Which camp do you think has best game viewing in Botswana?
 

For our December trip, if we are able to splurge on one camp for 3-4 nights, looking for the best possible game viewing & photographic opportunities (not looking for the most luxurious camp), and leaving aside our budget, what camp would you recommend? (Other than Mapula, which we will already be going to, and other than any of the Kwando camps as we've already been to Lebala, Lagoon, & Little Kwara.) Duba Plains? Chief's?

Quite simply, Chiefs or Mombo, with the latter being outstanding year round.

I would possibly recommend Vumbura as slighlty mor eproductive area than Kwara. Duba is rather one dimensional

Although, i have never been - i have Chitabe Lediba on my mind .... i have heard nothing but consistently good reviews about their gameviewing.

Hari,
If you go to Chitabe, tell Andreas (Andy), Kenny and Josephine I say hello.

Lisa,
I had fantastic sightings at Chitabe, but I was there in July not December. I've only been to Botswana once and that was this past summer, so I can't offer any season-specific advice. The best game viewing during my July trip was at Duma Tau.

Mombo

If money is no object, then Mombo/Little Mombo would be a good choice for overall game viewing. Lately, from what I’ve heard, the lions are in abundance and the hooved species are still great, but the other predators have not been as strong. That is to be expected because lion dominance pushes out the other predators.

At around $1300 a night for one person, Mombo is not where I’d go now. For that money, I want better odds of animals like cheetah and wild dogs, which Mombo did offer at one time. I’d also want exceptional the leopard viewing Mombo used to have, which I think has suffered a bit too. Chief’s is less, but I have never been there and don’t think it is as productive as Mombo. If we are not considering budget, then the lower cost of Chief’s is not a factor.

You mentioned that luxury was not important. Mombo/Little Mombo is 6-paw and would be the highest level of luxury.

Duba Plains, one of my all time favorite locations, is, as Shumba mentioned, one dimensional with lion-buffalo interaction taking center stage. I saw some nice eles, lots of bat eared fox, two servals, and at least two aardwolves in August. With one of the Duba boys deceased, the pride structure could be in flux.

I really liked Vumbura and there were leopard and cheetah sightings before, during, and right after my stay, though I didn’t see any. Plus you may see sable. I did in a short 2-day stay in August.

At Chitabe, I had an 8-day stay (in August) and 4 days were outstanding and 4 days were ok for overall game. Daily visits to the wild dog den were always excellent.

In sum, from past experiences and from what I hear of late, Mombo is still very impressive for overall amount of animals. If you aren’t specifically interested in upping your chances on cheetah or wild dogs and if the premium you pay to stay at Mombo is not a lot of money for you, then you probably can’t go wrong there.

Let us know what you decide!

http://www.wilderness.co.za/news/unu...?newsItem=4602

Latest news on the leopards from the Joubert documentary....

PS: check out the last paragraph of the Joubert article ...... i confess ignorance on the subject of hunting and conservation, so i probably will never comprehend it!

Mombo, for the price, is over-rated IMO. When I went there, lions were v.good, cheetah were v.good and wild dogs were v.good. Is that the case now? I've had better experiences with a wider range of big predators and plains game elsewhere...but unfortunately, the place where those experiences occurred, Selinda Reserve, has now priced itself out of my market.

I see Vumbura has had a couple mentions, keep in mind this is next to Mapula and their viewing is very similar so you already are capturing that spot and probably would not want to combine the two.

I think the Linyanti area camps are very strong for the diversity of species and combine well with a Delta Camp so I would consider Duma Tau or Savuti. In December the large herds of elephant will have dispersed but there should still be a good diversity of game, especially predators and nocturnal animals.

I think the the probel m with Mapula is two fold. Firslty, it is outside the Buffalo Fence, which restricts certain game. Also, with human habitation using the area, the game is shy of vehicles to a greater degree.

As for Mombo, Afrigalah, the Linyanti can compete with the Mombo's in the dry season to a degree. Though they do not have the same densities, especially of lions and hooved creatures.

When talking of December, as the OP does, Mombo wins hands down. The Selinda from the first rains effectively becomes a ghost town. Even the the Lions disappear into the Mopane. The Zebra and Wildebeest migrate to Savuti, the elephant disappear, so do the dogs. You have to work incredibly hard to find a couple of animals.

At Mombo, the grass may grow a little higher, though the movement of the animals is not the same, so year round viewing is pretty constant. This is not the case for the Northern Delta like Vumbura and Kwara. Whislt the plains ar estill grazed, lots of animals move into the mopane that strectches up to the linyanti. If you fly over that area during the rains, you will see plenty of game hiding.

Even Selinda - i don't know if the gameviewing is that superlative anymore in the dry months in terms of predators? Yes, the spillway is a big game magnet to watch the herds drinking in the middle of the day or in the early evening.
EX at., Selinda - at the moment, a hell of a lot depends on the success of the re-generation of the Selinda pride doesn't it? IMO, i don't think the pride is out of the woods for atleast another 6 months??? Ofcourse, fingers crossed that the three lionesses are able to successfully raise the 8 cubs. Ofcourse, much depends on Milky Eye and his buddy holding fort to the territory...... this really will make or break the lion viewing for the entire region.

Also, of the 8 cubs, i think 5 of them are male cubs ..... so, it will be interesting to wait and watch!

Shumba,

If you read this.... question on the Savuti area in Chobe NP. Is it good year round (RE Predators) or specifically only when the Zebra herds pass through? Reason i ask this, i read about CCAfrica starting their semi-permanent camp. Yet, it's going to be a brand new set-up so don't know about that as yet...... guiding etc etc.,

OK, other than Mombo, where else in December?

I appreciate all of the responses so far.

Shumba: Have you been to Mapula? Which species do you think do not occur there due to the buffalo fence? In November I saw 34 different mammal species in a 4 night stay which was the most diverse number I have seen at any camp in a single stay and that was of course after rains so larger herds had already dispersed.

I would also say that most of the animals were very relaxed and on par with what I have seen at any other camp so I would disagree that the game is shy around vehicles. We approached closely to everything from wild dog and cheetah to sable, buffalo and bull eles. It's important to point out that yes people live in the concession -- the village is a 2 hour drive from the lodge and the concession is 350,000 ha (875,000 ac) so it is enormous running the entire length of Duba and Vumbura plus the western edge of the Selinda concession. To put into perspective Duba and Vumbura combined are 90,000 ha so this concession is 4 times those combined. Most other camps are going to have people within that same vicinity and almost no other camps can support such large drive areas. I went on some very long game drives in differing directions covering more ground than I have at any other camp (Kwara would be the only one even close) and I never saw any evidence of people in the area.

I would agree that the geography of Mombo keeps good general game year round as well as lots of lions and the ability to see rhino is special. I visited in early January before though and it was the worst viewing I have had at a Botswana camp (no doubt partly due to the worst guiding that I have had). At that same time I visited Duma Tau and it was full of diversity, about 30 mammal species sighted. Buffalo were gone and elephant more dispersed but still providing some nice viewing. Lisa did ask regardless of cost and in that case Mombo is probably the best for the time of year as my experience was an abberation but other options can be very good too and I think the Linyanti is a good consideration. Savute inside of Chobe could be very good too, I would like to visit at that time of year but have no experience with it to date. Because it is in the park though no night drives (at Mombo either for that matter) and I believe no off road driving either.

Mashatu

scootr, care to elaborate on why you would nominate Mashatu in SA?

Ricmck

Mashatu is in the Tuli Block, the last time I looked this was part of Botswana, albeit close to the SA Border!

Thanks for the geography lesson! I am still curious why it might rank among "the best game viewing."

i have been on safari in botswana twice in the rainy season jan 04 and 05 and visited mombo and duba plains. it's my favorite time to visit mombo mainly because the game is a s good as in sept and you get to stay out much longer bc the days are at their longest that time of year and you cant drive at dark at mombo. my game drives were much longer than those in sept.
the best camps to visit at that time would be Mombo, Duba Plains and Savuti (where the zebra migration would be happening). i'd look into the ccafrica new camp and see exactly where the camp is located. if that doesnt sound goo spend time at the WS Savuti camp.