Duma Tau ultimately turned out to be our favourite camp on the trip. This was largely down to the wonderful staff & amazing food. We did not want to leave!

Absolutely everyone was so friendly & helpful - Brenda & her team do an excellent job.

The chef, Grant, produced the most delicious & creative food. Best we've ever had on safari. If he ran a restaurant near where we live we would be regulars!

Our driver/guide was Niq. He was highly knowledgeable & great company.

We enjoyed the fact that Duma Tau offer both the land & water based safaris - you can take a motorised boat along the river. The river trips were wonderful experiences & add a layer of variety to the safari.

We also had a lunchtime BBQ "in the bush" on one of the days - a total & wonderful surprise." See all these reviews: 10n in Botswana

"Every Wilderness Safaris camp has its own feel and charm. DumaTau is luxurious and comfortable but does not separate you from the scents and sounds of the wild. The sounds of the African night are extraordinary at DumaTau.

The camp is located on Osprey Lagoon along the Linyanti River between two elephant crossings. Rooms are connected to the central outdoor dining area, bar and fire pits by raised walkways.

We saw countless elephants using these ancient crossings in small groups and larger family groups. The older elephants help the little ones swim across the river and we often watched juvenile males wrestle with each other as they completed the crossing. Truly, this is a magical experience.

The Linyanti Wildlife Reserve, on the northernmost fringe of Botswana, is rich in wildlife and the habitat is varied. We enjoyed driving safaris, a boat safari to photograph elephants swimming the river (at a respectful distance) and a walking safari. Viewing animals on foot is very different than from a vehicle. When on the vehicle you could get very close to the animals but when on foot they are very nervous and run away. Even the lions we came across while walking ran away but later the same ones allowed us to drive up very close. While not running, we did end our walking safari at that point and go back to the vehicle.

We were guided by Peter, an experienced and knowledgeable guide, who gave us a truly memorable experience. He spotted leopards, lions, many birds, countless elephants and he even found a chameleon - something I’ve long wanted to see in the wild. We saw the first newborn impala of the season.

I felt very emotional leaving DumaTau and we cannot thank Peter enough for the quality experience." See all these reviews: 12n in Botswana; 7n in Namibia; 3n in Zimbabwe

"Our guide was quite good, and the boat activities are excellant. And an excellant masseuse.

The view is lovely from the room. The rooms are on 2 levels, necessitating mindfulness when coming and going.

Duma Tau appears to rely on its reputation as a premiere camp, rather than striving to be a truly premiere camp. We missed several of the pleasing attributes of other Wilderness camps. For example. we were greeted by the manager and a cold washcloth, rather than the customary assemblage of the entire staff with beautiful singing and introductions. And when we entered the room it was clean but undecorated - at all other camps the beds are artistically decorated with towels shaped like birds and flowers and leaves strewn in beautiful arrangements. And we felt limited connection with the staff, in surprising contrast to our other camps. However, when staff realized that our anniversary was just a week away, we were surprised with a lovely decorative arrangement, including champagne, fruit and cheese - an unexpected delight.

Lunch on the boat was a wonderful experience and the best meal we had during our three day visit. Otherwise, meals were uninspired and the selections were very limited. There appears to be a bit of cost-cutting in both food and beverage selections. Both breakfast and dinner buffet are unlit so it is helpful to bring a flashlight. We several times asked to have a private table (and were assured this would be available) but at every meal we were seated with 3-6 other guests." See all these reviews: 14n in Botswana

"I thought the staff wasn't super friendly and that it was more important for the staff to be accommodated than the guests.

I asked our guide to please talk about everything we were seeing but it seemed he was very ready for his break to go home, which really disappointed me. We repeated the same drives several times, I think because it was easy.

Wildlife viewing was OK. Highlights were a leopard with his aardvark meal up a tree, and a place with hundreds of carmine bee eaters who return each year to nest." See all these reviews: 14n in Botswana; 5n in South Africa

"Lovely accommodation and general area .

There were options of seating arrangements although mostly you were sat with the people on the jeep and often the guide as well." See all these reviews: 9n in Botswana

"Duma Tau was recommended as a combination of semi-luxury, (as we had begun our trip on a more rugged private mobile safari), and excellent wildlife viewing. We knew from past experience that Wilderness Safaris camps can be a bit "corporate" for our tastes, so we asked Expert Africa to communicate our wishes to Johan, the camp manager, in advance. We arrived to learn he was on "sabbatical" and had failed to pass along our message. Fortunately, the interim manager, "Momma Bee", interviewed us carefully and then tailored our four day stay. She took great pride in delivering an experience beyond the ordinary.

One caution to "seasoned" safari travelers: Duma Tau attracted the most obnoxious Americans we encountered on our trip.

The camp is in a beautiful location which combines water, mopane woodlands, and exceptional terrain along the Savuti channel. The wildlife this year was largely absent at Duma Tau, but because Wilderness has three properties in the concession we were able to roam into both King's Pool and Savuti Camp territories where we had exceptional viewings of lions, leopard and even a male cheetah." See all these reviews: 14n in Botswana

"Once again, our visit to Duma Tau was excellent. The camp is in a lovely setting and the main area of the camp is quite magical at night. We had Mocks again as our guide and he did not disappoint, finding things we had never seen before , for example, lions mating.
Lunch on the river makes a really nice change" See all these reviews: 10n in Botswana; 9n in Namibia

"This camp has a significant problem. The orientation of the rooms is such that the balconies are in full sun - without any shade - for that part of the day when guests would want to use them, from midday to gone 3 o'clock. The canvas walls are heating up during this time and the presence of small animals prohibits the door being left open to admit a draft. Two fans help a little, but only re-circle the air. The only relief from the increasing heat is to use the common areas which are open to the cooling breezes. The problem can be solved, as it has for the bar area, by installing wind-down blinds. As is stands at the moment, I would be strongly advising future travellers to avoid this camp, which would be a shame because in all other respects, it was lovely.

Our guide here, Lazy (Lazarus) was excellent and with Ona at Little Vimbura, was our other "10 out of 10" rating.

A general comment applicable to all camps about the food. The presentation was first class and the choice remarkable given the difficult supply logistics. All meals were a delight and the temptation to over-indulge difficult to resist. Our only negative comment is that with one exception, the evening meal meat courses were almost always overcooked, or bordering on being so. And conversely, the vegetables had on some occasions merely been shown the water - we quickly learnt to avoid the french beans!" See all these reviews: 14n in Botswana; 2n in Zimbabwe