Reviews of Duba Plains Camp
(94%) From 16 travellersThey do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa.
| 
Duba Plains
By far the best variety and density of animals
In addition to those listed, rhinos 4 sightings and pangolin 1
Total luxury at Duba Plains Suites
We were upgraded to The Suites and were totally spoiled.
Very impressed with all aspects of the camp which is very well run.
Our guide Mots was excellent. He put himself out to show us as much as possible.
Great Safari at Duba Plains Camp.
Service at a very high standard, beautiful tents. Great game viewing with lechwe running through the water. Saw the smallest lion cubs ever (only 5 weeks old). Excellent food, great guide (Spike).
Read more about the whole safariDuba Plains Camp review
A fabulous and intimate camp with marvellous hosting and delicious food. Our guide Vundi was exceptionally knowledgeable. The food and its presentation was delicious and stylishly presented.
The problem they have now is, that the buffalo have moved on.... and consequently there is no Duba.. The lion are in short supply because of pride feuding and lack of buffalo.
I can see this is going to be a big problem for this camp.. viewing masses of Lechwe, Tsetsebe, Warthog and the odd elephant is not going to do it for most people.
Consequently, though we loved our time there, it is just as well it was our first camp.
With the absence of real game (and the Duba) it is with regret that I wouldn't recommend this camp.
Nothing plain about Duba
Antoinette and Pierre run an excellent camp and Pierre's culinary skills give you really well balanced dietary options. Sited overlooking the reeds and swamp the camp has a lovely relaxed feel. Large quantities of rice were on hand to fill camera bean bags and no request was too much.
The game viewing is understandably geared to lion and buffalo, of which there were plenty. During our time the whole of Duba Plains was 'up for grabs' and it was both interesting to witness the power struggle between various prides and the confusion and uncertainty caused by the two brothers who had returned.
Be prepared for each day to follow the same pattern. First locate the buffalo, then see if any lions are nearby. If so follow the lions, if not, set off in another direction. Fascinating stuff.
Another great stay at Duba
Our second time there and even better than the first.
Always a warm welcome and very friendly staff who seem capable and willing to accomodate any specific requests. Food is outstanding and a reason to go on its own. Very high quality guiding and whilst the variety of game is more limited than other camps there is always something unexpected to observe.
The native lion prides are a bit disjointed at the current time so although the lion buffalo interaction still occurs it is less consistent than previously. Alternative activities such as boat trip/fishing are well worth undertaking. Needless to say we will return.
Wonderful Duba Plains
This was my favourite camp. We stayed in Tent 6 (the Honeymoon tent) which was the furthest from the main camp areas (a plus in my book as I like a walk) and had a great view over the plains. The camp is managed by Antoinette and her partner Pierre (the superb chef). Our guide was James 007 who has a long history of working with Dereck Joubert. Lovely tent, delicious food and expert guide!
During afternoon tea Pierre gave us details of the dinner choices; and recorded our starter, main course and dessert so that it could be individually prepared to our liking. Driving thru' water was a real experience here. On the call of 'deep water' we had to lift our legs up onto the seat in front to avoid the water coming into the Land Cruiser!
We were hoping to see some lion and buffalo interaction and we weren't disappointed. On our second day we watched as 4 siblings from the Skimmer pride chased and were pushed back by a large buffalo herd. As the buffalo herd moved on the lions followed. Eventually they reached the deep channel to Paradise Island, with strong currents and crocodile, which is sadly where our Land Cruiser had to turn back. However we got some great film of the buffalo and lions swimming thru' treacherous waters.
During our 3 days at Duba we saw 4 members of the Skimmer pride and 8 members of the Tsaro pride (which has now split into three). Sadly the mother of the Skimmer siblings had not been seen for well over a week and James believed she may have been killed by crocodiles. During our last dinner a leopard was spotted by the camp shop and we watched as it disappeared into the bush. The guides patrolled the camp to make sure we were safe to go back to our tents and tracks were spotted outside Tent 6!
Another special moment was watching a troop of baboons crossing a stretch of water; some swam, some walked on all fours, but the little ones weren't too sure what to do and ran on their back legs waving their arms (front legs) in the air!
buffalo and lions drama at Duba Plains Camp
Duba Plains was probably the best safari camp we stayed at during our two week vacation in Botswana. The dedication and passion of our guides, Kops and James, plus the standard of food and service back at camp, organised by Pierre and Antionette, were exceptional.
After two days tracking a pride of lions, we were fortunate enough to witness them attacking and killing a buffalo in the water followed by intensely dramatic interaction between the two species as the Buffalo herd attempted, without success, to drive the predators from their prey.
We also saw a huge variety of other wildlife on safari, ranging from elephants to Lilac Breasted Rollers, and have many great photos to prove it.
Overall, a memorable safari experience,
Breakfast around the fire was a special touch
A stunning setting, with beautiful rooms\tents offering indoor and outdoor showers, combined with fabulous comfortable lounges surrounded by Beverley's magnificent wildlife phographs in the main area, a wonderful welcome from OT, Adele, Obeletswe and Kops which in total provided an excellent start to our stay at Duba Plains. The breakfast by torchlight, using the fire to cook added a special feel on those cold mornings.
Our guide Obeletswe's knowledge and patience not only in following and waiting for the many animals, was all the more impressive when we chose to spend an 11 hour day in the Landcruiser following the lions and buffalo, as he also coped with the primate interactions of our family as well. We found watching the lions stalk and chase the buffalo absolutely incredible. On that long day, the lunch provided in the bush by Steve and the crew, with beautifully set tables and melt in your mouth steaks was also amazing. A truly special day to remember.
Great but marketed incorrectly
We were sold Duba Plains as a camp with "great lion and buffalo interaction" and "buffalo eat grass and lions eat buffalo". Evidently the buffalo are on an island and can't get off so a kill is almost guaranteed. This may have been true a few years ago but having built ourselves up and booked five nights, the buffalo had got off and we only saw a handful on our last afternoon boat trip. We realise that animal sightings aren't guaranteed but actually there hadn't been any buffalo for a couple of weeks or so. If it hadn't been for the marketing, we would have loved it anyway without the spiel.
We had the best lion sightings ever, looking at the movement of various groups within the prides, lovely jackals, elephants, tsetsebes, and not an impala in sight!
The food was good and we had one barbeque out in the bush even though I mentioned to the manager, Lizzy, that a bush breakfast or brunch would be appreciated.
The tents are ok, huge beds, twin hand basins with wardrobe space behind where we found ourselves bumping into each other somehow. Warm water came through eventually.
