Reviews of Lebala Camp

"Ok this was my third camp and I had been spoilt by the two in the Delta. I was transferred from the airstrip to a game drive already in progress. I feel for the guests that had to wait around for me instead of going in search of wildlife and would have been more than happy to go direct to the camp. Once I arrived I was made very welcome but seem to have got one of the less desirable rooms which I guess somebody has to have but its views were not great (room 7). The accommodation itself is great and well laid out, love going for a pee looking out over trees with birds singing in them.

Now my main aim was to see the wild dogs and this is why I perhaps would not rate so highly as the other camps. Because I was traveling on my own I was in the vehicle with a great German family but it seems I was stuck doing what they wanted or rather had to do. On the second day they were transferring to Lagoon in the morning so wanted to do a walking safari on their way up. Now I really didn't want to do the walking safari but also because they were transferring there was no chance of seeing the wild dogs which were in the other location. Ideally these transfers should be done out of game drive times so people like me don't waste a morning doing things they don't want to do. I did think that as I would be the only person in the vehicle in the afternoon that we could go looking for the dogs. Sadly I was moved to another vehicle as going out with just one guest isn't done (unlike Little Kawara who were more than happy with this). Thankfully the group I joined wanted to see the wild dogs and a concerted campaign persuaded our new guide to go looking for the wild dogs. To be fair he was great and we saw a lot and were very very lucky and ran into, quite literally, the dogs on our way back. On another afternoon drive we came across a dead impala stashed for later consumption but to my surprise we neither staked it out or even bothered to return later to check out the kill and see what had done for the poor little impala.

Overall the staff were great and food was fantastic but I sometimes felt what I wanted wasn't always what was scheduled and despite asking to see the dogs at every chance I got we only once got to actually look for them. I am not keen on the transfer process where guests have to go to the halfway point on a glorified taxi run when they have paid to be on game drives." See all these reviews: 13n in Botswana

"We were the only guests for the first 2 nights, so could arrange the timetable to suit ourselves in consultation with a/manager Mapilo. Had some amazing sightings. including four female lions , after unsuccessfully hunting warthog, ambushing and starting to suffocate a baby hippo, but thwarted by the arrival of 2 adult hippos who chased off the lions and nudged the very sick baby into the lagoon.

We also tracked a large male leopard to where he was resting with a freshly killed warthog and saw the amazing strength of him in carrying his kill up a tree. We returned the next day to find six lions on the scent of the kill, but it was well out of reach.

Our good game viewing was almost entirely due to the excellent tracking skills of Moeti (Mr Mo) who was truly outstanding" See all these reviews: 13n in Botswana; 3n in Namibia

"Excellent customer service. Shoes (tracker) and Tabo (guide) and Charles always made it a point to say our names when talking to us. Felt more personal.

Great dog sighting. Were able follow them hunt for a little while." See all these reviews: 7n in Botswana; 1n in Zimbabwe

"Good size rooms, very comfortable and smart decor. Very friendly staff and good food, the only camp that served hot porridge for breakfast!

The drives here were longer, compared to the Wilderness camps, which we found a bit tiring. We had General as our guide for the first day and when he had to fly back to Maun Charles stepped in and was an amusing and knowledgable guide. We were treated to seeing wild dogs most days and otherwise saw a good range of game and birds. The open topped vehicles did mean we were open to the sun and in the firing line of branches, but also gave great visibility for birds and for stars.

The older vehicles also meant that the drivers were able to really drive off road without problems. The only camp to have a tracker as well as the guide in the vehicle.

Our walking safari got exciting when we suddenly spotted a leopard, but Charles was very calm about it and quickly radioed for the vehicle so that we could try to get closer." See all these reviews: 11n in Botswana

"We loved this camp - we had a wonderful welcome - the staff were so friendly. the rooms were good and the whole place was fantastic." See all these reviews: 8n in Botswana; 2n in Zimbabwe

"A wonderful introduction to Africa. The Guide - Thabo- and Tracker -Shoes - were tremendous and full of wit and repartee. Nothing was too much trouble and the atmoshere was tremendous. Food great and the game viewing incredible. Again everything we needed was provided including mosquito repellent. Another time we could really reduce our packing.

Perhaps the most memorable experience was the journey from Livingstone. Private Taxi to ZAmbezi River then chaotic customs at riverbank, then private speedboat across river to Safari jeep to KAsane Airport again via chaotic customs post and then flight in 6 seater plane to Leballa all in 2 1/2 hours !! Our drivers were all very helpful in guiding us through the visa/customs post, we would never have managed without them!!" See all these reviews: 8n in Botswana; 2n in Zambia

"24hr power and hot water available. We had a driver and a tracker - both excellent." See all these reviews: 10n in Botswana

"I had a wonderful stay at Lebala.

The staff was great and very welcoming. I was very impressed by the efforts of the guides and trackers to find very good game. The whole camp was very comfortable. The game viewing was also quite good. I loved being able to see the wild dogs and their puppies at Lagoon Camp (sister camp). I also loved seeing quite a few sable antelopes. I had a really nice stay at Lebala and was very pleased with Kwando Safaris as an organization." See all these reviews: 9n in Botswana; 8n in Zambia

"We were greeted at the airstrip by our guide 'K' and tracker, 'Shoes' - sorry we don't know the correct spelling - but the names were easy to remember! They were great guys and we had a lot of fun in their company for 3 days.
At the lodge we were met Olga who supplied us with refreshing towels after our journey and the manager Charles, who gave us a welcome talk about the camp facilities and activities. We found Charles to be a great host and nothing was too much trouble.

The camp is on an island surrounded by a deep channel and we soon noticed the grunting noises of the Hippos which live all around and wander through the camp day and night. The elephants too are constant visitors and we saw many of these during our stay at Lebala. We saw lots of other game too - buffalo,wildebeest,giraffe,impala,spotted hyena,warthog to name a few - but our overriding memory is a special encounter with two leopards very close up after they had killed an impala. The male leopard kept the kill all to himself, only leaving the scraps for the female. We watched them one night until the sun went down and returned the next morning for more - K and Shoes did everything they could to get us very close to these beautiful creatures by driving through the bushes backwards and forwards for the best views. We were only a few feet away - amazing! We got some great photos and video.

The camp staff and cooks were fantastic, the food was gorgeous and lots of variety to choose from. 'G' was great at mealtimes and kept us entertained - he had a constant battle with the cheeky birds who would try to steal anything without a cover ( even these were pecked off sometimes)! The guides joined us for meals and this was great for us to get to know a bit about themselves and their families as well as discussing the days events etc.

There are 8 tents and the camp was full with lots of different nationalities which was interesting, we got to know each other around the campfire and at mealtimes and were able to swap stories! The tents were large and well equipped (even had an electric socket) the bed was comfy and we were pleased to have 3 blankets as the nights were very cold, especially the last one when the wind blew through the thin walls! Thanks to the staff who supplied 'bush babies' (hot water bottles) at night and also for the early morning drives - these were very much appreciated as were the blankets on the game drive vehicles!!

We had a lovely time at Lebala, thanks to Charles and his staff for a memorable stay." See all these reviews: 6n in Botswana; 2n in Zimbabwe

"Our second camp in Botswana - situated in a fantastic setting with views across an area of wetland with small fresh water channels running through. This gave good sightings of many rare wetland birds and also the opportunity of great photos of elephants which would cross the wetland daily, often stopping to drink directly in front of our room.

We saw 8 species of antelope and a night view of African wild cat, along with the usual sightings of elephants, giraffe, zebra and lion (which included a warthog kill.) By the time we left we were up to 120 different bird species including Secretary bird and Wattled Crane. Thank you to Play and Shoes our guide and tracker for focusing on these. They were always very keen to try and search for the more elusive sightings.

Very good food - Thanks to 'G' Great vegetarian choices. Charles the manager of the camp was an excellent host and always around to talk." See all these reviews: 6n in Botswana; 2n in Namibia