Duba Explorers Camp
- Ng12 Concession, BotswanaDuba Explorers Camp in Northern Botswana is tucked away in the northeast corner of the Duba Plains concession, a 33 000 hectares private reserve in the Okavango Delta.
touch the soul of africa
The Duba Plains Suites is a intimate, two room exquisite tented villa located on the 33,000-hectare Duba Plains Private Reserve in northern Botswana, an area tucked into pristine Okavango Delta wildlife habitat at the base of the Okavango's Panhandle. There is simply no other safari experience on offer like this in the Okavango Delta, built entirely under canvas, and a perfect partner safari experience to the Zarafa Dhow Suites.
The Duba Plains Suites are designed to fit into the landscape and to take advantage of the shapes and textures of shade but also to evoke the old classic African safari style of the 1920’s. The Duba Plains Reserve is a wildlife connoisseur’s getaway with views horizon to horizon across the flood plains filled with iconic African wildlife species. Located adjacent to Duba Plains Camp. The Duba Plains region prides itself on its extraordinary wildlife experiences and intimate up close exposure to the best of the best wildlife, from lions and leopards to elephants and buffalo and everything in between. Duba Plains is also known for interesting Kalahari species like Aardwolf and Pangolins.
Many consider this region of Botswana to be the Okavango Delta’s Maasai Mara because of the sheer volume of wildlife. This is the area that owners, and National Geographic filmmakers, conservationists and Explorers- In-Residence - Dereck and Beverly Joubert - chose for their home base. Great Plains Conservation is the only operator on the concession, thereby offering guests the ultimate opportunity for private wildlife sightings.
The entire Duba Plains Suite is raised on recycled railway sleeper decking and offers guests amazing views of the surrounding floodplain and the steady stream of wildlife parading past. The heart of the Duba Plains Suite is a centrally located indoor dining area flanked by two lounge seating areas. Whilst there is a central deck area, each of the two large bedrooms also have their own private verandah and private swimming pool.
Each room is beautifully appointed with en-suite facilities consisting of flush loo, double basins and indoor and outdoor showers and luxurious baths. Ceiling fans, an environmentally friendly air-conditioning system over the guests bed, along with careful tent design maintain a comfortable climate for rest and relaxation.
Guests are able to enjoy their own private outdoor under cover sala/day rest area. When residing at the Duba Plains Suite, guests automatically enjoy the services of a private game drive vehicle with their own guide as well as a host and chef.
In the main camp area (an easy walk away) guests have the opportunity of visiting the bush boutique for retail therapy.
The Duba Plains Suite successfully retains a clearly African feel, while balancing that delicate relationship between personal and informal and romance and adventure. There is no equal in terms of its environmental credentials and its careful appointments.
Another huge benefit of staying within the conservancies is the ability to appreciate the stunning landscape on foot, peacefully, without the noise of engines. Usually early morning or evening is the best time, as the middle of the day is too hot to venture out of the shade. Wear good walking shoes, a hat, and neutral coloured clothing so as not to alarm the wildlife, and take binoculars. Your guide will have water for you. Walks are led by licensed guides with firearm training.
Catch-and-release fishing only. During January and February there is a complete moratorium on fishing.
Zipping through the Okavango Delta's network of waterways is an invigorating way to get a sense of the scope of this huge wetland. You’ll undoubtedly have wonderful birding and maybe even some hippo, buffalo and elephant sightings. (Boating is a seasonal activity, typically between May and October but varies seasonally).
The Duba Plains Suite offer complete flexibility with your own private guide and vehicle. Drives do focus on the most comfortable and productive times of day, early morning and late afternoon, but full day drives are also quite common at a guest’s request. Picnic brunch can be delivered, and the vehicles are stocked with cold drinks. There is a custom built Land Cruiser specially designed for our conditions and photography (with raised roofs) with six individual bucket seats.
Duba Plains Suite offers a full syllabus of bush craft skills for our young explorers. This is a complimentary program that follows in the footsteps of National Geographic Explorers-in-Residence Dereck and Beverly Joubert. An extensive pack will be provided to eager children on arrival, so they can learn about animal calls, how to track wildlife, and other facts and figures about the wild. At the end of a child’s stay, he/she will become a Young Explorer and Conservation Ambassador - ready to go out and tell the world about what they have learned and what they too can do to help protect this beautiful environment.
The Duba Plains Suite comes with a pair of high-quality binoculars for guest use as well as a professional camera set, including a camera body and lenses. Photos will be downloaded to a memory stick on guest’s departure. Photographic tuition through the Great Plains Wild Studio can be arranged for guests (at an additional cost and booked in advance). Tuition can be either on company cameras or own guest’s personal cameras.
Enjoy an aerial viewing experience with great scenery across the northern part of the Okavango Delta. Add a 15-minute champagne stop on palm island en route. Must be booked in advance and is subject to extra cost and availability.
Great Plains is first and foremost a conservation organization that uses eco tourism as a tool to sustain conservation programs. We even coined a new name for what we do – “Conservation Tourism”. We define it as the use of quality led tourism experiences that are environmentally sound, with the benefits going specifically into making the conservation of an area viable and sustainable.
It is important to us that this is done without any negative influence on the land, on any species that uses that land, or, indeed, on any individual animal. We do not do conservation by triage, killing some to save the rest, because this is a defeatist and disrespectful way of interacting with nature.
Our model takes stressed and threatened environments, surrounds them with compassionate protection and intelligent, sustainable management, and funds them with sensitive, low-volume, low-impact, tourism. Communities are an intrinsic part of this model and benefit directly from it. The final piece of the puzzle is you – our clients and guests – who pay to visit the camps we create, and through doing so, become our valued partners and agents of positive change.
Our philosophy is grounded in the fundamental appreciation of the good in life… Good people, good staff, good decisions, good things we share and enjoy, but most of all we try to extend that “goodness” to our interactions with you, with wildlife, with nature and with the local communities which so depend on them
