KI-NRT

Southern Winter is generally the best time to go on a safari in Africa (save for Gorilla trekking in Rwanda and Uganda, which can get heavy rains from September onwards.) It can be quite chilly in parts, but game viewing is at its finest - non-existent rains result in low grass levels and animals returning from the woodlands (or dry hinterland) to the increasingly scarce water sources.


The beautiful Delta

My original intention was to check out a place that was really off the beaten path - Zakouma N.P. (Chad), Odzala-Kokoua National Park (Republic of the Congo) or Dzanga-Sangha (Central African Republic) were my targets. Our somewhat grueling trip to Uganda in January, however, had sufficiently worn out Mrs. KI-NRT to the point that she pleaded with me to go somewhere a bit more "comfortable" for our next adventure. Having enjoyed our previous trips to Botswana, we settled on visiting the country once again. It's still sufficiently wild and remote for my tastes, and features some of the finest camps in Africa; it seemed like the perfect compromise for this go-round.


Bush walk with our guide Obie at Zarafa Camp

Itinerary:
1 night - Zurich (Atlantis by Giardino, along with lunch at Ecco Restaurant)
1 night - Johannesburg (Saxon Hotel - Presidential Suite)
3 nights - Moremi Game Reserve (Mombo Camp)
3 nights - Duba Plains Concession NG23 (Duba Plains Camp)
4 nights - Linyanti Selinda Concession NG16 (Zarafa Camp)
1 night - Johannesburg (Saxon Hotel - Presidential Suite)


Elephant herd at Duba Plains Camp

Logic behind our choices

We enjoyed our previous stay at Mombo, and with the recent rebuild of the camp, we were dying to check it out. The Linyanti area absolutely thumps with big game late in the dry season, and the Selinda Concession (NG16) and Linyanti East Concession (NG15) are the prime locations. You can't go wrong with either. We were tempted by King's Pool (NG15), but it's a slightly larger camp than Zarafa (9 rooms vs. 5), so we went with the latter for that reason. Our third camp choice was the most difficult one. Although both Mombo and Zarafa don't offer Mokoro canoe rides, we had already done it before and were more interested in serious game-viewing. Besides, Zarafa offers motorboat rides which offer greater chances of seeing animals than from Mokoros. Given that, we ruled out several "wet" concessions including the Jao area. We narrowed the choices down to Chiitabe (Chiitabe Camp and Sandibe Lodge), Vumbura (Vumbura Plains or Little Vumbura), Kwara (Splash Camp), Kwando (Lebala & Kwara Camps) and Duba Plains. I was very intrigued by Kwando Safaris' new Splash Camp, but since it was quite a bit away from Kwara and Little Kwara Camps, I worried that the animals in the area would be a bit skittish initially. The camps in the Kwando Concession offer unbelievable game viewing, but are a bit too rustic for Mrs. KI-NRT's tastes. We settled on Duba Plains Camp because it was completely rebuilt earlier this year, we're huge fans of Great Plains Conservation and we couldn't wait to try out a flagship Great Plains camp that promised an even better and newer hard product than Zarafa.

One thing to note about Great Plains - similar to Wilderness Safaris and their Premier & Classic camp designations (think Vumbura Plains/Little Vumbura or Jao/Tubu Tree), Great Plains also (but not always) has two camps in the same area, one being standard and the other being uber lux. If you don't want to break the bank, you can stay at Duba Expedition Camp and Selinda Camp (or the even more budget-friendly Selinda Explorers Camp) in the Duba Plains Concession and Selinda Game Reserve, respectively. The main differences (as is the case with Wilderness properties) are in the room size, staff-to-guest ratio and the amenities on offer. The wildlife experience should be comparable, however.


Sunset view from Zarafa Camp

Okavango weather

As with most parts of Southern Africa, weather can be variable. Southern Winter (June to August) is comfortable during the day but can dip below freezing at night. We expected September to be milder overall, but were hit with a heatwave while at Mombo (35C), while Duba Plains and Selinda generally ranged between 8-30C. 8 degress Celsius, by the way, is downright frigid - being in an open-air Land Cruiser, the wind chill factor played a big role in making it feel at least 5 degrees colder than it actually was. Make sure to prepare for the unexpected, and come equipped with layers of clothing.

Zurich / Atlantis by Giardino / Swiss flight to Johannesburg

We arrived at Zurich in the morning and had a 11 hour layover, so we chose to stay at Atlantis by Giardino. Although check-in time is 15:00, thankfully our room was ready when we arrived (~11AM.) It didn't matter either way, as we had lunch reservations in the hotel at 2* Ecco Restaurant. We felt Ecco was good but not out-of-this-world awesome. The stayed in a "Generous" Room, which was adequate (roughly 38m²) but not spectacular. In fact, we didn't feel that Atlantis by Giardino warranted the heaps of praise bestowed on the property. It was fine to stay for a layover, and offers decent value for a Zurich hotel, but it definitely wouldn't be my first choice if we were staying for more than a night. The architecture was modern but bland, and the same could be said for the decor and furnishings. And while it's perched atop a hill overlooking Zurich, the views are not exactly breathtaking. In fact, we later stayed at Hilton Zurich Airport (due to a cancelled Swiss flight), and it was far more spacious (76m² - the base room was comped but we paid about $100 for an upgrade to the Relaxation Suite), just as pristine, and was quite a bit less expensive than Atlantis.

A note about Swiss Air from Zurich to Johannesburg: don't book it! Especially if you are intending to take a connecting flight later that day from Joburg. Our flight was cancelled, and upon further research, it appears that it's cancelled very frequently. It's the last of a bank of long-haul flights departing Zurich in the evening on their A330 jets, and if ANY of their prior flights encounter delays due to late arriving aircraft or mechanical problems, it's the Joburg flight that gets the shaft. For Swiss, it's no big deal, since they can reschedule the flight departure for the following morning and still get into Joburg in time to make the regularly scheduled return flight. I guess there's a reason why our SFO->ZRH->JNB->ZRH->SFO business class flights on Swiss was such a screaming deal. Don't say that you haven't been warned! Thankfully for us, our safari was not impacted in any way, as we were not scheduled to fly from JNB to Maun until the following day.


Saxon Hotel - Presidential Suite

Saxon Hotel

By now, everyone ought to know that FS Joburg is a joke, and the Saxon is the go-to choice for everyone in this forum. We stayed here before and after our Botswana safari, and as is customary, we requested room 300 (a Presidential Suite on the 3rd floor.) It's super spacious (200m²), quiet and offers complete privacy. All that said, the Saxon is not perfect. Check-in is always painfully slow, service is a bit too formal (some might say impersonal) and staff tends to be formulaic in their approach. At times, some of them can be downright snooty. We paid a visit to the spa to inquire about availability for a massage treatment, and were promptly given a rather stern lecture by one of the spa agents about how it's the most popular spa in the most famous hotel in all of Johannesburg, and that we should know better than to show up without an appointment. Her attitude was sufficiently surly that I felt compelled to raise the issue with the hotel's Operations Manager. Their service recovery more than made up for the spa agent's antics - they gave us a massage slot at our desired time AND gave it to us, free of charge. Later that evening, while dining at Grei (their gourmet dining restaurant run by an former disciple of Luke Dale Roberts of Cape Town's The Test Kitchen fame), they comped a nice bottle of South African wine and two desserts of our choosing.


A view of the Okavango Delta

Mombo Camp (Chief's Island, Moremi Game Reserve, Okavango Delta)

We flew from Joburg to Maun on Airlink, and then took a Mack Air flight from Maun to Mombo's airstrip. The scheduled flight time was 25 minutes, but on this day, they made two stops along the way which resulted in a total flight time of about 55 minutes. We quickly had a late lunch and then began our safari adventure with an afternoon drive.


Lunch at Mombo Camp

Wilderness Safaris' flagship Mombo Camp is located on Chief's Island (within the Moremi Game Reserve), in a prime position in the heart of the Okavango Delta. Chief's Island is massive (70km long and 15km wide), but only has two camps - Mombo Camp and Sanctuary Chief's Camp. They are the only camps that have traversing rights on the entire island. Chief's Island is so large, in fact, that much of the island is rarely visited and is in pristine condition as a result. Regarding Chief's Camp - like Mombo Camp, it was recently rebuilt, and is a gorgeous property. However, the build is rather "heavy", giving it more of a hotel feel than a bush camp vibe, and many of the guests come on packaged/group tours due to Sanctuary's affiliation with Abercrombie & Kent, which is unlike most luxury travellers to Botswana that go for tailor-made tours with specifically-chosen camps. This results in a guest profile that is significantly less outdoorsy than at other camps.


Mombo Camp

Chief's Island has a reputation of delivering the absolute best wildlife viewing experience in all of Africa. While it's awesome, I somewhat disagree with that assessment. For starters, since it's inside the national park (and not a concession), there are restrictions on what can be done. No boat rides, no bush walks and no night drives. Contrary to common belief, offroading IS allowed, but only if "prime game" is spotted (i.e. Lions, Leopards, etc.) so in this sense, it's a bit more flexible than, say, the Masai Mara main reserve. Secondly, many of the surrounding concessions are equally awesome, especially Kwando, Kwara, Chiitabe, Vumbura, Duba Plains and, to a lesser extent, Jao, Abu and Shinde. Mombo's advantage lies in the fact that game viewing is known to be fabulous year-round (although MacMyDay's Mombo experience might suggest otherwise), something that only Chiitabe can also lay claim to. This has to do with both locations remaining relatively dry (and therefore more accessible), even during the rainy season.

Mombo is a "big five" viewing area (if that's important to you - it isn't to us), and we saw four of the five; we didn't prioritize Buffaloes, since we don't find them to be particularly interesting. We also spotted many other general big game, including Hyenas and Giraffes. We lucked out with a great sighting of a pack of African Wild Dogs. The highlight was seeing a Honey Badger at dawn... our second-ever sighting of a Honey Badger (we would later see a pair of them at Duba Plains.)


Mombo Camp (room 5)

The rooms at Mombo are pristine - and they should be, considering that the entire camp was rebuilt from the ground-up and only reopened in January of this year. They definitely put great thought and care to the redesign; the entire property is modern while still giving enough of an authentic bush vibe. Furnishings and decor are all tastefully adorned in muted colors, which is unlike that of many Great Plains camps, which are more "old world colonial Africa" in their design (we like both.) At the same time, Wilderness has brought Mombo to the 21st century... well, somewhat. The entire camp is now completely solar powered, USB plugs and power sockets abound, and there are convenient and intuitive light switches (unlike before, where you had to flick about a billion separate switches to turn the lights on/off.) What of the "somewhat?" They still don't offer WiFi anywhere on premises. Co-GM Robyn Dreyer said that they are planning to offer WiFi in the rooms, but it won't happen for a while longer. Also... no aircon (sorry, bhrubin!) For our visit, even the petite and thin Mrs. KI-NRT could've used A/C in the room - we were there during a heatwave, where the temperature exceeded 35C during midday. She was unable to enjoy her afternoon siestas because of the heat, causing her to be cranky during our downtimes


Mombo Camp (room 5)

The massive deck has sweeping views of the plains. There's plunge pool, a small dining table, a daybed, large lounger and a second shower. We were taken aback, however, at how messy the deck was at times - there were leaves and berries everywhere. We later learned that elephants frequent the area, especially right in front of our room, and love to shake the trees to get to their favorite berries, which often causes a mess in the deck. 10 minutes later, we came face-to-face with a pair of elephants that had come to snack on the berries. In addition to Elephants, there were always a wide variety of animals and birds visiting outside our main viewing deck.


Mombo Camp room deck

Our previous stay was at Little Mombo, which is an annex consisting of 3 rooms compared to 8 at Mombo. There really isn't a difference between both camps; in fact, they share many of the facilities, including the boutique, gym and spa. One can argue that Little Mombo is smaller and more intimate, but the rooms are so large and private that we generally stayed in our room during down times, and even had most of our meals there as well.


Elephants right next to our Mombo Camp room deck

Activity wise, it's mainly morning and afternoon game drives. At the time we visited, they had just transitioned to a Summer schedule, so departure was at 6:30 (from 5:30) for the morning drives and 4:30 (from 3:30) for the afternoon outings. Although we enjoy sleeping as much as the next person, we're outdoor fanatics, and had our own private vehicle and guide, so we generally elected to depart earlier than the regularly scheduled departure times.


A female Leopard and one of her cubs

Food was not particularly memorable. In fact, I didn't take a single photo of our meals, which is saying something, since I am known to snap away at the dishes while they get cold and mushy. That the food quality was not superb was especially surprising given that Robyn (GM) comes from Singita Ebony - and Singita's F&B is decidedly world-class. One anomaly - during our time in Botswana, there appeared to be an egg shortage, and could not be procured anywhere. Therefore, bush breakfasts consisted of cold fruits and meats, cheese as well as cereals and milk, but no egg dishes. Big bummer.


An African Wild Dog (aka "Painted Dog") puppy

Our 7 total nights over 2 trips to Mombo is too small of a sample size to represent the typical safari experience on Chief's Island. I can say, however, that we had excellent sightings... but it was no better (or worse) than the sightings we enjoyed at Olare Motorogi (Mara Plains Camp in Kenya), South Luangwa N.P. (Zambia), Chiitabe or at Zarafa Camp in the Selinda Concession. Although the quality of game viewing can often be a luck of the draw, historical precedent suggests that Mombo lives up to its billing as a place that offers a consistently productive wildlife experience.

Duba Plains Camp (Duba Plains Concession, Okavango Delta)


Our Toyota Land Cruiser slogging through a deep water channel

Duba Plains Concession (also known as NG23) is a private reserve adjacent to Vumbura (NG22) and is one of the best-known areas with many of the original wildlife documentaries being filmed there. The Lion vs. Buffalo interactions were immortalized in 'Eternal Enemies', a National Geographic documentary that was filmed by Great Plains Conservation (and Duba Plains Camp) co-owners Dereck and Beverly Joubert. Duba Plains is also known for having a less diverse array of animal species than some of the surrounding concessions, including Vumbura (I can attest to that, based on our experience.) Why did we go with Duba Plains Camp, you ask? We've never stayed there, we had already tried out Vumbura Plains, and since we were splitting our time between 3 camps, we were perfectly fine with a more narrowly focused safari experience here. Not to mention, Duba Plains is a staggeringly beautiful area, with a wonderful mix of dry and wet landscapes that really offers an idyllic setting for a safari.


3 male Lions of the Tsaro Pride

The flight from Mombo to Duba Plains was... 6 minutes. That's it. But oh, what a difference ~20 miles makes. Especially during the dry (but flooded) season, Chief's Island will remind you of any other generic safari region in Southern Africa. By contrast, Duba Plains was much, much wetter. The seasonal floods (the water originates in Angola) flow farther east as the dry season progresses, and Duba Plains is the receipient of much of the floodwaters. It features woodlands, islands and flood plains that harbor a ton of animals. It's the Okavango Delta like everyone imagines, and it's hypnotically magical.

Upon arriving at camp, in the common area we were privileged to bump into Dereck and Beverly Joubert. They were down to Earth, gracious and engaging. We chatted for over 10 minutes about their adventures in the bush, their award-winning documentaries, and plans for their upcoming camps in the Mara (Naboisho Conservancy) and in Zimbabwe (Mana Pools.) A few days later, they invited us to follow them on a game drive, where they were filming a pride of Lions during golden hour (the time of day where it's optimal light for photography and filming.)


Lion cubs horsing around

Like Mombo, Duba Plains Camp was recently rebuilt, so it's shiny and fresh.. but that's where the similarities end. While Mombo is contemporary chic in design, Duba Plains is similar to Zarafa Camp and Mara Plains Camp in that it's intended to evoke a style reminiscent of the 1920s "colonial" era. It has five gigantic tented suites and one 2-bedroom suite. The rooms are elevated (it needs to be - water levels can get pretty high during the peak floods), and outside it offers a plunge pool, outdoor salas, loungers, a dining table and even an exercise bike. The views of the plains and water channels are absolutely stunning; it's similar to Vumbura Plains Camp in this regard. Prior to the rebuild, many guests at Duba Plains Camp pointed out the comparatively small rooms. No more. With the rebuild, the tented rooms are now a massive 182m² in size, much larger than even Zarafa Camp. As Great Plains camps go, this one takes the cake. It has better technology and amenities than Zarafa, which itself is slightly newer than Mara Plains Camp (the most annoying part of Mara Plains is the lack of a real entrance door - you have to zip/unzip the canvas every time you want to enter or leave the room... hugely annoying.) The one problem I have with all Great Plains rooms have to do with light... or lack thereof. The choice of colors for the floors, walls and furnishings tend to be of the darker brown variety (especially compared with Mombo), which is further aggravated by the comparatively dim lights. The design is more romantic than most camps, but it comes at the expense of function, as far as I'm concerned.


Main dining area at Duba Plains Camp

The rest of the camp follows a similar design theme, which is also similar to Zarafa. An indoor common area that consists of a lounge area and dining room, and an outside deck lounge (also with amazing views of the seasonal flood plains) that also doubles as a dining area when weather permits. Off to the each side of the common area is a library and a charming boutique. Both Duba Plains and Zarafa offer WiFi, but only in the rooms.


Duba Plains Camp (room 5)

Food wasn't mind-blowingly awesome like Singita, but I recall it being better than at Mombo. As with most Great Plains camps, they didn't try too hard to make Michelin Star-quality cuisine, which is just as well... if you're going to try doing so, it had better be awesome. If you you're not confident, then keep it simple. Overall, the food was fresh, healthy and reasonably well flavored. And better than the food quality at Mara Plains Camp. Unlike at Mombo, at least for the first 2 mornings we were treated to egg dishes. It turns out that Great Plains had a decent supply of them before the shortage, so they simply needed to tap into their reserve. What was even more impressive was at our time in Zarafa. Staff at the camp willingly gave up their egg rations for the sake of their guests. Kudos to them!


Duba Plains Camp room deck

The service at Duba Plains was attentive, proactive and friendly. There were no service issues whatsoever. Overall, it's on par with Zarafa, and more polished than at Mara Plains. The fact that the owners (Dereck and Beverly Joubert) spend the majority of their time in this concession probably has something to do with the high levels of service at Duba Plains.

A particularly nice touch (as is the case at Mara Plains and Zarafa) is the loan of a Canon 5D Mark IV DSLR with a 100-400mm lens. They even download the photos onto a USB memory stick for you to take home at the conclusion of your stay. It starts making sense when you consider that the owners are acclaimed photographers/videographers; they really take photography seriously at Great Plains.


Lion on a tall Termite mound

The featured animal was - you guessed it - Lions. Lots of them. Everywhere. Which is probably why there are very few Leopards in the area (and it's much too wet for Cheetahs to thrive here.) On the face of it, you might think... booooring. Our experience was anything but. Lion cubs playing. Lions hunting. Lions stalking a baby elephant. Three male adult Lions swimming across a deep channel. A Lioness nursing her cubs. A mother Lioness killing a Red Lechwe (an antelope) and bringing it home to her two hungry cubs. And an unusual sight of a Lion perched atop a very tall Termite mound. Cats are very charismatic animals, and observing various actions and behaviors is fascinating - I can observe them all day long without getting bored. Maybe that's just me.


A Lion stalking an Elephant baby

While Duba Plains doesn't have as broad of a range of predator and prey species, it's not one-trick pony, either. It offers one of the best opportunities for quality Rhino sightings and has an abundance of Elephants. And we were fortunate enough to spot the rare and elusive Side-Striped Jackal (99% of Jackal sightings are of the Black-Backed variety.) And finally, birds are plentiful... a wide variety of them.


Three Lion brothers swimming across a deep water channel

The other highlight of Duba Plains was - believe it or not - the drives themselves. Because Duba has many wet patches and water channels, water crossings are unavoidable. And oftentimes deep. There were many instances where the water flooded the floor of the Land Cruiser, and it was exhilarating.


A Lion mother bringing home a Red Lechwe to her two cubs


... and the remains of the Red Lechwe an hour later

We also went on a motorboat safari while at Duba Plains, and we're glad that we did it. The Delta is a gorgeous and tranquil place, and a boat cruise is a very relaxing way to soak in the sheer beauty of it all. As a bonus, we witnessed an Elephant crossing one of the narrow channels, as well as a stunning African sunset on the way back to camp.


A "crash" of White Rhinos at Duba Plains

Zarafa Camp (Selinda Reserve, Linyanti Region)


Helicopter flight from Duba Plains Camp to Zarafa Camp

Great Plains offered us a complimentary private helicopter transfer between Duba Plains and Zarafa. I'm not sure if it's a standard benefit for staying at two of their flagship camps, but we would've paid for it regardless. It's that memorable. Selinda is over 150 kilometers away from Duba Plains, so it was a leisurely 30 minute flight across varied landscape - it began with the classic "wet" delta scenery, followed by Kalahari-esque dry desert woodlands, then landing on a helipad on the banks of the pretty Zibadianja Lagoon where Zarafa Camp is situated. From above, we were able to see herds of Elephants at waterholes as well as massive herds of Buffaloes. Definitely recommended.


A large herd of Elephants along a water hole

The Selinda Reserve is a fabulous and gigantic private concession that is exclusively managed by Great Plains Conservation, where they operate three camps in the area (Zarafa Camp, Selinda Camp and Selinda Explorers Camp, a mobile camp), as well as a mobile canoe expedition (Selinda Adventure Trail.) It's less wet than Duba Plains, and less dry than the Chief's Island area. Most of the water (at least during the dry season) resides in the Zibadianja Lagoon as well as the Savuti Channel, to a lesser extent. The Linyanti area is situated between the Okavango Delta to the West, and Chobe National Park to the East, and it seems to take the best of both regions. Although Selinda is enormous, it's worth pointing out that the vast majority of the reserve consists of uninteresting dry mopane woodland, with most of the interesting spots for wildlife being situated in the Northeast of the Reserve, which gets the majority of the floodwaters during the Southern Winter months. As a result, the actual prime viewing areas in Selinda are not as vast as some of the other Concessions in Botswana. Unlike at Duba Plains or Mombo, at times we found ourselves driving around the same areas (at least more so than at other camps.)


Zarafa Camp main area

But what's there is phenomenal. Elephants were everywhere, and there was a healthy heaping of Lions, Leopards, Giraffes and Buffaloes. Leopard-wise, all 3 Botswana camps delivered them in abundance, with many of them up on the trees (which is a rarer sight in Kruger/Sabi Sands/Londolozi, in fact.) If Leopards are your thing, you can't go wrong with Okavango/Linyanti, with South Luangwa, Kruger and parts of the Mara region right up there with it.

That said, the entire Linyanti region is much more seasonal than Chobe or (parts of) Okavango. During the green season (generally November to April) the rains enable the dry-season concentration of animals to disperse, much more so than in other areas. People wishing to visit Linyanti are best advised to try for the July to October period (although October is scorching hot!), in spite of the considerably jacked-up peak season prices at this time.


Zarafa Camp main deck

We did have one frustrating animal encounter. Upon spotting a Leopard up a Sausage Tree one afternoon, we decided to wait it out and see if it would come down at dusk to hunt. After waiting for about 2 hours, the Leopard jumped down from the tree. We began to follow it when one other vehicle joined the fray. 10 minutes later, our guide stopped the vehicle and we watched the Leopard disappear from view, while the guests and guide in the other vehicle gleefully continued on with the chase. Why did this happen? We were in a buffer zone between Selinda and Linyanti East Concessions (NG15), and the Leopard had ventured into NG15, which was off limits to Great Plains vehicles. For what it's worth, the other guests were staying at King's Pool. A first world problem, I know, but annoying nonetheless!


Zarafa Camp (room 1)


Zarafa Camp (room 1)


Light, healthy and tasty lunch at Zarafa Camp

While not as stunningly scenic as Duba Plains (or Vumbura), the Selinda Concession is gorgeous in its own right, and much more so than Chief's Island. The actual views from the camp itself is arguably more spectacular than even Duba Plains - Zarafa has an advantage of being situated overlooking the vast savannas and floodplains of the Zibadianja Lagoon, and the uninterrupted views from every part of the camp over these floodplains is truly breathtaking. The existence of the Lagoon also allows for water activities; we partook on a private pontoon boat lunch cruise and was one of the highlights of our trip. We probably would not have skipped any game drives if our trip to Botswana was a shorter one. But since game drives at Mombo and Duba Plains were extremely productive, we were able to enjoy other activities without worrying about missing out on big game. We also did a walking safari (always great to be closer to the ground, enjoying the subtle aspects of nature, and it's always educational, too) and two night drives, which was one of the main focus areas of our stay here. One of our priorities during a safari is to attempt to witness some of the more unique (and nocturnal) animals, and it's in the evening that many of the elusive species can be spotted.


An Elephant just outside our Zarafa Camp room deck

On our first night drive, we got to see a male Leopard, but what really had me exited was our first-ever spotting of a Serval - it's always been a dream of mine to see one in the wild, and the sighting was a high-quality one as well. Our second drive was just as fruitful; an up-close viewing of a Cape Porcupine, as well as an absolutely adorable African Wildcat (you can easily mistaken it for a regular house cat, but don't be fooled - they're wild, and a force to be reckoned with .)


Private pontoon boat lunch cruise


Lunch on board the pontoon boat

The camp itself shares the same design/layout principles as Duba Plains and Mara Plains. There's a main area the features a lounge, dining room and a library, and an outdoor deck that has a firepit and a communal dining table. It seamlessly blends into the environment without appearing too basic or rustic. The overall design aesthetic is a love-it-or-hate it proposition - the colonial look and feel might be off-putting to some, whereas others will be charmed by the "classic Africa" vibe.


Lilac-breasted Roller

The 4 tented rooms are larger than at Mara Plains but smaller than Duba Plains (there is also one 2-bedroom united dubbed the "Zarafa Dhow Suite".) Unlike Mara Plains, which has a completely open flooplan, the living room and bedroom at Zarafa are divided by zipper flaps, which we preferred. Mrs. KI-NRT was able to sleep in the afternoon, undisturbed, while I sorted and edited photos in the living room. While the deck was smaller than at Duba Plains, it was sufficiently large to provide for a decent sized plunge pool as well as an area for outdoor dining. And did I mention the views? Not just the scenery, but also wildlife. Countless birds, antelopes and small mammals were easily and frequently seen from our room, and we also had yet more Elephant visitors right outside our deck. Truly magical.


Female Leopard ("Matsebe") resting on a Sausage Tree


Matsebe getting ready to hunt

As was the case at Duba Plains, food was light, healthy and relatively simple, and it was just as well. Aside from Singita and a perhaps a handful of others, gourmet dining is really hard to do in the wilderness. I'm probably not the only one that prefers to avoid heavy, saucy and rich cuisine (especially if not done right) while out on the bush. It's better to keep it simple, and do a good job at it. And do a good job they did. We had packed breakfasts every morning so as not to waste time at camp, although guests do have the option of dining at camp, before or after their game drive. Lunch is buffet style, consisting of a variety of grilled, steamed, and fresh vegetables along with decent quality chicken, meats and seafood. Dinner is a three-course affair, and you make your order during afternoon tea (just prior to departing for the second game drive of the day.) It was good but not great - better than most but not super memorable. The simpler but better executed lunch dishes were more to my liking, but that's the case for me at most camps. It should be pointed out that Zarafa is a Relais & Ch teaux property.


Lions devouring the remains of a Buffalo carcass

Where Zarafa (and, for that matter, Duba Plains) really shined is in the area of service. I don't recall even one service error during our entire time at both camps, and Zarafa is serviced to a very high standard; it's really polished and refined, but in a down-to-earth, "welcome to your home" kind of way. Everyone - the chefs, waiters, masseuse, housekeeping - every staff member seemed genuinely happy working at Zarafa, and in fact, they seemed humbled by the privilege of being part of the Great Plains family. Credit also goes to GMs David Ward and Saskia Adye, who really run a well-oiled operation here. Also, since it's such an intimate camp we really got to know each and every staff member quite well. They all felt like friends when it came time for us to leave.Our guide Obie was an encyclopedia of knowledge, and was able to answer just about every question we threw at him. Everything from the ecosystem, animals, animal behavior, local culture and customs, history of Botswana and even the technical details of my Nikon D850 DSLR. He was also patient, enthusiastic and worked tirelessly to deliver great sightings. Although the high level of guiding can be (somewhat) attributed to having Obie as a private guide (he led all of our outings, including bushwalks, night drives and the boat cruise), we still felt he was a notch above most of the private guides that we've spent time with in the bush.


The nocturnal, elusive and gorgeous Serval


African Wildcat


Cape Porcupine

Conclusion: Mombo, Duba Plains and Zarafa are three of the most luxurious (and most expensive) camps in the region, and at the same time offers some of the absolute best wildlife viewing in all of Africa. All three camps are lightly built (giving them an authentic bush feel), warmly hosted and adhere to a strong ethos of conservation and sustainable tourism. Yes, they're all uber expensive, but when you're there, you can feel that they haven't lost touch with the purpose of providing - first and foremost - a memorable safari. That said, there are numerous other luxury options that have comparable big game viewing opportunities - in that regard, it's a bit different from the greater Mara region, which has a far smaller collection of top-end camps in prime (and less crowded) locations. The Okavango is conveniently accessed from Joburg, Cape Town and Victoria Falls (all have direct flights to Maun), so anyone venturing to Southern Africa should definitely consider including Botswana in their itinerary.

Ericka

Nizar

Amazing trip report thanks for the detailed review and photos !

DSI

Many thanks! Superbly awesome report. We've only been at the same camp once, Serian, which seems to be a bit more adventurous and relaxed but far less luxurious in terms of food and accommodations.

You'll love a road trip through Namibia. Just be sure to get a kitted out Landcruiser (they're the international landcruisers, not the super nice ones like in the US) or the Land Rovers with loads of jerry cans. I personally preferred Namibia to SA, Bot, Zimbabwe and and Zambia myself.

MacMyDay

Thanks, as always. Very surprised that Mombo does not have WiFi yet though - they spoke of it that it was imminent when we were there in February. I really struggle to be anywhere without good net access, mostly due to work, and Wilderness are definitely behind the curve regarding this (at least Bisate has it). I understand properties not wanting it in the main areas as otherwise everyone is on their phones, but not in your own room,

KI-NRT

We loved Serian, and enjoyed the relaxed vibe there. The best part of Serian is they offer private vehicle/guide for every group of guests. They take their safaris seriously, which we really appreciate.

Namibia is being planned for Dec. 2019 (we've done Etosha already but have not yet explored the rest of the country.) Unfortunately, it's not going to be of the self-drive variety. Just not enough time to do that. So it'll be Wolwedans (Dune Camp), Little Kulala, Hoanib SC Camp and Serra Cafema.

I expected internet by the time we arrived, and was surprised they still didn't have it. I work for a Silicon Valley technology company, so it's really, really difficult to be offline for such an extended period of time.

SanDiego1K

Stunning report, as always. I love following your adventures.

Pausanias

I too lap up these reports. Am I alone in really hating bathtubs in bedrooms and those tiny dipping pools/septic tanks on the decks of the rooms. They are as ubiquitous nowadays as the wretched tasting menu and I for one would ask if they had rooms without them. I think they just look cheap and nasty. I imagine waking up and finding a rhino has taken a dump in one - probably the best use of them I can think of.

lb8001

DSI

Larkin

mkm4

Wonderful report! Many thanks!

offerendum

KI-NRT

Good news. Beginning this July, Wilderness Safaris will offer WiFi (free of charge) in all of their camps. It'll be of the Satellite variety (good luck with streaming videos) and accessibility will be limited to guest rooms.

Should be able to do e-mail and simple browsing, at least!

MacMyDay

I saw the long overdue WiFi news last week - horrah. However, they don't give any timeframe regarding how long it will take and over a year on from our stay, Mombo still doesn't have WiFi.