San Francisco/Johannesburg – Luxury Frontiers, the San Francisco/Johannesburg-based international design firm, collectively with Wilderness Safaris, conceived a revitalized DumaTau, a well-known luxury tented safari camp on the Osprey Lagoon in northern Botswana’s Linyanti region. Now promoted to the Wilderness Safaris Premier Portfolio, DumaTau reopens this month along with the debut of Little DumaTau, an intimate addition to the safari company’s repertoire, sporting four tented guest suites.

The private lagoon and the abundant wildlife it attracts served as inspiration for the revived DumaTau. In conjunction with Wilderness Safaris’ in-house design and development team, Luxury Frontiers set out to reimagine the architecture, while Câline Williams-Wynn, Lead Interior Designer for Artichoke of Cape Town and Johannesburg-based artist, Gina Waldman, reconceived the camp’s interior design and bespoke art.

Luxury Frontiers were challenged to maintain the soul and innate beauty of the beloved camp while expanding, upgrading, and revitalizing its public areas and accommodation units – seven single and one family suites. An entrance hallway links the new intimate lounges to the existing bedrooms. This connection gives the layout flexibility and expands interior space while optimizing views and limit the need for tree removal. DumaTau’s guest bathrooms have been reconfigured and enlarged, now boasting spacious wardrobes, luxurious shower spaces, as well as new outdoor showers with picturesque views of the lagoon.

Luxury Frontiers collaborated with Artichoke and Tenthouse Structures to re-design the practicality of the canvas walls while retaining the soft swag of the previous design. Enhancing airflow and cross ventilation, large mesh openings were added on opposite ends of each guest unit with custom-made louvres on the approach for privacy. Bespoke spot cooling systems were also added with ducts strategically placed to blow cool air over bed areas.

Aligned with Wilderness Safaris’ emphasis on sustainability and ban on concrete, Luxury Frontiers focused on minimizing waste by strategically refitting and reusing existing materials where possible. The timber decks from the original camp could no longer be used for flooring, thus presenting the ideal opportunity to repurpose this material by adding timber-cladding to DumaTau’s tents, while retaining their iconic silhouette. Using reclaimed wood juxtaposes the tented façade while also retains the tent’s explorer typology while adding another textural layer. Luxury Frontiers embraced the timber’s imperfections through a ribbed pattern that highlights the beautifully matured panels and adds texture and depth to the façade. Repurposing the timber from the original DumaTau, and the transportation palettes, not only plays a crucial role in limiting the camp’s carbon footprint but also adds a deep-rooted sense of place and poetic nostalgia.

Oriented towards the northwest, DumaTau’s prominent views direct naturally towards the breathtaking lagoon. This position, however, exposes the camp directly to the heat gain from the afternoon sun. Drawing from the name “DumaTau,” meaning ‘roar of the lion,’ Luxury Frontiers looked towards a lion’s love for lazing in the shade for inspiration. By introducing expansive shaded decks fitted with plunge pools, heat gain is prevented, and sun rays are blocked from entering the internal area. Expanded decks allows guests to transition seamlessly between indoors and outdoors and relax in comfort throughout the day.