A family safari at Little DumaTau

What drew me to this area was its remoteness. I always struggled to find any decent public tracks or roads in the area on a map – amplifying my longing to explore this pristine wilderness.  In the heart of this area lies the Linyanti Wildlife Reserve.  The concession, operated by Wilderness, stretches close to 125,000 hectares, hundreds of miles from so-called civilisation. Expansive grasslands, floodplains, riverine forest and mopane woodlands make this place, where the Linyanti River meets the mysterious Savuti Channel, one of Botswana’s most diverse habitats and a haven for wildlife.

In November 2023 I was fortunate to visit this incredible reserve, and experience it first-hand, the “Wilderness Way”. Wilderness operates five camps in the concession, and my family and I were extremely blessed to visit two of their stunning camps, Savuti and Little DumaTau.

Our journey started at Savuti. After two incredible nights at this camp, we headed to our second camp, Little DumaTau. The name DumaTau means ‘roar of the lion’ in Setswana. Yes, you will probably enjoy numerous lion sightings, but there is so much more to experience… This is also the domain of elephants, with elephants crossing the Osprey Lagoon in front of camp daily.

We are keen birders, and our visit coincided with the breeding season of southern carmine bee-eaters.  There is a breeding colony between Little DumaTau and King’s Pool, so without wasting any time we decided to head north to spend the afternoon enjoying the spectacle of hundreds of stunning southern carmine bee-eaters at their nesting site. For me this was a bucket-list experience; make sure to add this to your list as well...

DumaTau and Little DumaTau (essentially the same camp, Little DumaTau is a smaller, more intimate sister camp, which shares a central facility with DumaTau) are situated on the banks of the Linyanti River, with the source of the Savuti Channel just a stone’s throw to the south. On our first morning, I couldn’t wait to explore the western reaches of the Savuti Channel, after our explorations of the channel a bit further east on our stay at Wilderness Savuti.

The morning started with the DumaTau lion pride on the opposite side of the Savuti Channel. They were joined by the new force of male lions that is taking over the area south of DumaTau, a coalition of six males!

This particular game drive must surely rank as one of my Top 3 game drives, if not the best... ever. The scenery is nothing less than spectacular, and the amount of general game, birds, elephants and buffalo was astounding. We even had two quality leopard sightings on this morning drive, and a large herd of buffalo joined us on our morning coffee break.

The cool breeze while cruising along the waters of Osprey Lagoon, enjoying a gourmet meal with crossing elephants, was just what was needed as a break from the sweltering summer heat.

The rest of the afternoon was spent lazing around the pool at the two camps’ centrally situated Osprey Retreat, enjoying a cocktail and reflecting on our wonderful few days.