Reviews of Little Vumbura
Wildlife sightings and reviews
125 independent comments and wildlife information from our travellers who have visited Little Vumbura and kindly agreed to share their thoughts. They do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa

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"Little Vumbura review"
The balcony area of the rooms overlook a small lake and you can relax and watch the birds/hippos/elephants. Very attractive communal area, lounge with plenty of seating, an elevated library area, a fire pit seating area over water and a good curio shop. The swimming pool area is off to one side.
Food very good using local herbs and spices and introduced each day by the chefs.
Our guide Sam was a good spotter and we saw a good variety of game. Excellent birding with large number of species seen including: kingfishers, barbets, several species of eagle, woodpeckers, herons and water birds" See all these reviews: 12n in Namibia; 8n in Botswana; 2n in Zimbabwe

Elephant
Multiple sightings

Giraffe
Multiple sightings

Hippo
Multiple sightings

Leopard
Multiple sightings

Lion
Multiple sightings

Sable antelope
1 sighting

Wildebeest
Multiple sightings

Zebra
Multiple sightings
"Little Vumbura review"
Our wooden apartment was on stilts with canvas walls and all modcons. The shower was 5 star. The structure was secured with wires. We knew that Hippos often graze underneath at night. One night the grazing was very loud and then the apartment gave jump. Odd I thought, and then there was a deep low rumble, from an elephant, which translated meant "Oh F@@k". Next morning we noted a broken wire and met the offending elephant on the way to breakfast.
Little Vumbura delivered a mega experience again with a bucket load of wildlife." See all these reviews: 12n in Botswana; 1n in South Africa
"Little Vumbura review"
The camp is on an island so we heard many hippos overnight along with lions and many birds. The night sounds of Africa are beautiful. Also, you start and end every game drive with a boat trip.
Be alert walking to your accommodations. One night our walkway was blocked by a Kudu, another morning there were elephant tracks when we returned from breakfast that weren't there when we went to breakfast." See all these reviews: 12n in Botswana; 7n in Namibia; 3n in Zimbabwe

Elephant
4 sightings

Giraffe
3 sightings

Hippo
2 sightings

Leopard
1 sighting

Lion
4 sightings

Sable antelope
1 sighting

Wild dog
1 sighting

Wildebeest
4 sightings

Zebra
7 sightings
"Magical feel of the Okavango Delta"
One afternoon we did a Mokoro trip which was blissfully peaceful with a surprise which I won't spoil. Another afternoon we went on the motor boat to really experience how the delta turns and twists. We only saw waterbirds (which we enjoy viewing) but the next day other guests saw a hippo. The view from the tents is beautiful and many animals can be seen around the camp.
In terms of the camp itself, the staff are friendly and wonderfully caring, and the food is good. At the camp there was a young man who had grown up in a San family in the Kalahari desert. We found him fascinating to talk to and when we mentioned that to our guide, the camp arranged for him to provide a demonstration of how to make fire by rubbing two sticks of wood together. It added a most interesting and special "cultural" element for all of the guests and we felt very privileged to experience our time with him.
The swimming pool was the only slight weakness. I believe at Vumbura itself each tent has its own plunge pool, but at Little Vumbura it is a shared pool which doesn't have much shade, doesn't have a great view, and did not seems very enticing. We rather sat on our large verandah with a comfortable chaise lounge and views of animals and the reeds and water. There is not an outside shower although the shower has a really huge picture window with a great view so one doesn't really miss it actually being outdoors. Note that there are a lot of midges and some mosquitoes but the camp provides repellant." See all these reviews: 7n in South Africa; 5n in Botswana

Buffalo
1 sighting

Elephant
Multiple sightings

Hippo
1 sighting

Leopard
Multiple sightings

Lion
Multiple sightings

Spotted Hyena
Multiple sightings

Wildebeest
Multiple sightings

Zebra
Multiple sightings
"Little Vumbura review"
We went on mokoro and boat trips and several drives. Again the bird life was prolific and in breeding plumage. The mokoro guide and the boat guide made special effort to position the boats for photographs. The drives produced splendid wild dog sightings with three hunts- all non productive but the last resulting in the pack rough and tumbling like playful pet dogs for some ten minutes or so.
We also saw several groups of elephant bathing and playing in the water and a pride of lion whose cubs were also rough and tumbling for a quarter of an hour. The camp is beautifully situated and the staff all friendly and attentive" See all these reviews: 9n in Botswana

Elephant
10 sightings

Giraffe
Multiple sightings

Hippo
Multiple sightings

Lion
Multiple sightings

Sable antelope
1 sighting

Wild dog
3 sightings

Zebra
6 sightings
"Little Vumbura is hot!"

Buffalo
1 sighting

Cheetah
1 sighting

Elephant
10 sightings

Giraffe
2 sightings

Hippo
6 sightings

Leopard
1 sighting

Lion
4 sightings

Sable antelope
1 sighting

Wild dog
1 sighting

Wildebeest
1 sighting

Zebra
2 sightings
"Little Vumbura review"
One big surprise which we had not anticipated was the consequence of the camp being on an island. We could only leave the camp during daylight hours, so the early morning game drives started later than other camps, and we had to back at camp by sunset. Although we had sundowner drinks on offer, they were very hurried affairs on account of the time constraint.
The afternoon of our arrival we opted for the makoro trip as there was space available. Apparently due to the exceptional dry conditions this was the only camp offering makoro trips. They were usually fully booked due to guests coming in from other camps. A guide went ahead of our 3 canoes to ensure there were no hippos in the water. The makoro and a different boat trip are both scheduled at the same time as the evening game drive. Not sure why they cannot offer these earlier and still have an afternoon game drive.
We did experience a number of issues at this camp. No water bottle was provided until we asked for them. On the makoro trip, we stopped at an island for sundowner drinks. Despite being asked for our choice, it was not available for both us and another guest. Our afternoon game drive the second day was adversely impacted by having to pick up new arrivals coming from the airstrip in another vehicle. In addition to the detour, the guide spent a considerable amount of time repeating his talk while stopped. Had this been explained to us, we might have opted for the boat trip instead. Although this was understandable, we expected a similar game drive for our last morning with a drop-off at the airstrip. However, this was not offered to us and they still woke us at 6am! We (and another guest) were not informed of our options for a late morning breakfast.
During our whole stay, not once were we escorted to our room and back after dark. Admittedly we were close to the main lodge in the nearest room. There was little overall camaraderie at this camp. Only on one night did we have one communal dinner table. Otherwise the different parties were seated at separate tables for breakfast and dinner. Inexplicably the only jeep without a roof is assigned to airstrip pickups and returns at the hottest time of the day for the 45-minute plus journey." See all these reviews: 11n in Botswana; 2n in Zimbabwe

Buffalo
1 sighting

Elephant
10 sightings

Giraffe
8 sightings

Hippo
3 sightings

Lion
5 sightings

Sable antelope
2 sightings

Wildebeest
3 sightings

Zebra
4 sightings
"Little Vumbura review"
It was beautiful in every way." See all these reviews: 8n in Botswana; 3n in South Africa; 2n in Zimbabwe

Buffalo
Multiple sightings

Cheetah
1 sighting

Elephant
Multiple sightings

Giraffe
Multiple sightings

Hippo
3 sightings

Leopard
1 sighting

Lion
3 sightings

Wild dog
2 sightings

Zebra
Multiple sightings
"Little Vumbura review"
Similarly all the camps should improve the quality of their wine. I suspect it is more a question of choosing better, rather than needing to spend much or any more.
We had a wonderful time. Excellent guide. Two splendid boat trips. Radios only had limited, quiet, use. (See comments on radios below.) Great food and service." See all these reviews: 12n in Botswana; 3n in Zambia
"Little Vumbura"
The rooms and facilities were very comfortable and relaxing. Perhaps in comparison to our other camp at Sable Alley the rooms were not as stylishly designed but still were of a very good standard.
As a small camp (6 tents) it has a preference for community eating at a long table. This might be worth mentioning in the camp's description so people know what to expect.
The variety of wildlife here was spectacular. Maybe not in great quantity because of the amount of water around the area but the quality was exceptional. The guide we were assigned was very good and had incredible tracking abilities. We will never forget how he managed to finally find a leopard that he spent over and hour trying to track and we still couldn't see it even when he had pointed it out in the distance to us!
The water location also gives Little Vumbura the ability to offer some variety to the daily schedule. instead of just going out on safari drives twice a day we enjoyed going out for one afternoon on a Mokoro and on another taking a small boat further into the Okavango Delta. For this reason Little Vumbua was a perfect second camp since it had such a different feel and location to Sable Alley." See all these reviews: 6n in Botswana; 3n in Zimbabwe

Buffalo
1 sighting

Cheetah
2 sightings

Elephant
1 sighting

Giraffe
4 sightings

Hippo
2 sightings

Leopard
1 sighting

Lion
2 sightings

Sable antelope
1 sighting

Zebra
4 sightings
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