Duba Plains Camp

In the furthermost, remote reaches of the Okavango Delta lies Duba Plains, an unobtrusive camp surrounded by expansive seasonally flooded plains and shaded by tall ebony, sycomore fig and mangosteen trees. It is in an area famed for lion prides and buffalo herds and was the setting for Relentless Enemies, an award-winning National Geographic documentary that recorded the classic interaction between the two species.

One of the Okavango Delta's most remote camps, Duba Plains is a small, intimate camp on a tree-filled island in a private 30 000-hectare concession known as the Kwedi Reserve.

Accommodation is made up of six roomy tents with an en-suite bathroom, an outside shower, and a veranda overlooking the floodplain. The thatch-roofed lounge, dining room and bar areas are raised on platforms along with a swimming pool, all providing a beautiful view.

Apart from good numbers of lion and buffalo, herds of elephant feed on the islands and hippo concentrate in deeper channels. Tsessebe and blue wildebeest dot the plains, while red lechwe are found on the wetter floodplain fringe.

Duba Plains is known for the titanic clashes between buffalo and lion, and so a classic game drive is one that tracks down the truly enormous buffalo herd to see if any lion are also headed in that direction. Aside from this interaction the age-old conflict between lion and spotted hyaena is also a point of interest. Birdlife is abundant and impressive, with many Okavango Delta specials such as Rosy-throated Longclaw, Slaty Egret and Wattled Crane being found in the area.

A variety of activities include day and night game drives, often tracking the buffalo herd or various lion prides around the concession and leisurely nature walks. Mokoro trips are also possible in times of good floods - usually only between May and September.

Conservation:

Duba Plains is part of a community participation plan that brings the benefits of ecotourism to the communities that live around the Okavango Delta.

Duba Plains is situated in a Wildlife Management Area adjoining and north of the Moremi Game Reserve. It is a community area, and the five villages on the northern perimeter of the Okavango Delta combined to form a Trust to manage the affairs of the community and to ensure that any rewards are fairly distributed. The Trust, called the Okavango Community Trust (OCT), has developed a partnership with Wilderness Safaris, where Wilderness leases the land from the community, markets, sells and manages the camps in the area, and in return undertakes to employ, train and wherever possible, uplift the living standards and skills of the community people.

---

Share this page