Khwai Lediba

19°9’53.5"S 23°43’1.1"E

95% (33 reviews)

Full review Our view Geographics Food & drink Special interests Children Wildlife sightings Communications Sustainability Health & safety Activities Extras

Khwai Lediba: Our full report

Moved and re-opened in July 2023 as Khwai Tented Camp the camp was further renamed to Khwai Lediba later that year.

Set along the beautiful Khwai River opposite Moremi Game Reserve, the former name may be familiar to seasoned Botswana safari-goers, but in its latest incarnation guests will find a totally new camp, in a new location further west within the Khwai Community Concession. While its relatively simple style is reminiscent of Botswana's old safari days, when intrepid travellers camped in the wilderness, it's now a far cry from the original nomadic camp.

While it retains a beautiful riverside setting looking towards the wildlife-rich game reserve, Khwai Lediba is now about half-an-hour west of Khwai Village, close to its sister camp, Khwai Leadwood.

Small and intimate, it has a very friendly, relaxed, yet classic feel. It's run by a team of passionate Batswana who manage the camp well, and their local guides are some of the best we've experienced in Botswana. The camp's owner is a professional guide himself, so he takes guiding very seriously. There’s a lovely story about one of their guides, who started as a chef, then retrained, and has been guiding at the camp since 2017.

The vegetation around Khwai Lediba is made up of great stands of leadwood and riverine forest, which line wide floodplains and the banks of the Khwai River and its tributaries. The river itself is the first permanent water source reached by wildlife moving between Botswana's northern reserves of Chobe and Linyanti and the Okavango Delta, and so attracts high concentrations of wildlife year round, with many sought-after species seen regularly – including elephant, lion, leopard and wild dog. For much of the year, areas of the floodplain fill with water to form shallow, lily-covered lagoons, which attract hundreds of colourful birds. Away from the river and plains are pockets of mopane woodland dotted with pans that naturally fill with rainwater and act as waterholes, attracting many different animal species.

With just 7 tented chalets – six doubles and one designed for a family – the new camp remains relatively small. Unadorned poles stand at the corners of each chalet, set into a slightly raised wooden deck and supporting a canvas shade roof; the overall effect is simple yet contemporary.

Tented walls fronted by expanses of mosquito netting help to bring the outdoors in – without the bugs – while en-suite bathrooms with both indoor and outdoor showers ensure that guests can make the best of the setting.

In the main area, backed by trees, take the time to watch the chef in the open kitchen as he puts the finishing touches to your dinner. Meals are served in the dining area, or on the deck, with views through the trees over the river. Enjoy a glass of bubbly or a refreshing beer as you relax around the firepit, or head over to the pool for a cooling dip.

Activities at Khwai Lediba focus on guided game drives in open-sided 4WD vehicles, whether in the early morning, late afternoon or after dark. Guests may also be able to take part in a walking safari or, depending on water levels, to enjoy the relaxation of a mokoro (dug-out canoe) excursion.

Game drives with knowledgeable guides take place in both the Khwai Community Concession and Moremi Game Reserve. As Khwai is a private reserve, your guide may drive off-road to get closer to an interesting wildlife sighting, and may take you on spotlit night drives – which are not allowed in Moremi, or any of Botswana's national parks. The same goes for guided walks, whose length and routes vary depending on wildlife movements and the time of year.

On most of our visits to Khwai, predator sightings have been prolific, and there are also a good number of elephant and plains game in the concession. Previously we have spent time with a pride of lions (including eight very entertaining cubs) with a zebra kill, and had two prolonged, close-up leopard sightings. On night drives, sightings have included a small spotted genet, a mother porcupine and her two little ones, a serval, and hyena pups emerging from their den.

And should you wish to find out more about the community, there’s also the opportunity to visit the pre-school in Khwai Village that was established with the aid of the African Bush Camps Foundation.

It's worth mentioning here that both the Moremi and Khwai Community Concession are visited by a number of camps on their game drives, and are also accessible to self-drivers, so both can be generally busier than the private concessions in Botswana, especially between July and October. For example, on one leopard sighting there were at least 12 vehicles all vying for the best position, yet on another sighting during the same trip, we were the only ones there.

Our view

Khwai Lediba won't suit everyone. If you're looking for air-conditioned luxury with plenty of space then it won't be the place for you. But if you're after a classic tented camp without all the luxuries of many Botswana camps, excellent game viewing (albeit in an area that can be busy at times), and some superb guiding, then Khwai Lediba would be a great choice.

Amanda Bond

Botswana expert

Geographics

Location: Moremi Game Reserve, Botswana
Ideal length of stay: Three nights is ideal. Khwai Lediba is often combined with one of its sister camps on the Linyanti Marshes: Linyanti Bush Camp or Linyanti Ebony.
Directions: The light-aircraft flight to Khwai Airstrip takes about 30 minutes from Maun, or an hour from Kasane. It’s then a 30-minute game-drive transfer to camp.

Although it is possible for self-drivers to access Khwai Lediba, this is not something that we offer.
Accessible by: Fly-and-Transfer

Food & drink

Usual board basis: Full Board & Activities
Food quality: On our last stay at Khwai Lediba, in November 2019, the food was very tasty and well prepared. With advance notice, those with allergies or other dietary requirements can be catered for.

The day begins before your first safari activity with an early-morning buffet breakfast. This usually includes muffins, toast with a choice of spreads, yoghurt, cereals, porridge, and cheese and biscuits.

You'll return to camp in time for a varied buffet brunch, which for us on this occasion included a delicious beef moussaka, layered mushroom crêpes, sautéed green beans, asparagus and onion, butternut with mayonnaise; a lettuce salad with apple and crispy croutons, a cheese platter and fresh bread.

For afternoon tea we were served a savoury snack of potato and pea samosa, alongside cupcakes topped with buttercream, with iced tea and lemonade.

Dinner at Khwai Lediba may be served in the main area, on the veranda or in the boma, and is usually plated. We started with tomato and basil soup and homemade bread rolls, followed by a trio of pork, beef and chicken stir-fries. Dessert was a homemade banana-cream pudding, rounded off by tea or coffee.
Dining style: Group Meals
Dining locations: Indoor and Outdoor Dining
Drinks included: A wide selection of drinks is available from the bar cabinet and is included in the price. Premium brands, such as malt whiskies or French champagne, can be requested for an additional charge.

Each guest is given a water bottle upon arrival, and staff will fill this for you on request.

Special interests

Cultural experiences: Guests at Khwai Tented Camp who would like to experience a bit of Botswana culture may visit the nearby Khwai Village. This is an ordinary village, many of whose inhabitants are from the Bayei group, sometimes referred to as river Bushmen. A visit could well add a social perspective to your safari, but we stress that it's not a “tourist attraction”.; See ideas for Cultural experiences in Botswana
Wildlife safaris: With access to both the Khwai Community Concession and Moremi Game Reserve, Khwai Tented Camp is arguably in one of Botswana's greatest wildlife areas (though it can get busy). Sightings are good year round, with lion, leopard and wild dog seen regularly, as well as elephant and many other species.; See ideas for Wildlife safaris in Botswana

Children

Attitude towards children: Khwai Lediba welcomes children aged twelve years and over.
Property’s age restrictions: Families with children aged 7–12 must should consider Khwai Leadwood.

Only children over 16 years will be able to join walking and mokoro activities, and even then, the final decision is always at the discretion of the camp manager and guide.
Special activities & services: The camp offers a wide range of activities and guides will tailor these to the age of your children. As well as game drives, options include short nature walks in the vicinity of the camp and baking with the chef.
Equipment: A family tent can accommodate two adults and two children.
Generally recommended for children: Khwai Lediba offers a few activities to keep children entertained during the day, and there is also a small pool, but this is a very open safari camp and we generally do not recommend it for children under the age of 14.
Notes: This is a very open safari camp and dangerous wildlife is likely to pass through. Children must be under a parent's supervision at all times.

Our travellers’ wildlife sightings from Khwai Lediba

Since mid-2018, many of our travellers who stayed at Khwai Lediba have kindly recorded their wildlife sightings and shared them with us. The results are below. Click an animal to see more, and here to see more on our methodology.

Elephant

100% success

Hippo

100% success

Leopard

100% success

Lion

100% success

Zebra

100% success

Giraffe

83% success

Buffalo

80% success

Spotted Hyena

80% success

Wildebeest

67% success

Wild dog

60% success

Sable antelope

33% success

Roan antelope

25% success

Aardvark

0% success

Cheetah

0% success

Pangolin

0% success

Sitatunga

0% success

Communications

Power supply notes: There is a back-up generator.
Communications: There is no direct phone, fax, or email from Khwai Lediba. Communication is maintained with safari vehicles, sister camps and the head office in Maun via radio. Some guests may pick up cellphone reception, as Khwai Village is close by, but this is not always possible. There is also very weak, intermittent WiFi, which is best closest to the office, boma and pool, but please do not bank on being able to access this as it is very unreliable.
TV & radio: None
Water supply: Borehole
Water supply notes: All bathrooms are fully plumbed with hot and cold running water and flushing toilets.

Sustainability

African Bush Camps Foundation

Since 2006, the African Bush Camps Foundation has worked with 72 separate community projects across Botswana, Zimbabwe and Zambia, involved with issues from education and community empowerment to conservation and human-wildlife conflict. Near Khwai Tented Camp, projects include the Khwai village pre-school, which guests may visit on request.

As a non-profit organisation, the foundation is supported by revenue from the ABC camps themselves, to the tune of at least of 2.5% of revenue each year.

See more great sustainability projects in Botswana

Health & safety

Malarial protection recommended: Yes
Medical care: The camp manager is trained in first aid. In an emergency, guests would usually be evacuated by air to the nearest hospital (Kasane, Maun or Johannesburg). However, please note that it is only possible to fly out of camp during daylight hours as the bush airstrips do not have any lighting at night.
Dangerous animals: High Risk
Security measures: The camp is unfenced and dangerous wildlife moves through, so guests are escorted to their tented rooms after dark. A safety talk is given on arrival. “Fog horns” are provided in the tents to summon help in case of an emergency.
Fire safety: There are fire extinguishers placed throughout Khwai Lediba and outside each tented chalet.

Activities

4WD Safari
Birdwatching
Guided walking safari
Mokoro
Night drive

Extras

Disabled access: On Request
Laundry facilities: A laundry service is included. Note that clothes are washed in a machine and sun dried, so inclement weather may delay the usual same-day return.
Money: An electronic safe is provided in each of Khwai's tented chalets.
Accepted payment on location: As there is no curio shop there is essentially nothing to pay for here, but payment for any extras (such as premium brand drinks) should be made in cash only; all major currencies are accepted.