Reviews of Lebala Camp

"Because of the re-scheduling of our visit to Lagoon, our first camp was Lebala. This is in a dry region of the delta (at the time of our visit in early September) The camp is pleasant, but fairly basic; we understand it is one of the oldest camps in the group.

The staff were great, the food was generally very good, and the guide and tracker were a delight. We were very keen to see wild dogs, but we were told there had been no sightings for a fortnight. And despite the efforts of our guide, we failed to find them. But this was more than made up for by the wildlife we did see.

There is no doubt, these guys were skilled trackers and the off-road experience was truly amazing." See all these reviews: 11n in Botswana

"Lebala camp was incredible.

Our guide, Mr. G, and tracker, KB were fantastic. They were enthusiastic to get started with game drives right away, the first one starting when we were picked up from the airplane.

Their knowledge of birds and mammals brought great insight into the interactions of species.

We weren't only looking for the big 5, but they also took our request to see other smaller animals into consideration during the game drives. Mr. G's passion for photography was evident in our travel photos.

The camp accommodated our request for vegan meals and kindly held the vegan dishes aside until we arrived. The meals were pleasant and well executed and the vegan dishes were clearly labeled.

The cabin was cozy, comfortable, but also chilly at night - pack some warm jammies." See all these reviews: 6n in Botswana; 1n in South Africa

"Guiding was excellent at this camp even though there was lower water this year.

There happen to be a Wild Dog den with puppies that we were able to visit. Birding was great.

Mayezi, our guide, knows his birds and was happy to point them out in between sightings of lions, aardwolf, honey badger, elephants, giraffes and zebra. We had stunning looks of Ground Hornbills. Near the river were Red Lechwe leaping across marshy grasslands, crocodiles sunning themselves and hippo. All great sightings." See all these reviews: 7n in Botswana

"The guide and tracker worked so very hard for us.

We had the best ever night safari seeing new ( for us) mammals--Aardwolf and Serval.

The camp is comfortable and friendly.

We were VERY satisfied with our stay." See all these reviews: 8n in Botswana

"Incredible and welcoming staff. George was a great guide, very knowledgeable and careful. KB was a great tracker. We always felt safe in the truck. Accommodations were quite nice and the food was amazing." See all these reviews: 7n in Botswana; 2n in Zimbabwe; 1n in South Africa

"Lebala was a blast. It is the oldest camp in the Kwando system and is very authentic African safari experience. We loved it .

It has splendid views and very lovely tent cabins.

The best part about Lebala is its isolation from other camps, generating a very private feel." See all these reviews: 7n in Botswana; 1n in South Africa

"Lebala was another excellent Camp in all respects. Although not at the edge of flowing water like Lagoon and therefore no boat rides, the countryside is more open with some beautiful vistas and many areas of open water, some quite large.

Once again the chalet, the food and the laundry service were all excellent and the staff were also first class, efficient, friendly and charming. The Camp had very few other people staying and on our last day we were the only guests. Our guide, Mayezi, and tracker, KB, were absolutely first class with a great depth of knowledge not just of the animals but also the birds, trees and other vegetation and everything else about the area we were in.

The stand-out experience was a group of twelve lions -- three lionesses each with three cubs -- all except the youngest cubs (about two months old, who were too busy playing or suckling or doing a little gentle exploring) feasting on a sub-adult elephant which had died of natural causes. That was on the first and second days. By the morning of the third day there was nothing left of the elephant, the vultures had even cleaned its head absolutely white and the lions had disappeared. However, Mayezi's and KB's tracking skills came into play and they picked up their footprints in the sand. From those we soon found them and they had been joined by two handsome male lions. They all looked magnificent in the early morning sunlight. The interaction between the three youngest cubs, who wanted to play, and the male who was doubtless their father and who was classically not interested, was almost human.

Apart from this there was much else to see. We travelled down from Lagoon overland, changing from one Landcruiser to another at the "border". The scenery was beautiful. Apart from other wildlife we had an excelent sighting of another pride, this time of six lions, all in superb condition. On our other days in Lebala the wildlife was plentiful with some large herds of red lechwe and other plains game. Also some unusual, even rare sightings. These included a crocodile on the track well away from any water as if out for an afternoon walk, and an aardwolf at its burrow in the evening and again the next morning out in the open, striding purposefully forward. And in an amazing piece of spotting KB saw a chameleon on the track, no more than about 12cm long and almost the exact colour of its mottled green background.

Lagoon and Lebala make an excellent and easy pairings." See all these reviews: 12n in Botswana

"The camp needs to be redone, and we were told that that was the plan.

Our biggest disappointment was with our guide (I think his name was Mike). We feel he lacks the proper personality, demeanor and respect for the guests. He was very inappropriate at a number of times (like when you asked to have some tonic water and he would say No - then just kidding), but it was said in a very disrespectful and non- kidding way.

He also did one evening’s drive (to see Cheetahs, which we very much appreciated seeing), but the drive was done at high speed and we could easily have been thrown out of the Jeep. It wasn’t necessary. We told the camp manager of our concerns." See all these reviews: 9n in Namibia; 6n in Botswana; 3n in Zimbabwe; 1n in South Africa

"Another Kwando camp which we much enjoyed.

Great game viewing with Myaesi as our guide and Kaiser as our tracker. Our first evening was spent at a Spotted Hyena den.

The next day was spent locating two of the Lion prides, notably following a famed huntress named Striker. We were delighted to see part of the Golden Boys coalition of Lions in lovely early morning light.

Elephants were present in large numbers and we spent quite a bit of time watching their antics on the water's edge.

Less common species we were fortunate to see included Bat-eared Fox, Roan and Sable Antelope and Wild Cat." See all these reviews: 19n in Botswana

"The tents here are spacious, very comfortable, well appointed and spaced out with views to the surrounding marsh. Passing wildlife give the feeling of a bush stay, even spotting a local male leopard from the balcony of our room. The food is good, and the staff friendly.
Of the three Kwando camps we visited, this camp offers a really interesting mix of terrain and hence wildlife viewing in our opinion. River, water holes, pans, grassland (some flooded in July) and mixed forest areas made for interesting and varied game drives and sightings. Good predator and game, with a honey badger eating a snake a real highlight/ bonus!
Our guide Elvis was excellent and a real model for others- knowledgeable, calm, in tune with the needs of his guests and fun as well. He and our tracker Dredd were great company for our 3 days, tracking down and spotting some great wildlife." See all these reviews: 14n in Botswana