Reviews of Little Vumbura
(96%) From 109 travellersThey do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa.
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Little Vurumba adventure
The landscape here is breathtaking. This small island has a peaceful quality not found as often at other camps.
The game drives were fantastic although we kept having to ask our guide to stop when we saw animals/birds that he had not noticed or did not think worth stopping for. He seemed distracted and often engaged in conversation with the preserve inspector that accompanied us on every game drive. Although it was clear we were an older group of guests, we had to ask for a step and help getting in and out of the vehicle nearly every time.
The staff and accommodations were first rate. An intimate camp with gorgeous views and lots to see. The water tours are stunning in terms of the colors of grasses, reeds and water reflections. Also big skies with fabulous sunsets.
Great finish to our trip
This is a lovely location with a good deal of wildlife very close.
In fact the camp was visited by elephant during our visit & we had a hippo in the pool just outside our tent. the drives were expertly organised & we found all the expected species including a brief sighting of a leopard & a very good sighting of a group of wild dogs. There is an excellent atmosphere about the camp & the staff seem genuinely happy to be there & made several complementary comments about Wilderness Travel which was good to hear.
Overall we would strongly recommend this camp as giving a good insight into the delta.
Little Vumbura
Really liked this camp. Rooms better than Selinda as larger and had seating area inside. Need for boat access only adds to the experience.
As with Selinda, guide and activities excellent, particularly with boat and mokoro trips as well as drives. Also, slightly preferred later start and earlier finish. We benefitted from having one of the local Trust guides with us too so could learn about the partnerships. And we managed to see the Wild Dogs (none at Selinda) and again having the time to be with them as they formed up to hunt is a bonus.
Only issue was a mouse on the first night which kept us awake - I saw it a few times and cornered it once but then had nothing to hand to deal with it. Reported it next morning and camp manager said they would deal but all they did as to check they could not find it. Hence next night it (perhaps lust others) also there - ate through some kit and (worse) soiled clothes as we had not been warned we needed to keep all our stuff in rodent proof bags. So next morning escalated issue (not made any easier by the fact that all the staff wear the same uniforms - who is in charge??) and got moved to another room.
Chatting to guide/manager later it seems the mouse/rodent problem is know and gets worse at this time of year - so they should have put traps in after first night. Luckily did not spoil daytime activities.
Beautiful island camp
Beautiful accommodation , it was very quiet when we stayed which suited us .
Very noisy animal night life which we were not expecting , ear plugs might help some people !
All drives set off and return across watering a boat and so one need to return before dusk . Many drives had areas when the vehicle was covered almost up to the bonnet in water .
Little Vumbura review
The camp was extremely welcoming and well run by a very strong staff team.
The standard of food was excellent.
The accommodation was very comfortable with large rooms following this years upgrade.
The team went out of their way to provide memorable experiences such as the surprise lunch on an island, drinks in the middle of the river and cultural evening. The staff team made a very specially effort to celebrate one of the other guests birthday.
Anyone visiting the camp has to be prepared for quite a hectic daily schedule, especially once the river has flooded as each excursion starts with a twenty minute boat ride to and from the parked vehicles.
Little Vumbura review
A great place with exceptional staff. Really enjoyed the cozy atmosphere and thoughtful game drives.
We loved being out on the water.
Didn’t quite match my high expectations
Very enjoyable stay. Maybe somewhat harshly, I have only given 4 stars, as it wasn't quite perfect on all fronts. 4.5 stars (very good) would be a true reflection of my experience. No major issues, just a number of small annoyances. Little Vumbura has a high reputation (and price tag!), and hence I had extremely high expectations, and it didn't quite achieve top scores.
The room was cosy, more than adequate for one person, but certainly not as spacious as other camps I have stayed in; apparently they are planning to slightly extend the rooms at the end of this season. I enjoyed frequent sightings of elephant, kudu and puku immediately outside my room (#5).
A great addition was the hospitality tray provided in the room, supplied with a fresh flask of hot water, and a great choice of teas. However, the same choice of teas was not offered during the tea break on the morning game drive or at afternoon tea served at camp. After repeated requests they failed to supply the tea of my choice and eventually I gave up asking! If they could provide the tea in the room, why couldn't they also provide it in the central areas?!
I enjoyed the company of the other guests I was paired with for the game drives. However, the general atmosphere in camp I felt was somewhat lacking. JB, the camp manager, did a fantastic job, and when he was around the mood certainly lifted, but at other times when he was absent, it was definitely noticeable, and things didn't run quite as harmoniously.
On arrival the person conducting the briefing sounded like he was just reading from a script, I almost felt I was being lectured to, rather that being greeted and welcomed into camp. At this point it would also have been nice if they had explained the choice of activities which were on offer. But instead, at the start of each day, I was just told what they had lined up for me, i.e. whether that be a game drive, motor boat excursion or mokoro. I've been on safari several times, and at other camps the managers/guides would make suggestions and then the days’ activities would be planned (as far as possible) to meet guest’s desires. After requesting a change to the activities they had assigned me to, they did try to accommodate my wishes.
The food was good. At all other camps we would enjoy a light breakfast sat around the campfire (joined by guides and/or camp managers) before heading out on the early morning game drive. However, here they would formally set out a table for everyone to sit at (guests only, no staff joined), which again added to the slightly less than relaxed atmosphere - it was most strange, a table was really unnecessary, it was a self-service breakfast, and I would much preferred to have been sat around the campfire. We're on safari, I can take breakfast at a table anytime, let's embrace the different surroundings!
Now more of the positives, highlights of the game drives included a group of 4 young adult lions, which were a great source of entertainment each day - tree-climbing females, attempted hunt of impala and watching the antics of the inexperienced males was tremendous fun. And on my final morning sighting the wild dogs was very special.
The boating activities offer a completely different perspective to that experienced on the drives.
The camp is sited in an incredibly beautiful area, surrounded by wildlife. A special place to enjoy all that the Delta has to offer.
Little Vumbura review
The guides at all four camps were excellent, but a special mention should be made of Ona (and one other) who was a delight to be with and to share his knowledge. We even had one evening lesson on how to find one's way using the Southern Cross!
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!
As at all camps, the staff were wonderful
Not as good as I expected
After experiencing wonderful accommodation and hospitality at Wilderness Savuti Camp, I was expecting more of the same at Wilderness LV as it has such a good reputation. Sadly I was pretty disappointed on almost every front.
The staff (with a few notable exceptions) were cold and unfriendly, the food mediocre and the game drives poor both with game and guiding. Our guide (I won't name names) was so intent in finding the other couple with us a leopard (which we never found) that he barely managed to point out or stop for anything else. There were lots of birds which we weren't able to stop and look at but the mammals were few and far between. This is not the camps fault, it just happened to be very poor game viewing while we were there. The accommodation needs a serious upgrade, the mosquito net had holes in it, the bedside fan didn't work and the curtains were covered in stains. I know that one doesn't come to a camp for the decor, but for the price of this camp I expected something better.
Now for the positives. The mokoro trips are brilliant. Being on the water was fantastic and something different. We saw lots of tiny reed frogs and were lucky enough to spot a Pell's Fishing Owl! The boatmen/guides (Johannas, Tom & Gee) were friendly, fabulous and made the trips really special. We also did a motor boat trip with Gee and it was super fun. He was engaging and interesting. He'd only recently passed his guide exam and has a great future ahead of him I'm sure.
I'd totally recommend a stay at a water camp with water activities but I personally wouldn't stay here again unless some serious changes were made.
Little Vumbura review
Excellent in every way. Location, guiding, staff, food, atmosphere.
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