Baines Camp
 

Has anyone stayed at Baines Camp recently.
I can only find one review and it wasn't great. Both Chief's and Mombo are already sold out for Sept. 2006 and I need a really
great place in the Delta.
Thanks.

Hello,

There are a lot of really great places in the Delta -- what are you looking for? Do you want water activities, land activities, or both? Is game-viewing a priority, or would you be willing to sacrifice a bit of game-viewing for incredibly beautiful scenery or a more luxurious camp? Do you want tented or non-tented accommodation, or do you care? What is your budget?

If you can provide a bit more detail, I'm sure the people on this board will come up with some great recommendations.

Cheers,
Julian

There are so many wonderful camps in the Delta, as Julian said.

Were you specifically keen to be in the Moremi reserve or open to other parts of the Delta?

Can you give us an indication of how this fits into the broader trip, what budget you are looking at per night and how many nights duration?

Also, of course, what you want from the camp - are you mainly keen to see a particular animal or bird, or to view a large range of larger mammals, or birds, or smaller animals? Do you want to do walks, drives or water activities?

Give us more info and I'm sure we can suggest lots of fantastic options.

This is the end of a 15 day trip to
South Africa, Vic. Falls & Botswana, including 9 nights at Safari Lodges.
Before the Delta, we will be at Chobe Chilwero, and our friends would like the best camp possible. Water and land
would be great, game is important. Since we were prepared for Chiefs or Mombo, luxury rates are ok.
Thanks again for your help.

gtrav: as pointed out there are going to be many choices, but if this is going to be the only stop in the Delta area I think you should look at Vumbura Plains, as it may be the best option for a land/water combo with diverse, and big game. And it happens to be a newly built ultra lux camp.

If you are looking for luxury in terms of accommodations (as well as activities) you may want to concentrate on Wilderness Safari's 6 paw properties. Mombo is one... you also have Jao (mainly water activities in wet season but can arrange drives in the Tubu Tree land area too) and King's Pool (in Linyanti area, no real water activities to speak of). I understand Vumbura Plains, the new property, will also be a 6 paw camp.

Alternatively, if you're willing to consider comfortable and intimate but less architecturally styled and furnished options many of the 5 paw camps are also wonderful. Tubu Tree tents are a bit larger than all the other 5 paw camps we've stayed at and, when the waters are high, they can offer water activities on top of their usual land stuff. This is one of my favourite camps.

I see PB has already mentioned Vumbura Plains - for some reason his response wasn't showing when I viewed this thread just before posting! Sorry for the repetition.

Hello,

Based on your requirements, Vumbura Plains is your best option. However, it does have a 'safari moderne' look rather than a classic safari look, which may not be to your taste -- you might want to take a look on the Wilderness website.

www.wilderness-safaris.com

In my opinion, Jao and King's Pool both look posher, but King's Pool doesn't have water activities and Jao's game-viewing isn't nearly as good as Vumbura's.

Cheers,
Julian

I love Kings Pool - it doesn't have water activities, but (at the risk of being pounded) they are over rated. I am going to Vumbura Plains next year and can't wait. Given that you will see a couple of Elephants at Chobe, then KP may be more of the same, in which case VP would be a great choice, particularly if you are looking for a little luxury. Mombo, KP and VP are all significantly more luxurious than Chiefs, with Mombo now being the lesser of the three IMO.
Of course the real reason to go is the game and nowhere comes close to Mombo.

I really can't recommend Jao enough. It has everything you are looking for - extremely luxurious accomodations but you still feel like you are in Africa, a phenominally beautiful setting, great water activities like mokoros and boats, and an excellent staff. We also found the regular game viewing to be quite good. See my recent trip report with Jao in the title.

Our recent trip included King's Pool, Singita and Jao. Of these 3, Jao was our favorite.

Thanks for your replies. It seems that
even a year in advance, most of these
properties are sold out! Vumbura Plains is available, so we will reserve a few nights there.