Reviews of Little Vumbura
(96%) From 109 travellersThey do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa.
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Little Vumbura review
Again a very special lodge with excellent service and a fine mixture of wet and dry actvities.
Rain ,our guide , was excellent and his knowledge of birds and passion for the wildlife added greatly to the trip
Little Vumbura review
We loved the camp, friendly staff and atmosphere. By comaprison to the other camps it was a little more reserved in its atmosphere but we only felt this after visiting them all.
Big game a little more elusive but water based camp and mokoro trip were highlight of the stay. Personally, I found the night trip back on the channel in the dark, quite scary but it was one of the features my husband loved the most!
The birdlife was amazing and wasn't something I had anticipated before travelling. Our guide, usually Kay, was a font of all knowledge and really made an effort to show all aspects of the area.
Overall, I found the concept of all staff introducing themselves very friendly but overwhelming. I then couldn't remember who was who and was embarrassed by this. I woudl appreciate if staff always wore their name badges.
Resourceful team at watery Little Vumbura
Area around the camp island has more water in it than ever before! Previous guests had been stranded in their Land Rovers in water and had to be towed out. The Company therefore acquired Devil boats from Tuba Tree to cut an access channel through the reeds in the surrounding flood plain so that we could access the camp by boat and circumvent the need for road access. Not ideal experience at night with ++ bugs but the company went out of their way to make guests comfortable and satisfied in difficult circumstances for them.
Shop was the best of all the camps and camp open layout was the best design. Staff exceedingly helpful and friendly - meeting guests on jetty with glass of sherry a particularly nice touch. Suvara the guide excellent with good viewing of lion with cubs and pangolin!!!!
Less game evident here overall, compared to other camps - ?due to prevalence of surrounding water. This should not dissuade others going there. The experience was very varied and a trip to the Delta would not have been representative without visiting Little Vumbura. Lovely camp!
Wonderful start to holiday at little Vumbura
This was my first camp in the Okavango and a truly wonderful start to my Botswana Safari experience. Everybody there made me feel welcome and I loved my time there. My guide Sevara proved so adept in all aspects of his vocation. A great communicator, with a fine sense of humour who really pulled out all the stops on all our drives. We saw very young lion cubs on our first ( all day ) drive and had close encounters with elephants and a herd of buffalo we stumbled on suddenly.
The exceptionally high water levels in the Okavango, did keep some animals like the Sable antelope I had been looking forward to seeing, away but we still saw plenty of fine Kudu and others. The exhilarating boat rides in to camp and the Mekoro trip were great ways to appreciate the delta. Our landrover did get stuck a couple of times in floodwaters but I have great admiration for the skill of everybody in resolving the "problem".
The managers and staff were all first class and it was very nice to see the singing and dancing, and enjoy the traditional dinner in the Boma on Monday night.
One morning the "resident" camp bull elephant made for entertainment as he pulled down branches nearby as we ate breakfast! before promptly wading across the channel into the reed beds opposite
I can think of nothing negative to say about this camp, and if I had to choose afavourite on my trip this would probably be it.
Interiors and exteriors at Vumbura
The flight in from Chitabe flew over the delta proper and it was such a privelege to fly over this untouched and spectacular wildernes; Ireland does not have the monopoly on '40 shades of green' ! Each flight was far more than a taxi link - it was an expeience to rival the land-based drives!
The decor in this camp was beautiful. I was torn between trying to photograph the animals and capture the interiors of our room! All the staff were friendly and very helpful; it was like a houseparty with friends instead of visiting a 'hotel'. As a typically reserved Brit I was initially sceptical of this arrangement but thanks to the lovely staff (Uno and Karen in particular) it was home from home.
Highlight had to be the mokorro ride where we felt we were truly 'in the Delta'. (But watch out for sunburn from the reflections from the water.) Sharp-eyed guides found us Cape Clawless Otters and were patient as we tried to photograph the jewel-like frogs whilst not upsetting the dugout.
We might have appreciated a little more local knowledge/opportunity to seek out more of the Delta's endemic species of birds - as at all camps the emphasis was on the mammals and as birders we sometimes felt that we would have liked support from a local fellow birder eg no-one semed to know if the Pels Fishing Owl was around. (We did find a pair!).
The drives were through lots of high water but Lazarus our guide was an expert off-roader!
Lovely position and a great guide
We loved the position of this camp. Our guide, Kay, was highly knowledgeable and had a tremendous sense of humour. The bird life here was not as good or as varied as in Chitabe though what we did see reinforced our previous sightings. We liked the water activities, this added another dimension to our previous experiences as did the grazing hippo just outside our tent!
The bedroom/bathroom standards were somewhat higher than in Chitabe.
The variety and standard of the food did not match that of the other camps. Orange juice was not available on one of the morningsI
Much more serious, however, was the absence of temperature controls. Food was always warm, never cold or hot. There was one exception to this - a hot mousse(spinach).
In any event I contracted food poisoning. I believe the culprit to be the duck, I never did find out whether it was meant to be hot or cold!
Expert Africa comments
We have passed these comments to Wilderness Safaris who are looking into this matter and will update us as soon as they have a response.
Little Vumbura review
Fantastic location and probably the best accomodation on our holiday. Staff, management and food all excellent.
Wildlife viewing was slow to start with the main interest being 3 male lions and the boat trip. Again weather was mixed with one drive being curtailed. Things really picked up though for our last 2 game drives as we saw Sable antelope and a large herd of elephants with young.
The real highlight on both drives though was spending large amounts of time with a pack of 20 Wild Dogs including 2 kills in 5 minutes. Our guide, Rain, really pulled out all the stops to get us in the right place at the right time and allowed us unforgettable views of these wonderful animals.
Little Vumbura review
An excellent place to start our trip in the Delta at the beginning of November.
Able to do game drives, walks, boating and mokoro from same location.
Staff at camp excellent and guide knowledgeable and wonderful company on activities.
Little Vumbura review
A quite delightful location. The island location provides excellent seclusion while there is still easy access to "the mainland" for game drives.
Little Vumbura review
As we arrived by boat the welcome was fantastic. All the staff were there singing and dancing on the jetty and the warmth and hospitality of all was truly memorable.
Lazarus (our guide) was a star. We saw all the animals we could have hoped to have seen amd many beautiful and colourful birds.
Our first trip into the Delta was very special . Our stay in the Honeymoon Suite was the icing on the cake.
Little Vumbura holds very special memories and the highlight of the holiday. What more can we say.
