Travel reviews by Uli from Germany

"The camp is beautifully situated in the Mara North Conservancy and has only 10 tents. Ours (Duma) was very spacious and nothing was missing - wonderful! We had a nice view of a small river where buffalo, hippos and elephants occasionally appeared.
The service was very friendly and helpful and the meals were excellent.

Two games were offered per day: in the morning from 6:00 a.m. to around 11:00 a.m. (longer if required) and in the afternoon from 4:00 p.m. to around 7:00 p.m./7:30 p.m.

Our guide Paul was very nice and experienced, but unfortunately he had only been in the conservancy for a day, so he couldn't be very familiar with the paths, fauna, territories, favorite places of animals, etc. That was the only thing that wasn't perfectly organized, but we still had interesting sightings and a good time with Paul and his assistant Dixon."

"Kicheche Valley - the sister camp of Kicheche Mara - is also beautifully situated in the Mara Naboisho Conservancy and has only 6 tents. Like in Kicheche Mara also in Kichere Valley our tent (Nabo) was very spacious and nothing was missing, the service you only can prescribe as amazing and the meals were excellent.

They offer also two games per day: in the morning from 6:00 a.m. to around 11:00 a.m. (longer if required) and in the afternoon from 4:00 p.m. to around 7:00 p.m./7:30 p.m. You can also ask for an additional night drive for spotting nocturnal animals (8:00 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. / 10:00 p.m.). And for keen photographers you can inquire about a special safari vehicle for photographers with fantastic opportunities for different perspectives - if not already used by other guests!

Our guide Johnson was fantastic with an incredible understanding of the animals and their behavior. Thanks to him and his many years of experience in this conservancy, we had incredible sightings and experiences every day. And he was always in a good mood and with a smile on his face - the best guide we could have wished for."

"The Four Points by Sheraton is an Airport Hotel just 5 minutes away fron JKIA - perfect for the first night in Kenya after a long international flight and arrival at evening without a long lasting drive through unpredictable Nairobi traffic.

The room was nice and offered everything you would expect and need for one night before you start your safari!

We haven't had any activities - so we can't rate them"

"Saruni Samburu Lodge is located in a private conservancy - so no other vehicles around. Unfortunately because of a drought there was also just little game around. So the game drives had to go to the Samburu National Park - 30-45 minutes away. This was definitely a disadvantage because you had to make this way in and out twice a day if you wanted to observe game (and of course therefore you had to get up more early in the morning!) and on the way was not to much so see (except of some birds and couples of Dik-Diks behind almost every second bush!!). Once you've reached the National Park we had some great sightings with our very good guide Daniel particularly a cheetah with her cubs and a beautiful leopard on ground and tree! Also the landscape around the river is very interesting and offered exciting sightings like river crossing elephant herds.

One reason for us to visit Samburu was the opportunity to observe the typical mammals of the north: Reticulated Giraffe, Oryx, Gerenuk and Grevy Zebra ... and we saw them all and often!

The lodge itself is superb and the location on a hill fantastic! You will not miss anything there: huge rooms all with great views to an endless landscape, friendly staff and tasty food! But the best of all is the pool at the top of the hill with stunning views - really hard to get beaten!!

Despite the long drive to the National Park all in all we would choose this lodge again because of it's fantastic location: alone in a remote area with unique views!"

"If you want to see Rhinos - at the Lewa Conservancy you definitely can't miss them! There are so many of them: black and white, male and female, with or without cub, single or groups !!! But there is also lot of other plain game around: Plain AND Grevy Zebra, Gazelles, Eland, Oryx, Giraffes, Buffalos, Elephants, .... but also a nice pride of Lions with 3 beautiful males! Our guide was David: young but very enthusiastic and we had lot of fun together!

The Camp itself is like an oasis in the great open plain with lot of beautiful flowers and birds. The tented rooms are nice and offer everything you need including 24/7 opportunity to charge your batteries. The food is fantastic and could be star rated (like in the other Elewana camp we've been: Elephant Pepper Camp in Mara North Conservancy).

We can highly recommend this camp and for observing Rhinos the Lewa Conservancy is definitely one of the best options you could choose in Kenya if not in whole Africa!!!"

"Laikipia Wilderness Camp is located on a ranch in a very dry area (at the time of our visit!) causing less game as usual. Nevertheless we saw a lot of different and special species even not many individuals of each.

Our guide was Steven - very experienced and a great spotter! We came to Laikipia Wilderness to see Wild Dogs and so he tried everything to find them. There was just 1 pack around and last seen about 20 km away from where were. Although some individuals of the pack were collared it was really hard for him to track them but finally (after a whole day of searching them!) he found them. it was amazing to to observe them while meeting and greeting after the day rest before heading out for hunting. We were so lucky to see them again next morning while crossing a river before they disappeared on an other ranch.

But the most amazing and spectacular sighting in Laikipia Wilderness was the spotting of a normal coloured female leopard and her black (melanistic) cub during a night drive. This was a really very very rare and special sighting - not only for us! Even our guide Steven had seen the black cub only 2 times before.

The Camp is the only one in the huge area of the ranch - no other people or vehicles around. It is a bit rustic but also very comfortable, the food not extraordinary but still very good.

Manager Steve was around but doesn't seem to be interested very much in us and didn't join us for one drive or walk although we've been the only guests during our whole stay at Laikipia Wilderness. That was a little bit disappointing after reading lot of comments about his very special guiding but Steven was a very good guide as well!"

"Elephant Pepper Camp is another Elewana Camp - like Lewa Safari Camp we've been some days before: same great standards, same great food, amazing location in a small forrest with lot of game around, absolute best guide Francis and fantastic sightings on EVERY game drive: many Lions, different Cheetahs with cubs (including 2 Cheetah hunts), Leopard with playing cubs, Hyaenas at the den, big Buffalo herds (including one chasing a pride of lions - not the other way around!!), lot of plain game everywhere, ... and only a few other vehicles in this conservancy !

All in all: IT COULDN'T BE BETTER !!!

Conservancies - like Mara North where Elephant Pepper is located - have no fences to the close-by next conservancies or national parks so that the animals can roam free and without boundaries. You can expect the same animals as in the national park but with much less "traffic" and the great opportunity to drive off road. Most of our spectacular sightings wouldn't have been possible without this option!!

The first night we've been the only guests in this wonderful camp - the other two nights in total just 6 of us!"

"After coming from the remote Elephant Pepper Camp to relatively busy Amboseli (many more vehicles, also self drivers) we needed a short time to realise that this is normal - not what we've had in Mara North. The camp is beautiful and has an artificial water hole with almost regularly visit of different animals including the big tuskers. It has much more guests than we were used to and it was also the only camp where we had to share "our" game drive vehicle with another guest - really a luxury problem and totally normal at normal times!

If you go Lewa to see Rhinos, if you go to the Mara to see cats you go to Amboseli to see big herds of Elephants and the real big tuskers!! Tawi Lodge is located in a conservancy close to Amboseli National Park and this area is loved by big old males with really long tusks. We were lucky to meet Craig, a 52 year old bull with the longest tusks in whole East Africa - wow !!!

Amboseli National Park is very dry and dusty but has also some lakes (lots of flamingos and other water dependent birds) and marsh land. Every late afternoon the Elephant herds leave the swamp, cross the roads and move to the area with trees and bushes - and next morning way back!!! Because Amboseli is national park and the drivers have to stay on the few roads predators are not easy to find or in some distance to the road.

In the Conservancy where the lodge is located we saw some nice Gerenuks we wouldn't have expected so far in the south!"

"We stayed at Ole-Sereni just for one night before flying back home. The Hotel is located in the former US Embassy directly at Nairobi National Park.

Even without binoculars we were able to observe Buffalos, Hartebeests and Reedbucks through the window of our hotel room. Although lying between two busy main roads it was a nice place to stay at the end of our safari and not too far away from JKIA (nevertheless the transfer to the airport may last anything between 30 minutes and 3 hours - the traffic in Nairobi is unpredictable !!!)

We haven't had any activities - so we can't rate them"

"The camp is beautiful located at the river - all tents have river view and we saw elephants along (and in) that river passing the camp every day.

The management around Elcke makes an excellent job like all members of the staff we've met.: We always had the feeling of being part of a big family. The tents are spacious and clean and have all you need incl. power 24/7 for charging batteries. There is a nice plunge pool perfect for cooling down during the siesta (temperature in late September at noon were about 35-40°C !!!) and watching the passing elephants. The food was good and varied.

The game drives were amazing: We saw wild dogs and leopards every day and sometimes several times at different places. One morning we saw the wild dog pack of 7 strong adults at a kill (we must have missed that only a few minutes ago) and a hyena and a leopard close-by looking for leftovers. The Khwai area is a concession and so it's allowed to drive off-road - a real big advantage to the National Parks like Moremi and Chobe !!!. So we were able to follow the dogs and also one leopard when hunting and many sightings would have been impossible without leaving the roads. We didn't see lions but that is the reason why this area is well known for good sightings of dogs and leopards!

After saying all this it's needless to mention that our guide Moreri was a very good one. With him we did not only have spectacular sightings and action - he also showed us patience when one evening (the sun was already going down, lights getting low) staying more than one hour in the middle of nothing in front of a hyena den. But then we had one of the most touching moments of this trip: a only few weeks old hyena cub appeared and started to weep, cry and shout for its mother - incredibly noisy and bloodcurdling in the (apart of this) total silence of the upcoming night. And then we became witnesses of the meeting of mother and cub with playing, suckling ...."

"The lodge is located inside Chobe National Park so you don't have to leave the park overnight but game drives have to be returned to the lodge at sunset (06:30 pm) and off-road driving is not permitted! After desiccation of the Savute Channel this area is very dry and very hot in late September (up to 40 °C!!!) - almost hostile to animals and human beings.

The lodge has 12 comfortable and spacious chalets - all facing a dry river bed. There used to be 3 artificial waterholes but during our stay only 1 was still running (in front of chalet #5). Fortunately we stayed in #5 & #6 and had a perfect view: during our whole stay we saw elephants every time at the waterhole: at noon just 1-3, at evening/night up to 40-50 and a continual coming and going and lot of action!!! Around the lodge are many different species of birds, lots of dwarf mongooses and a large spotted genet visiting at dinner time!

There is also nice pool perfect for cooling down during the siesta and watching the passing elephants. The food was good and varied. The management and staff was very friendly and helpful but all in all it was more professional and not with that personal touch we had in other lodges.

Our guide Coca was good and tried to show us as much as possible: so our vehicle mostly was the first leaving the lodge and thereby in two cases we were lucky to see lions close-by before other vehicles came or before the lions moved (and because of being in a National Park it was not permitted to follow them off-road!!). In addition to the lions and many, many elephants we've seen one leopard, a pack of (resting) wild dogs, some hyenas, rare roan antelopes, some giraffes, buffaloes, wildebeests and ..... all in all not too many animals but more than you would expect in that hostile area!"

"Selinda Camp is located in the Linyanti area and can be reached by vehicle or boat (shortest way from the airstrip). The location is stunning with the perfect view at beautiful sunrises! The chalets are wonderful and the people of management and staff very friendly and helpful. The meals are excellent with a choice of 3 meals for dinner - served under the Botswana sky - amazing!!!!

The game drives were great and Joseph was a very good guide and an enthusiastic tracker with big endurance: one day he tracked lions and finally found 6 cubs almost perfect hidden under a bush - the other day he tracked the pride for a long distance and got them after 2 hours at a kill! Really impressive!!! We also saw 2 leopards, at a lagoon a crowd of 100 or more elephants and many more species! We haven't seen wild dogs but other guests saw them several times the days before we arrived (but that's claiming on a very high level!).

Besides the game drives we also had an amazing boat cruise with lots of birds, hippos, crossing elephants and finally one of the most spectacular sunsets ever (and we've seen many of them - even in Africa!): the colors reflected in the water were surreal and indescribable!!!

In conclusion: Although we've visited other wonderful locations and lodges - and although haven't seen the dogs ;) - Selinda was a fantastic experience and our favorite on this trip!!!"

"Little Vumbura is a beautiful camp on an island at the border of the Okavango Delta only accessible by a short boat ride. So you have both: water and mainland activities - game drives, boat cruises, mokoro, fishing. Even during daytime the camp was visited by elephants and we also saw several times Kudus and baboons close-by to our tents.

When we arrived nobody seemed to expect us but after a while somebody of the management appeared and welcomed us. Except of this management and staff was very friendly and helpful, the (only 6!) tented rooms are comfortable and spacious, the food very good. The pool area is fine and the perfect place for cooling down during siesta.

The Vumbura concession is fantastic: a pretty area with different landscapes and great game viewing with varied species. Our guide was Kay, probably one of the most experienced guides around the delta! The boat cruise was nice but we only saw a few herons - as Kay told us late September is not the best time for boat cruises. But the game drives were amazing: We saw beautiful male lions, leopards every day (mother with 2 cubs!), hyena cubs at their den, a pack of wild dogs and also rare sable antelopes, many different bird species and, and, and .....!!!"

"Kanana is a water-based camp inside the Okavango delta with 8 comfortable and spacious tented chalets. Management and staff were very friendly and helpful, the food was good. There are many activities like boat cruises, mokoro, walking safaris but also night game drives day and night.

The day we arrived at Kanana was Day of Independence in Botswana (Sept. 30th): the whole staff was celebrating this and we were lucky to participate this party with finally having dinner outside the camp in the bush!!!

The water activities were amazing: during the boat cruises (we made it twice!) we saw lot of different birds, hippos, water crossing elephants, lechwe antelopes and (unfortunately far away) sitatunga!! But the highlight was the visit of a herony with probably thousands of marabou and yellow billed storks, pelicans, ibises and ....!
Mokoro is a great experience and if you come to the delta you have to do it!!!

We also made 2 walking safaris looking for the small things you usually miss on a game drive: not really spectacular but very informative (Thanks to Simon!).

Although Kanana is a water-based camp the game drives on the island (and the one close-by) offer more game than expected: of course elephants (also in the camp), giraffes, varied antelopes (especially lechwe) and our excellent guide Simon tracked a leopard (almost) perfect hidden in high grass! But he(!!) and we were most excited when we saw a pangolin - very very rarely seen even by local people!!!!"

"We stayed at Eight Reedbuck Hotel for just one night to relax after our flight from Germany to Lusaka. It was a nice and quiet place - perfect for just relaxing! All people were very friendly and helpful.

The only thing we have to criticize is the restaurant of the hotel: My wife and me were the only guests beeing there for dinner but the whole staff seemed to be overstrained. Each of us ordered a starter and a main course and two of these 4 orders were not availiable. I changed my order to the recommended main course but the meat was tough and almost uneatable. After telling this to the (very friendly) waitress she just answered that next time it would be better.
But except of this experience we enjoyed our stay at this hotel."

"Chongwe River Camp is located at the confluence of Chongwe River and Lower Zambezi - couldn't be better !!!!

The tented rooms are spacious enough and have a wonderful en suite outdoor-bathroom. All people are very friendly and helpful, service and food are excellent. Our Guide Patrick was very good and joined us on all our activities: game drives, walking safari, boat criuse, canoeing (highly recommended!) - and we were max. 4 people on a boat or vehicle !!!

We saw lot of game - many already at the camp!! Hippos and crocodiles are just in front of the camp in the river and you can see many other animals coming to the river for drinking. And elephants were visiting the camp and esp. our tent every day - amazing!

Going on a game drive you first have to cross Chongwe river with the vehicle (the river is the border of the National Park!). Then you are in the park and there you can expect different landscapes and many different species of animals. There seems to be less game in Lower Zambezi than in South Luangwa but still enough to see and there are definitely less vehicles there (if compared with the central Mfuwe area in South Lungwa). We saw small and big game, lots of birds and at least 2 big male lions and a pride of 7 lions and 2 leopards (one at day and one at night!).

People who are interested in tigerfishing are invited to try to catch one - an activity we didn't join!

In conclusion: We started our Zambia safari at Chongwe River Camp / Lower Zambezi and it was the perfect start ... regarding everything: camp, location, activities and of course wildlife !!!!"

"Kaingo Camp is located in a more remote area of South Luangwa National Park at the bank of the river.

The chalets are spacious and nice and each chalet has its own litte veranda overlooking the river and great to observing wildlife and having your own private lunch there! At this wonderful camp there was nothing we could claim about. The guides were excellent and the hosts and the whole staff very friendly and helpful. The food was excellent and more than enough!

There are 2 activities in the morning and evening (including the very remarkable night drives where we saw many nocturnal animals including leopards and also hunting lions) and (if you like to do so) another activity arround noon before lunch. Your guide and an armed ranger will bring you to a hide where you can observe f.e. hippos from a very short distance and also elephants crossing the river. But we enjoyed most the carmine bee-eater hide which was "opened" from Derek Shenton with us because the breading season of those colorful birds had just started.

Kaingo Camp (and its sistercamp Mwamba) is often visited by professional photographers and also when we stayed at Kaingo there were 2 teams there. Each team had ordered a private vehicle in advance - so we were lucky to have another game drive vehicle just only for us!

The area around Kaingo is well known for predators and so we saw many lions including a pride of 18 individuals. We saw lions hunting, killing, feeding and (as one of many highlights!) fighting with other lions - it was so amazing. We also saw leopards - mainly at night - and also many hyenas (max. 13 at one place). Beside those predators of course there were also elephants and other big and small game in this beautiful part of the park not to forget many hippos and many, many big crocodiles!

So - in conclusion: Kaingo Camp is a wonderful place to stay with lots of activities and a fantastic wildlife around. If we will come back to Zambia we definitely will visit this camp again (maybe then in combination with its bush- and sister-camp Mwamba which was already fully booked when we tried to get there for this safari - one year in advance!!!!)"

"Crocodile Bushcamp and Chikoko Tree Camp

After leaving Kaingo and crossing the Luangwa river two times by canoe we reached Crocodile Bushcamp. The area is an only walking area without any vehicles or their tracks around. On our 3 day walking safari we walked around the camps and from one camp to the other.

Crocodile Bushcamp and Chikoko Tree Camp are rustic but wonderful places to stay in the wild and without missing anything (remember no vehicles: everything incl. food and drinking water has to be carried to the camps by porters !!!). The food is fantasic and we didn't understand how they create those delicious meals just with an hole in the bottom oven!!! Like in all the other camps we had visited on our safari also the staff of these 2 bushcamps was so friendly and helpful.

Our guide during the whole walking safari was Isaak with an incredible guiding experience of more than 40 years !!!! He was the best walking guide we could have got. In his presence there was no moment where we felt uncomfortable or unsafe even when approaching lions or having unexpected encounters with hippos or elephants.

A walking safari is an other wonderful experience - you are part of the nature you visit and although we saw many big and small animals (I was surprised how close we could get to many of them) you see and learn so much about the small things you usually miss when going by vehicle. And Isaak told us so much about all those things - it was really fantastic!

In conclusion: If you visit Zambia don't miss to go on a walking safari - and Crocodile Bushcamp and Chikoko Tree Camp in an only walking area are perfect places to do it! (... and ask for Isaak as your Guide !!!)"

"Crocodile Bushcamp and Chikoko Tree Camp

After leaving Kaingo and crossing the Luangwa river two times by canoe we reached Crocodile Bushcamp. The area is an only walking area without any vehicles or their tracks around. On our 3 day walking safari we walked around the camps and from one camp to the other.

Crocodile Bushcamp and Chikoko Tree Camp are rustic but wonderful places to stay in the wild and without missing anything (remember no vehicles: everything incl. food and drinking water has to be carried to the camps by porters !!!). The food is fantasic and we didn't understand how they create those delicious meals just with an hole in the bottom oven!!! Like in all the other camps we had visited on our safari also the staff of these 2 bushcamps was so friendly and helpful.

Our guide during the whole walking safari was Isaak with an incredible guiding experience of more than 40 years !!!! He was the best walking guide we could have got. In his presence there was no moment where we felt uncomfortable or unsafe even when approaching lions or having unexpected encounters with hippos or elephants.

A walking safari is an other wonderful experience - you are part of the nature you visit and although we saw many big and small animals (I was surprised how close we could get to many of them) you see and learn so much about the small things you usually miss when going by vehicle. And Isaak told us so much about all those things - it was really fantastic!

In conclusion: If you visit Zambia don't miss to go on a walking safari - and Crocodile Bushcamp and Chikoko Tree Camp in an only walking area are perfect places to do it! (... and ask for Isaak as your Guide !!!)"

"Luangwa River Camp is perfectly located on the Bank of Luangwa river outside of the National Park!

The chalets are spacious and luxurious and you have a fantastic view from the camp at and over the river. All people at the camp are friendly and helpful and the food was not only very good but also imaginative!

Although the camp is located outside the park it's easy and quick to get into the park - just by crossing the river with the vehicle passing many crocodiles and some irritated hippos.

Inside the park the game drives take place in the central (Mfuwe) area of the South Luangwa National Park where you can see much game and it seems to be the best place to see leopards in Zambia!

But there are not only many animals in this area but unfortunately also many other vehicles especially at the night drives. One morning we saw a beautiful male leopard and when we returned to this area again in the afternoon there were 13 vehicles standig at or around this poor animal!

Nevertheless it is a great area to observe wildlife and the Lunagwa River Camp a perfect place to stay"

"We started our safari to Zimbabwe/Botswana at Victoria Falls Hotel (2 nights) - the perfect place to relax after an exhausting flight from Europe via Johannesburg!

When you enter the hotel you feel like being in the 19th century (with the medal decorated uniformed doorman at the entrance!) and it's a kind of irritating to stay at such a place of luxury in a country like Zimbabwe.

The rooms are good, the food good to excellent (you can choose between 3 restaurants form casual outdoor buffet to luxury gourmet), they have a nice pool and a large garden (with regular visiting of warthogs!) but the best of all is the view: You sit on the terrace or the outside stairs and have an unrestricted view at the Rainbow Bridge and the mist of the falls (the falls you can't see directly). And if you get up not to late (about 06:45) you can observe a spectacular sunrise.

There are a lot of activities you can do around there: from scenic flights over the falls (disturbing: you can hear the helicopters from 08:00 to sunset), bungee jump, boat cruise or whitewater rafting on the Zambezi river, walks with elephants or lions or you just make (what we did!) a nice 10 minute walk from the hotel to the Rainbow Bride and the Victoria Falls National Park and enjoy this miracle of nature by foot!"

"Our Botswana safari did start at Muchenje Safari Lodge (for 3 nights) close to the western entrance of Chobe National Park.

The lodge has a great setting overlooking the Chobe floodplains and is located in a private reserve. The accommodations are beautiful, not very large (but large enough!) with a wonderful view. The hosts Joy and Robert (he gets up every morning at 03:30 !!!) are warm and friendly. They offer game drives to Chobe National Park, a boat cruise on the river (in their own boat with only a few people!) also night drives in their own reserve and a very interesting and informative visit to a nearby community with primary school and health station. The morning game drives usually start at 06:00 am (to 10:30), the afternoon game drives at 04:00 pm and end at about 6:40pm (you have to leave Chobe NP before 06:30 pm).

Although there are animals around the lodge (we saw some elephants, zebras, sable antelopes) the main thing are the game drives leading mostly through the western part of Chobe. There is a short drive to the entrance of the NP but after entering you share your experiences with much less people than in the eastern part. Chobe is famous for its elephants and we saw many many of them: in the woodland, open areas, floodplains and along the river - almost everywhere. Also big herds of buffaloes and journeys of giraffes up to 20 animals and more rare antelopes like sable and roan (not to mention the very often seen "normal" residents like impalas, zebras, kudus, warthogs, baboons ....)
The main predators were a little bit rare: just one (big) male lion at one morning drive, a female one at another morning drive and one leopard hidden behind a log and running away after a short while. We saw fresh tracks of wild dogs but only the tracks :-(

Our guide was K.B. who was friendly and very patient with the need and wishes of the 6 people of our group. He stayed with us for the whole time and also joined us as our guide on the boat cruise. The jetty of the boat is outside the eastern entrance of the park so it's scheduled on a whole day game drive (otherwise the distance would be to long)

Although it always needs some time to get into the park and back to the lodge (because the lodge is not located inside the park!) we were happy to stay there and make most of our game drives in the western part of the park. The eastern park is more crowded with other vehicles because the eastern entrance is very close to Kasane and also Zimbabwe border.

So in conclusion we enjoyed our stay at Muchenje very much and can highly recommend it !!!"

"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 !!!"

"After Lagoon we had a short but scenic flight to Kwara Camp where we stayed for 3 nights.

This camp is beautiful located at a lake and we've had regular visits of warthogs, hippos (at night) and elephants (mostly at night but also during breakfast and dinner!!!). Kwara camp is more rustic than Lagoon (run by the same company) but still comfortable. The tented rooms are smaller than in Lagoon but still very good and large enough. Service and food is as good as in the other camps we've been. All people in the camps are helpful and friendly and try to make the very best of your vacation.
They offer game drives in the morning and afternoon (ending as a night drive!), a recommendable boat cruise to the river system of Moremi National Park and also a Mokoro trip including a bush walk.

Like in all Kwando camps also in Kwara we've had a driver guide (Bate) and a tracker (Master) on our vehicle who made a very good job. We've had wonderful game drives with the highlight of seeing 3 big male lions at a zebra kill. There was also a pride of 4 female/young lions and of course many of the other animals you'd expect there (except of cheetah and leopard :-( )
Because Kwara is at the delta you can see many water loving animals like lechwe antelopes and waterbucks.
The Kwara wild dog pack unfortunately just had left their den with the puppies and was not seen for some days (and also not while we were there).

Kwara concession has different landscapes from flooded areas to permanent water, from open grassland to woodland which makes it very interesting and offers habitat for many different species of animals.

We were happy staying at Kwara Camp and of course recommend it!"

"After another short but very scenic flight we reached Chitabe - the final destination of our safari!

We stayed for 3 nights at Chitabe Lediba, the smaller and more private sister camp of Chitabe main camp, with only 5 very luxury accommodations. Also service, food and everything else was excellent. They offer game drives in the morning and afternoon (ending as a night drive!) and of course (like in all private concessions) with the opportunity to drive off road!

Our guide at Chitabe was Molemi (very experienced) who tracked different prides of lions and the two big males that rule the concession since 8 years!! He also spotted a beautiful leopard posing for us on ground and in a tree.
The famous wild dog pack has moved after the alpha female was killed by a lion and the remaining alpha male had to look for another female! There are cheetahs (also 3 brothers) in this area but although Molemi did a very good job we unfortunately haven't seen one. Beside the predators you can see many other animals like elephants, buffaloes, different species of antelopes (incl. Lechwe) ....
The landscape in Chitabe is amazing: you can see floodplains, open water, woodland but also open grassland!

Although all camps we've visited were great at least Chitabe was our favorite one because of it's very private atmosphere.
So we can highly recommend it!"