Review: Wilderness Vumbura Plains

Why book?

Botswana’s wondrous Okavango Delta is the largest inland delta on the planet, flushed with waters that originate in Angola, a thousand kilometers north. In its northern reaches, Wilderness Safaris’ Vumbura Plains, rebuilt from scratch, is a contemporary retreat perched on decks over the floodplain. The thatched bedrooms are connected by timber walkways: high enough to let a hippo pass under. This is a place from which to observe the ebb and flow of life on the Delta—water lilies flowering in their multitudes and the gliding hulks of hippos—and listen to it, too: the hippos sound like bassoons tuning up, and the bell frogs like tiny xylophones. Game drives are paired with trips on the water in a traditional mokoro, or in delta boats, and with excursions in balloons and choppers. Big predators such as lions, leopards, hippos, and crocodiles join elephants, red lechwe, buffalo, giraffes, zebras, impalas, and more than 600 species of birds, from the Pel’s fishing-owl to carmine bee-eaters, and many storks, egrets, and hornbills. The lodge’s new look and feel celebrates a sense of place, centering the local staff’s talents and the minutiae of Delta wildlife through walls of illustrations of smaller beasts and the beautiful weaving of staff members, displayed and available to buy. 

The backstory

The Botswana safari industry was gathering momentum in the 1990s, and in 1996 the Okavango Community was formed to safeguard the villagers of the region, in cooperation with the government and lodge stakeholders. The lodges are duty-bound to circulate concession fees to the villages of Seronga, Gunotsoga, Beetsha, Eretsha, and Gudigwa, home to about 5,000 people, to support their five schools, and engage in active community upliftment. The vast majority of staff at Vumbura Plains’ two mirror-image camps (“North” and “South”), and at Little Vumbura Plains, is drawn from the villages. 

The rooms

The 14 timber, glass, and canvas-built floodplains-set rooms are spacious and contemporary, and include large decks with a covered alfresco sitting room. The color palette reflects the blues and greens of the surroundings. Design accents allude to the lilies that are the lifeblood of these waters—they appear on upholstery panels in the wardrobes, coffee tables, shower screens, and bed throws.

Food and drink

Vumbura specializes in healthy, largely plant-based wholesome food and wine, with certain references to hyper-local cuisine. The waterlily is a source of food in the Okavango—they dry the rhizome and pound it into a powder to make pancakes and stews. Vumbura’s “Mma Glo’s Tswii” is a stew made by the long-standing head chef, Mma Glo. 

The spa

There is no spa as such, but masseurs can pass by the bedrooms with their tables. 

The area

In this part of the Delta, the drier plains in the east meet the channels and wetlands of the south and east, so habitats range from mopane forest to the watery melapo, or water-soaked grasslands, and this means that wildlife is diverse, shifting through the year with the changing water levels. The Delta is a vast microcosm of termite mounds, channels, lagoons, swamps, and islands. Expect to see prides of lion and abundant giraffes, impalas, sable antelope, kudu, zebras, common waterbucks and reedbucks, tsessebe, wildebeest, red lechwe, and Cape buffalos. Hippos and crocodiles—and that rare antelope, the sitatunga—lurk in the waterways. 

The service

Because almost all staff come from villages in the concession, Vumbura Plains is full of sisters, aunties, cousins, and friends, and you can palpably feel the love and camaraderie between them, especially on the Boma nights when they sing and dance together by the fire. This is not a performance devised for tourism but a group of family and friends expressing their affection for each other and their culture.

Who comes here?

Largely safari-savvy North Americans and Europeans with a penchant for Wilderness on multi-stop safari odysseys. 

For families

Children above 12 are welcome; those between 6 and 12 can come if a private vehicle is booked. Wilderness’ children’s program Bush Buddies, designed for ages 6 to 12, may include tracking lessons, bird and animal call identification, treasure hunts, football and volleyball games, art projects, helping in the camp kitchen, dancing, or drumming. 

Otherwise, children will love the thrilling-as-Attenborough drama of blood-spattered lions feasting on giraffe carcasses, watching large bull elephants crashing through the bush, and the beady eyes of hippos poking out of the water. The guides are talented at children-wrangling and can identify the faint scrape a porcupine quill has left on the Kalahari sand at a glance. Children will also love the makoro, the canoes used in the Delta for fishing, transport, shopping, and foraging. 

Sustainability 

Like other Wilderness camps, Vumbura Plains takes an active role in uplifting local communities, including throughout Covid. This includes farming support, water aid, and the education of children.  

Accessibility 

The camp will not suit those who use a wheelchair all the time, and walking-frames and occasional-use wheelchairs must be collapsible to fit on Wilderness Airplanes. 

Is it worth it?

Seeing the waterways, palm islands, lagoons and floodplains of this spiritual landscape is a once-in-a-lifetime affair, and Vumbura Plains is a magical launch pad from which to do it. Push the boat out and book a chopper ride over the surrounding floodplains, to see crocodiles sunbaking on sandy white banks and hippos etching their channels under the clear water.