A day at Vumbura Plains can begin in an open 4×4 and end in a mokoro. The camp is raised on timber decks above grassland that floods each year, in the far north-east of the Okavango Delta. Elephants wade the channels in front of the suites. Around it runs a 60,000-hectare private concession bordering Moremi Game Reserve, and every outing, on land or water, leaves straight from camp.
Elephants wade the channels in front of the suites.
The fourteen suites are divided into two camps of seven, North and South, joined by a raised timber walkway across the floodplain. Each camp keeps its own lounge and bar, with a dining area and a team of its own. Nearly everyone who guides, poles, cooks and pours here comes from the five villages on whose behalf the Okavango Community Trust leases out this concession.
Open floodplain and island woodland lie side by side with permanent channels on this concession, and African wild dogs are seen regularly. Lion and leopard hunt across the plains, and buffalo move through in large herds. Vehicles drive through water once the flood arrives. Sable, tsessebe and red lechwe share the open grassland, while shy sitatunga keep to the papyrus, seldom seen.
Vehicles drive through water once the flood arrives.
Out on the channels by mokoro or motorboat, the cast changes. Hippos and crocodiles hold the deeper water, with fish eagles overhead and malachite kingfishers in the reeds. Pel’s fishing owl and the slaty egret occur along these waterways. A slower afternoon might go to catch-and-release fishing for tilapia and catfish. Motorboat trips can end with a sundowner on the water.
Silvio Rech and Lesley Carstens designed the camp in the mid-2000s, in timber, glass and canvas. It was refurbished inside and out before reopening in April 2022. Cate Simpson of Reflecting Africa led the interiors with local craftspeople working alongside, and the palette was taken from the water: turquoise, blue, purple and green. Andrea Crawford’s underwater photographs are enlarged across wardrobe doors and shower screens, carrying the channels indoors. In one lounge, a wall is hung with locally woven baskets whose patterns tell stories or trace animal markings.
Breakfast starts at the morning fire, where phapata, a flatbread, is cooked over the coals. Signature dishes use tswii, the powdered root of the Okavango waterlily, which is sourced locally along with produce from nearby farms, and the menu turns with the seasons. Dishes come with a proverb or story of their own, which the chefs and staff tell at the table. Meals move between the open dining room of each camp and the sala of a suite. The 2022 refurbishment added a coffee bar, and afternoon tea is served before the late drive.
From a suite deck, the grassland runs to the horizon, broken by ilala palms and small islands.
Five villages hold the rights to this land: Seronga, Gunotsoga, Eretsha, Beetsha and Gudigwa. The Okavango Community Trust, registered in 1996, represents them and distributes the lease income to community projects across the northern Okavango Delta. Many of the guides grew up in the area, and the camp trains its team in-house.
The split into North and South lets families and larger groups divide by interest, with one party out on the water while another drives. Children are welcome, with family guiding and menus of their own. Two large family suites each have two bedrooms. From a suite deck, the grassland runs to the horizon, broken by ilala palms and small islands.
accommodation
Vumbura Plains has fourteen suites in two camps of seven, each raised on timber decks above the floodplain. Every suite has a private viewing deck, plunge pool, sun loungers and covered sala. Inside are a king-size bed, sunken lounge, double vanity, and indoor and outdoor showers. Two are large family suites with two bedrooms.
activities
Twice-daily game drives head out in open 4x4s, and guided walks cover the same ground on foot. Mokoro trips slip through the channels when water levels allow, motorboat outings can end with a sundowner, and there is catch-and-release fishing for tilapia and catfish. All of it takes place on a private community concession bordering Moremi Game Reserve, not inside it.
conservation
The concession is leased from the Okavango Community Trust, which represents five villages: Seronga, Gunotsoga, Eretsha, Beetsha and Gudigwa. Lease income goes to community projects in those villages, and nearly all the camp's team come from them.
Get in touch and let’s start the conversation. An initial consultation helps us understand what you’re looking for, whether that’s specific experiences, luxury touches, or marking a special occasion, and from there we’ll guide you through what’s possible so you can decide if we’re the right fit.
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By light aircraft from Maun to the Vumbura airstrip in the north of the Okavango Delta, then a short drive across the concession to the camp. The scheduled flights are shared bush planes that may call at other airstrips on the way, and they fly daily between the Delta camps too, so you can arrive straight from another camp rather than going back through Maun.
If you would rather fix your own timings, we can arrange a private charter in a Cessna Caravan or a Pilatus PC-12 into the Vumbura airstrip. Either way, pack light and in soft bags, because the small aircraft carry strict limits on space and weight.
Yes. TravelHealthPro, the UK's official travel health service, rates the northern half of Botswana, the Okavango Delta included, as high risk for malaria from October to May, recommending antimalarial tablets for those months, and as low risk from June to September. Low risk is not no risk. The CDC lists the Okavango and Ngamiland districts among the areas where it recommends medicine to prevent malaria.
We are travel planners, not medical professionals, so we do not make medical recommendations. Whether to take tablets, and which ones, is a decision for you and your own doctor or a travel clinic. The practical part is simple: cover arms and legs from late afternoon and keep repellent to hand.
A good deal, because the camp works on land and on water. Alongside the twice-daily drives there are guided walks, mokoro trips through the channels in a traditional dugout, motorboat outings and catch-and-release fishing for tilapia and catfish, all within the rate. The birding is a reason to come in itself: Pel's fishing owl, slaty egret, African fish eagle and malachite kingfisher all live along these waterways.
How much water there is depends on the flood, which rises through the dry winter months, so we check the channels for your dates before promising a mokoro. With two separate camps, a family or group can also split up, some on a drive and some on the water, and meet again for lunch.
The wildlife is the same, because the two share one private concession leased from the Okavango Community Trust; what differs is the camp. This one is the larger, with fourteen suites split into two camps of seven, North and South, each with its own lounge, dining area and bar, every suite with a plunge pool on its deck, and it is reached by a short drive from the airstrip.
Little Vumbura is six tents on a wooded island, reached by boat, and smaller and quieter for it. We would point families and groups, and anyone who wants the widest choice of activities from one base, towards the two camps here, and couples after something more private towards the island.
Yes, and it is set up for them. Two of the fourteen suites are large family units, so parents and children stay together under one roof, and each has the same raised deck and plunge pool as the rest, which with small children needs a parent's eye at all times.
Families with younger children take a private vehicle and guide for their activities, and in practice it means the day runs at the children's pace rather than a shared vehicle's. Tell us the ages when you enquire and we will plan which activities suit each child.
June to October, when the dry season draws the game in to permanent water and the flood from Angola fills the channels, so drives and water trips are both at their best. July to September is the standout, and October is the hottest month, often over forty degrees. April, May and November sit in between.
December to March is the green season: wet, lush and quieter, with the game more scattered and the channels at their lowest. It has its own case, though: the birding is at its peak with the summer migrants in, young antelope are on the ground, and the storm skies and green floodplains make it a photographer's time of year. The camp is open all year.
rated five stars by our clients
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our approach
Every journey starts with a conversation. We take the time to understand your vision before we start planning.
Whether by phone or in person, we work with you directly to shape something that is considered, personal, and expertly delivered.
