Reviews of Lagoon Camp

"We loved Lagoon Camp. We had the family room, which was huge, much bigger than we expected. Everything about this camp was perfect. The rooms are really beautiful and high quality with outdoor and indoor showers, lovely furnishings and incredible views over the lagoon - you can see to Namibia and elephants and hippos were frequently seen. The level of service really was outstanding, the staff come across as really genuinely friendly and keen to ensure we had the best time possible. Nothing was too much trouble and they could not have been nicer to Kirsty (12).

This was our first safari so it it difficult to compare, however in my view the wildlife viewing was exceptional. We saw an enormous variety of animals, and one of the best days of my life was when we saw a leopard with 2 cubs first thing in the morning, then wild dogs resting. Paul, our guide, then offered to change our plans to see if we could find the wild dogs hunting which we really wanted to do, and that was incredible. We followed them chasing 2 wart hogs and an impala, none of which they caught, which I was not too sorry about!

Then, on the way back, we saw the leopard and cubs again, up a tree (with a dead impala). The whole day was magical (although the dead impala was a bit gross!) and for me personally a dream come true. The boat trip was also a lovely change from the jeep safaris and by this time the guides were almost friends and we had such a laugh with them. It really did make it even more special for us.

The booklet given to guests to record the animals spotted is an excellent idea, and Paul, our guide, spent a considerable time with Kirsty on our last day going through the book to make sure she had recorded every animal we had seen, we really appreciated this.

All the staff were fantastic but Paul and James (guide and tracker) and Thuso (manager) were really outstanding and helped to make this a fabulous 2 days. The guide and tracker do an incredible job of tracking animals, their knowledge and experience are very evident and this added to the experience for us. We were really sorry to leave.

The only negative I would have about Lagoon is that there was some chemical in the pool that Kirsty turned out to be allergic to and gave her a rash on her face (we did narrow it down to the pool)." See all these reviews: 5n in Botswana; 2n in Zambia

"A luxurious camp in a beautiful setting. Tents are very luxurious. Good sighting of 2 herds of 30 -40 elephants.

Service a little less personal than little Kwara." See all these reviews: 9n in Botswana; 3n in Zambia

"Again, we were completely amazed by our experience at Lagoon Camp. Everything was perfect and well above our expectations." See all these reviews: 6n in Botswana

"Overall

A very well run and comfortable camp but due to certain circumstances pointed out below the game was not as plentiful as we would have hoped.

Location

Wonderful location on the edge of a lagoon of the Kwando river. Superb views. However due to certain circumstances game not as plentiful as we had expected. Reasons seem to be:

1. Concession very large and not fully developed hence animals can retreat to inaccessible areas and sightings at one end of the concession can be difficult to get to from the other end
2. Some larger animals migrate across the Kwando river into and out of Namibia where there are shooting concessions. This means they can very shy of humans
3. A three year drought and the water in the Selinda Spillway which has been dry for many years means that certain animals that used to be resident in Lagoon have moved to other concessions

Rooms

Excellent - 24/7 electricity, fans, inside and outside showers, bath tub, safe, large comfortable bed, no mosquitoes. Could have done with a little more storage space. Wonderful views across the lagoon. Hippos outside room at night.

Service

Quietly well run camp. Nothing too much trouble for staff who joined us for dinner and were great fun.

Food

As in Little Kwara good , plentiful but could become a little repetitive. Drink selection excellent.

Activities

Driving and tracking very good and as in Little Kwara drivers always prepared to go off road. We saw Lion, Leopard, Elephant, Hippo, Giraffe, Zebra, a Hyena den with very young Hyena cubs, Jackal, Ostrich with young, Marshall Eagle and many other birds. A particular feature of the concession is the resident pack of Wild Dogs which although hard to find when we did find them were fascinating.

The sunset boat trip was great and especially the colony of Carmine Bee Eaters.

Facilities

Excellent - particularly the library, pool, lounge and recharging station!" See all these reviews: 9n in Botswana; 2n in Zambia

"Thuso and his deputy Obi were very involved seeing that the guests had a good experience. For instance Thuso arranged for a private safari the next morning when we had been disappointed in not seeing the carmine bee eaters at their nests.

Our guide Bali and his tracker Julius were good and we had good sightings of leopards and wild dogs." See all these reviews: 6n in Botswana; 3n in Namibia

"The vehicles were boneshakers and the roads were horrendous. Please see separate email and attachment." See all these reviews: 10n in Botswana; 1n in South Africa

"This was our last camp. Left waiting at the airstrip for 45 mins to be met, very hot!! Jeep with no roof and no means of attaching one so late am safaris were very uncomfortable.( did not know about no rooves at Kwando until just before departure so probably would not have booked here). However they did try very hard to accommodate us on game ride timings and I used a sarong and umbrella!!

The setting was absolutely fantastic. The rooms huge and very comfortable ( but with slippery rugs on highly polished floors!) the ceiling fans were excellent.The elephant swimming across the river was stunning and the evening boat ride very enjoyable .Paul , our guide , tried very hard to find game but there was disappointingly little about. We drove a long way to see the wild dogs which were great but didn't manage to track the cheetah due to the lack of game.

The camp is in an excellent position with great views across the river. The pool area great for relaxing in the shade and fishing from the deck was fun." See all these reviews: 11n in Botswana

"Wonderful place. We just loved it." See all these reviews: 8n in Botswana; 2n in Zimbabwe

"Beautiful, comfortable camp. The management and staff were very accommodating.

The game drives were spectacular! We were there in August and were lucky to see many predators and other game. Spencer and James were our guides/ driver. They were amazing. They successfully tracked cheetah, leopard, and lion. We had the most incredible experience with a pride of lions--I will never forget it. We were also able to see the wild dogs and their puppies!

We love the open trucks that Kwando has, even the Yuri!" See all these reviews: 9n in Botswana; 1n in South Africa

"After leaving Muchenje Safari Lodge we've had a scenic flight to Lagoon Camp located at the Kwando river.

We stayed for 3 nights at Lagoon Camp and enjoyed it very much!
The lodge is located at a lagoon and you can hear (and sometimes also see) elephants and hippos close by. The tented rooms are more than spacious with a large living-sleeping room and a bathroom with a bath tub facing to the lagoon - amazing. All people are very friendly and helpful and they create delicious meals. They offer game drives in the morning and afternoon and also a boat cruise an the Kwando river

Joe (a bushman!) and his tracker A.T. were a fantastic team to guide us. Because Lagoon is a private concession the drivers are allowed to drive off road and also at night. This is a big advantage in comparison to the National Parks where vehicles have to stay on the road and have to be back at the lodge/outside the park at sunset.

We've chosen this camp because we hoped to see wild dogs .... and we did!!! At the time of our visit the Lagoon pack consisted of 18 adult animals and 10 puppies (about 5 weeks old!). The den was just a 10 minutes drive away from the camp so it was easy to visit them (and we did it every day!!!). We saw them sleeping, suckling the puppies, playing, doing their famous ritual greetings, preparing for the hunt and also joined them hunting - an unforgettable adventure: we followed the dogs through the bush overriding bushes, logs and even small trees with the indestructible URI vehicle and joined them chasing a herd of about 100 buffaloes trying to bring down a calf (finally successful!).

But we've seen also a lot of other animals in this concession incl. elephants, buffaloes, wildebeests, topi ..... and we also saw a pride of 4 lions and not to forget a clan of hyenas at their den with 3 cubs !!!!

The boat cruise was nice but a little disappointing because we've seen only a few animals but other guests were more lucky in seeing more animals.

The camp was great and because of our wild dog experience this camp will stay unforgettable for us and of course we can't recommend it high enough !!!" See all these reviews: 12n in Botswana; 2n in Zimbabwe