Of course, Great Plains Conservation does a lot of other things well. The interiors of the tent were tastefully furnished with a collection of campaign style chests, desks and chairs, and they had proper reading lights, plenty of storage space, a most comfortable king size bed and soft pillows. The vehicles had ample space with three rows each with two seats, separated by a lidded box for electronic gear and other stuff. There were soft blankets for the crisp mornings, cup holders for your morning coffee to go and a sturdy sun cover to provide some shade. 

The dining experience was a solid step up from some of the buffet offerings we had enjoyed earlier. Particularly at Duba Explorer where chef Beauty treated us to a wonderfully romantic poolside dinner with an Italian style panna cotta of tomato starter with a choice of trout or duck (both superb) or a vegetarian main course. The meal was rounded off with a delectable dessert – a chocolate brownie with caramelized sugar and homemade ice cream.  

Yet another exciting helicopter flight with Helicopter Horizons took us directly from Mokete to Duba Explorer with some fantastic sight-seeing en route, flying within sight of several airstrips and safari camps. Every few kilometers there would be new and different vistas over the Okavango Delta with water in every direction. A veritable kaleidoscope of colors, textures and patterns ranging from blue-green to bright green vegetation, almost black sandy spots and swirls, white bleached sand and grey burn patches with the ashy outline of tree trunks demarcating the direction of the fire.

Landing quite close to the camp in a small clearing, our guide Paul (whom we had first met at Mashatu in 2023) drove us the short distance into camp. Duba Explorer has a grand entrance, with every new arrival walking into camp across a sizable bridge over a perennial Okavango Delta waterway. After completing the routine arrival formalities (receiving a camp briefing and signing the indemnity form) we were escorted to our room, one of six tented classic expedition style tents. With ultra comfortable beds, a mosquito net, separate shower and toilet compartments, decent lighting and enough power points. The lounge at Duba Explorer is a fun place to spend a bit of time, with a spacious indoor/outdoor seating area for meals. Just off to the right, there is a small plunge pool built into an antique military style vehicle.   

Our afternoon outing from Duba Explorer was a boating safari along the Okavango River and it reminded me of what we had been missing on the last several game drives in Northern Botswana. Navigable water. The entire two and a half to three hour outing felt like being inside a painting waiting for a canvas and an artist. Simply gorgeous, particularly as the sun started to sink lower and everything was bathed in the golden afternoon sun. Just a few minutes out of Duba Explorer, we took a left turn from a large lagoon into a waterway which seemed to be cordoned off by a sizable raft of uneasy hippos. I had just resigned myself to the fact that the only way forward was going to involve a perilous dash along the far left edge of the stream, when Paul did a 180 degree turn and we headed back in the direction we came from.  

Another left turn got us into a spectacular channel in the direction of Duba Plains. It was one of the best outings of the entire trip, with elephants crossing ahead of us, lechwe giving us the side-eye, kudu visible everywhere and even the usually elusive bushbuck putting in an appearance. We were on a quest to snag one of Great Plains’ special 111 Club caps, given to guests who can spot that many birds over the course of their stay at one or more Great Plains camps. With four pairs of eyes on the boat (Paul, me, Kathy and Kay, a community representative ) we were spotting birds left right and center and by the end of the afternoon our list reached the low 80’s. In hindsight, I think a boating activity in the Okavango Delta – water levels permitting – should be right at the top of anyone’s list of things to do in Northern Botswana. This is what the Okavango Delta is all about and it can only be appreciated and experienced to its full, amazing effect from a boat.  

Our game drive at Duba  Explorer the following morning was initially quiet. We simply could not locate the lions which had been roaring right outside of the camp the previous night. For a while there we had to be content with simply driving through the spectacular grassland scenery. And then, as so often happens on game drives, everything changed. We started to rack up one good sighting after another –  initially a large herd of buffalo, then a large journey of giraffes and eventually a young male leopard about halfway up a tree. The leopard had clearly been observing us enjoying our morning coffee and muffins. Paul had pulled into a spot less than 100 meters away from and in direct line of sight of the leopard.

A short 15-minute helicopter ride took us across some beautiful expanses of Okavango Delta floodplains to the far southern edge of the Selinda Concession to Great Plains’ Okavango Explorer camp. It was in many ways similar to Duba Explorers, just with fewer touches (no plunge pool, scaled down lounge and dining area) and a different, less than ideal bathroom layout with the shower and the screened toilet in the same room. On the plus side, the location right on the edge of the Selinda Spillway is perfect and the camp is in an ecotone with remarkable habitat diversity. This is prime elephant and predator terrain, with lions, leopards and African painted dogs being seen regularly. In addition, as we were to see for ourselves, there are good densities of giraffes and some rare antelopes like roan, sable and eland. All three of which we saw in good numbers.  

Our two game drives at Okavango Explorer with our guide Chillie B, delivered plenty of plains game but were light on predators. This is of course exactly why we recommend that guests spend a minimum of three nights in any one area. Animals move around in real time, they come and go, appear and disappear. You’ve just got to give yourself – and your guides – enough time to make it all happen. And yes, you will almost certainly have a slow morning or afternoon or two somewhere. Sooner or later. As it turned out, we saw a solitary painted dog but the animal was in distress, having been injured or otherwise harmed without any obvious, visible clues.  

On our final morning game drive  we racked up a series of sightings starting with a huge herd of buffalo kicking up a plume of dust as they moved across an island. A bit later we saw some shy zebras, a small group of the superb roan antelope, several herds of eland, elephants, giraffes, more not-so-shy zebras, a hippo out of the water and the highlight of the morning: a nice sized breeding herd of the magnificent sable antelopes. With Chillie B’s help, we reached the mark of 111 bird species in 48 hours in just four outings (three game drives and a boating excursion in the Okavango Delta) at the two Great Plains Conservation Explorers camps. In addition to being fun – and we learnt a lot – it livened up the not so exciting stretches of the outings and incentivized our guides.  

We’re looking forward to spending several days at another Great Plains Conservation Explorers Camp – Selinda – in early December this year. This time, we’ll have 72 hours to reach the 111 bird tally! 

For more information about the Great Plains properties, including some attractive long-stay options for this year and next, please email Lyndon at lyndon@fisheaglesafaris.com or call us at 713-467-5222 at any time, to leave a message with the answering service. We will get back to you right away.