Reviews of Kwara Camp
Wildlife sightings and reviews
234 independent comments and wildlife information from our travellers who have visited Kwara Camp and kindly agreed to share their thoughts. They do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa
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"A great all- round experience at Kwara"
The staff were outstanding...all being very friendly and helpful.The Manager BK was helpful an dinformative.The guiding by Bait and Justice was some of the best of our trip. We found the rooms very comfortable as were the Toyota Landcruisers.
The game was plentiful and there were some noticebale benefits not being on a Reserve. The boat trip to the bird island was an experience not to be missed." See all these reviews: 13n in Botswana; 2n in Zambia
"Kwara Camp review"
In general, though, it has an excellent area for game drives and a lagoon for mokoros.
There was one thing that left a sour taste, however. On the first day, one of the lodge's cars located a male lion. We got very excited and went straight over. The lion, however, was incredibly old and sick and could barely move. He was covered in flies and looked ready to die. I would guess your average safari goer is an animal lover and this may not something they want to witness, so I would have thought the guide might have mentioned, before we drove there, that the animal was sick.
He didn't, and found the state of the lion hilarious. He couldn't stop laughing at this wretched creature's state. Even after I mentioned that some people found the whole thing moderately distressing, he kept bringing up the story of the sick lion at dinner and bursting into fits of giggles. While he was a good guide - this was not an attitude we expected or liked." See all these reviews: 6n in Namibia; 6n in Botswana
"Great action on and off the water at Kwara"
Accommodation was the most spartan of the camps we stayed in but still a long way from roughing it. The only cavil would be to say that having only an outside shower at this time of year is a bit challenging. We thought the cooking here was about the best we experienced in Botswana." See all these reviews: 6n in Botswana
"Kwara Camp review"
However the location ,range of activities and quality of guiding made Kwara a good choice.Hilda was great manager and nothing was too much trouble
Highlights included
-The views of the lagoon just a few yards away were amazing -listening to the music of the frogs and hippos chomping the grass round our room at night
-our guide Thomas -who must be the biggest guide in Botswana and tracker BJ who was a real star and mokoro poler Justice who described 2 month mokoro trips in his youth to travel from his village to the main town (now takes 3 hours by road)
-birdlife especially wattled cranes ,a secretary bird,a Pels Fishing Owl (Thomas had last seen one 5 years ago) and a dozen huge ground hornbills spread out in formation across the airstrip scouring for 'roadkill' but missing the lone blacksmith plover chick which we checked out each day
-crossing the wooden bridges between the islands -very hairy
-the mokoro trip (seeing the tiny things in the reeds)and walking in the bush,tracking and learning about the flora ,the biodiversity and the interrelationship of living things in the delta
-the evening boat trip and watching the sunset through the papyrus
-having a puncture surrounded by 7 lions" See all these reviews: 11n in Botswana
"Close encounters at Kwara"
Since the animals here were much less wary of vehicles or people, this led to some very enjoyable sightings at close quarters. During siesta time in the middle of the day, we were sitting very quite on the ground near the water's edge and had a family warthogs come within a few feet as they foraged their way through the camp. Later that afternoon, we were unable to leave our tent for the game drive, as a large bull elephant was taking his time collecting fruits from around our veranda. As he wandered his way towards one side of the tent, our guide came to collect us around the other side, only to come face to face with the elephant as we tried to get away at the back of the tent. We carefully retraced our steps, as the elephant strolled away.
The vehicles at Kwara were great - brand new Toyota landcruisers which were only a few weeks old, however, they still get stuck from time to time. The Delta was flooded to a very high level when we visited and we were only a few feet from a group of lions when it was our turn to get stuck.
The tents at Kwara are old style safari tents, which are quite small compared with Lebala and Lagoon, but they are still very clean and comfortable. The only problem we had was with the hot water supply, especially to the shower, as the gas boiler to our tent was a little temperamental. The solar systems at Lebala and Lagoon are excellent, but there are a lot of baboons Kwara, which can cause a lot of damage to solar panels.
On our last morning, instead of taking the usual game drive, we had a mokoro trip and bush walk with an armed guide and tracker. This was certainly well worth doing, as it gives such a different close up view of the water and all its beautiful plants. The walk was very interesting and we also spotted a lioness in the distance." See all these reviews: 8n in Botswana
"Kwara Camp review"
We had an excellent guide and spotter who were exceptionally knowledgeable and comfortable talking about a wide variety of birds, animals and plants with us (and without us having to ask loads of questions).
The camp itself is typical of the region - very good quality, a nice feel and friendly staff.
We also had good success fishing at Kwara (for catfish)" See all these reviews: 7n in Botswana; 3n in Zambia
"Kwara Camp review"
The best part of that boat ride was our walk along the shore underneath century old trees. We felt as if we had traveled back to the beginning of time! What a relaxed way to start a safari." See all these reviews: 5n in Botswana; 3n in South Africa; 1n in Zambia
"Great Game Viewing at Kwara Camp"
The camp "manager" that greeted us was a bit impersonal, but he was efficient. We really liked our guide, Master, and our tracker, Baruti. Master was fantastic - his knowlegde and ability were truly amazing. He was willing to do whatever was necessary for great game viewing, and he always checked with us about what we were most interested in doing and seeing. Again, we were lucky to have only two other people in our vehicle. Master was always aware of the fact that we wanted to take photos of things, and would position the vehicle for better views and would not leave until we were ready.
We did a nature walk the morning we went on the mokoros, and sighted a lion on the walk. Master let us stay and watch the lion from a distance he considered safe, and then took us back to the sight by vehicle after we had returned to camp by mokoro. There were several very special, unexpected experiences during our activiteis at Kwara that made up for the much busier feel of the camp.
The food was very good. We liked the tented camps, but had a problem with our toilet that took a day and half to fix. Unfortunately, we also had a problem getting hot water, and the temperature had dropped and it was too cold to use the outdoor shower without hot water.
Overall, the camp definitely puts game viewing first, and will accommodate meals around this." See all these reviews: 9n in Botswana; 5n in Namibia
"Kwara Camp review"
"Kwara Camp review"
V good game viewing Lions and leopards" See all these reviews: 9n in Botswana; 3n in Zambia
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