Botswana Safari

Duba Plains Camp

Okavango Delta, Botswana


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View images of Duba Plains Camp: Duba Images
View images of Duba's Lions Hunting Buffalos: Lions & Buffalos
View Camp Layout Map of Duba Plains Camp: Duba Plains Map

DUBA PLAINS CAMP - OKAVANGO DELTA, BOTSWANA
Duba Plains is one of the Okavango Delta's most remote camps and is located in the furthermost reaches in a very private reserve of 30,000 hectares, north of the Moremi Wildlife Reserve. The camp is built on an island shaded by large ebony, fig and mangosteen trees and surrounded by expansive plains which are seasonally flooded - usually from about May to early October each year, depending on the rains. Since Duba has access to large islands, floodplains and marshes, the camp offers a diversity of experiences. Duba's real treat is its exclusivity and it is particularly suited to those who want to be in a truly remote reserve. The camp's dining room and pub are raised on decking under large riverine trees. There is a small swimming pool too. The camp is operated by Wilderness Safaris.

Accommodation            For images of Duba Plains, click Duba Images           For Layout map of Duba Plains Camp, click Duba Plains Map
Duba Plains is small and intimate, accommodating only twelve people in its large exclusive concession. Guests here receive a highly personalized experience. Each of the six large tented rooms has an en suite bathroom with shower and flush toilet facilities , an outdoor shower, as well as a veranda overlooking the floodplain. Complimentary laundry services are provided.

Activities
Duba Plains offers a variety of activities and the focus depends on how much water is in the area. Guests may choose between game drives in open 4x4 vehicles and walking safaris. The night drives often provide opportunities to photograph Africa's elusive nocturnal animals in action. The activities at Duba concentrate on game drives, night drives and walks.

Wildlife
Do you want to see lions? Would you enjoy seeing lots of lions? Duba is probably one of the best places in all of Africa to see these cats. The lion concentrations here (along with the Ngorongoro crater in Tanzania) are probably the highest in the world. As the vast open grasslands are often isolated from the mainland by deep waterways, the variety of animals is not as high as in other areas within the Okavango. However, Duba Plains more than makes up for this as it is a high impact game viewing area. We highly recommend this camp for anyone interested in viewing lions and their behavior.

Thousands of buffalo take advantage of Duba's rich grasslands and they alone support the concentrations of Lions and Hyenas which prey upon them. These huge buffalo herds (some numbering several thousand animals) are hunted almost daily by up to four different prides of lions which live in and around Duba. Quite often the hunting is during the day - so one gets fantastic photo opportunities. The Lion-Hyena interactions are also worth the visit as both species compete for the same prey and most kills eventually result in the presence of both these super-predators.
View images of a Buffalo hunt by the "Tsaro" pride of Lions at Duba Plains: Lions & Buffalos

Lechwe, Buffalo, Elephant, Tsessebe and Warthog dot the savannah and Hippo concentrate in the deeper channels. We often have productive Hyena dens in the area that offer great Hyena cub viewing. Leopard are also found here on the many forested islands. More rarely, Cheetah and Wild Dog have been seen again lately at Duba after some years of absence. Most of the Okavango Delta's birdlife is found in the area and birding "specials" like Wattled Crane (endangered elsewhere in Africa but fairly common in the Delta) and the rare Slaty Egret are often seen.

Duba Plains is in an enormous tract of prime wildlife country, on the Moremi Game Reserve's northern boundary. The landlords (the leaseholders of the concession) at Duba Plains are The Okavango Community Trust, a trust which represents and administers the interests of all the local folk who live to the north of the Okavango Delta in these remote villages. These communities have been ceded this reserve by Government to manage in a joint venture, for photographic safaris. The villagers lease the land to Duba Plains and derive all the direct benefits in return. Money, jobs, training and the secondary businesses that can flow from such arrangements, all accrue directly to these communities. It is these villagers who can determine the well-being of the the wildlife in their area depending on their attitudes and survival needs.

Dereck and Beverly Joubert, the world renowned husband and wife wildlife documentary team, recently spent two years amongst the prides of lions and a large buffalo herds at Duba Camp. For this National Geographic book and film project, titled Relentless Enemies: Lions and Buffalo, the Jouberts documented the deadly interplay between Duba’s lions and buffalo. The resultant film and book, both completed in 2006, tell the story of their work in Duba, sharing remarkable images from a struggle that has been playing out for eons in the Okavango Delta in Botswana. For more information and to order a DVD or book, visit their website here: http://www.wildlifeconservationfilms.com/.

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Water / Land Activity Table for Botswana camps:  Water/Land Botswana
Flying Times between Botswana camps:  Fly Times Botswana

For further information about the Okavango Delta, click More Okavango
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