Travel reviews by Mr & Mrs K from Ingleton
Review Distribution
Total number of trips
1
Countries visited
1
Lodges stayed in
4
Excursions taken
1
10 days in Northern Botswana and the Okavango
Botswana between 17 Nov 2008 and 30 Nov 2008
"This was our forth trip to southern Africa. It was undoubtedly the best for animal sightings. It was more restricting than driving ourselves around Etosha or the Kalagadi or being driven around Etosha from Ongava in that there is nothing to do between 1100 and 1600. The six people to a vehicle at Kwando is very bad, fortunatel we only had that happen three times in 18 drives so it wasn't too bad. However if we had been there when the camps were full it would have definitely spoilt the holiday.
Salinda, I'm told. have three seats down either side of the vehicle and all other camps we have stayed at have three rows of seats. Apart from being cramped the person in the centre of the three can't see very much as their side view is restricted and those in the second row have forward vision restricted as well.
The Kwando vehicle seating is the only real complaint of the whole trip. The Kwando experience was really fantastic we saw just about every animal we wanted to see, the only exceptions were cheetah and leopard cubs! We would certainly recommend the Kwando circuit to any one, especially Kwara. I think that three nights at each camp is the minimum one should have and we would have been happy with five nights at Kwara. If we were to go back to northern Botswana we would certainly go to Kwara but probably not Lagoon and Lebala.
Baines, whilst not e real dissappointment, was not in the same league a the others. It may be that had we done Baines first we would have felt differently but the guides we had weren't upto Kwado standards and there didn't seem to be enough land to visit different areas on different drives."
Salinda, I'm told. have three seats down either side of the vehicle and all other camps we have stayed at have three rows of seats. Apart from being cramped the person in the centre of the three can't see very much as their side view is restricted and those in the second row have forward vision restricted as well.
The Kwando vehicle seating is the only real complaint of the whole trip. The Kwando experience was really fantastic we saw just about every animal we wanted to see, the only exceptions were cheetah and leopard cubs! We would certainly recommend the Kwando circuit to any one, especially Kwara. I think that three nights at each camp is the minimum one should have and we would have been happy with five nights at Kwara. If we were to go back to northern Botswana we would certainly go to Kwara but probably not Lagoon and Lebala.
Baines, whilst not e real dissappointment, was not in the same league a the others. It may be that had we done Baines first we would have felt differently but the guides we had weren't upto Kwado standards and there didn't seem to be enough land to visit different areas on different drives."
Lagoon Camp
"Lagoon Camp review"
3 nights
Arrived
18 Nov 2008
Good
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good
Location
Good
Service
Good
Activities
Average
Rooms
Average
Food
Good
Facilities
Average
Lebala Camp
"Lebala Camp review"
3 nights
Arrived
21 Nov 2008
"Lebala was the best Kwando camp as far as accommodation is concerned and better than Lagoon for location. The service at all Kwando camps was about the same. i.e., very good. Here we saw two male lions in daylight and a leopard after dark. We followed the leopard for some way as she walk without any acknowledgement of our presence. She broke into a trop and then leaped to one side behind a bush, there was a scream and she reappeared with a jackal, we then followed her for a way before she settled down to eat it.
We had a bad drive at Lebala due to Kwandos vehicle layout and 6 to a vehicle policy. A couple arrived from Lagoon who we had met there and we were told that we would be going out with them. However we went out with a group of four Belgians who kept talking which was bad enough but having six people in a vehicle is too many as there is not enough room to put cameras, bins etc. This was made worse as it rained and we had to wear ponchos which restricted us even more. In our opinion three people to a row is one to many, this is the only safari outfit in our experience that does that. What made it worse was the couple from Lagoon went out on their own!"
We had a bad drive at Lebala due to Kwandos vehicle layout and 6 to a vehicle policy. A couple arrived from Lagoon who we had met there and we were told that we would be going out with them. However we went out with a group of four Belgians who kept talking which was bad enough but having six people in a vehicle is too many as there is not enough room to put cameras, bins etc. This was made worse as it rained and we had to wear ponchos which restricted us even more. In our opinion three people to a row is one to many, this is the only safari outfit in our experience that does that. What made it worse was the couple from Lagoon went out on their own!"
Good
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good
Location
Good
Service
Good
Activities
Good
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Good
Facilities
Good
Kwara Camp
"Kwara Camp review"
3 nights
Arrived
24 Nov 2008
"Kwara was the best stay of the holiday. The tent wasn't as good as Lebala but everything else was better. We had had good guides at Lagoon (Alison) and Lebala (OC) but Izzy was much better also his tracker (Mike) was very good.
We saw a herd of buffalo and then six male lions eating one, later we saw some femal lions with a cub. That afternoon we saw a different group of female lions again witha cub. The following morning we saw three male cheetahs and in the afternoon we saw them again but this time there was a male and female lion nearby! The female started stalking the cheetahs who stood theie ground until she got to about 70 mts whene they made a military retirement to about 100 mts. The lioness then creapt closer to wthing 40 mts when she charged at the cheetahs who ran around her between her and another cheetah thus confusing her. They escaped!.
We a great river cruise to the Heronary and also a great makoro trip, as we were they only gueats with Izzy & Mike we had a makoro each. On our final morning at Kwara we saw a spotted hyena.
This was definitely the best stay, obviously down to the good sightings but also down to Izzy who, I say again, was very good."
We saw a herd of buffalo and then six male lions eating one, later we saw some femal lions with a cub. That afternoon we saw a different group of female lions again witha cub. The following morning we saw three male cheetahs and in the afternoon we saw them again but this time there was a male and female lion nearby! The female started stalking the cheetahs who stood theie ground until she got to about 70 mts whene they made a military retirement to about 100 mts. The lioness then creapt closer to wthing 40 mts when she charged at the cheetahs who ran around her between her and another cheetah thus confusing her. They escaped!.
We a great river cruise to the Heronary and also a great makoro trip, as we were they only gueats with Izzy & Mike we had a makoro each. On our final morning at Kwara we saw a spotted hyena.
This was definitely the best stay, obviously down to the good sightings but also down to Izzy who, I say again, was very good."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Good
Food
Good
Facilities
Good
Baines' Camp
"Baines' Camp review"
2 nights
Arrived
27 Nov 2008
"Baines' has good accommodation but the location seems to be limited every drive went in the same direction and we saw the same animals in the same places every drive. The guiding wasn't as good as any of the Kwando camps and the boat trip wasn't as good as that at Kwara. We didn't do the makaro trip here.
That said, when we left Kwara we had seen everything we wanted to see except a leopard in daylight and cheetah cubs. On the drive from the airstrip to Baines we saw a leopard in a tree! We saw her again in the afternoon initially on the ground then she went into a different tree.
We did the elephant activity the following morning which was a great experience but considering the cost of that activity plus the cost of the stay at Baines it wasn't really worth it. I would have rather had a couple more days at Kwara."
That said, when we left Kwara we had seen everything we wanted to see except a leopard in daylight and cheetah cubs. On the drive from the airstrip to Baines we saw a leopard in a tree! We saw her again in the afternoon initially on the ground then she went into a different tree.
We did the elephant activity the following morning which was a great experience but considering the cost of that activity plus the cost of the stay at Baines it wasn't really worth it. I would have rather had a couple more days at Kwara."
Average
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Average
Location
Average
Service
Average
Activities
Poor
Rooms
Good
Food
Good
Facilities
Average
Elephant Activity
"Playing with elephants"
28 Nov 2008 • Morning excursion
This was a mostly enjoyable experience, we had a great deal of interaction with the elephants and learnt a lot about them. We also had a good lunch with the elephants eating nearby. However most of the walk was a waste as we (a group of about 10) simply followed behind for most of the time.
Other than that we had a good time, we lost the activity on our day of arrival due to continual rain from 1500 to midnight. However we saw a cheetah kill, by three brothers, the next day and a pack of wild dogs with puppies the following day.
The management team were changed on our second day and a relief couple, Vera & Geff, took over for three weeks. I can't comment on their management ability but they were far and away the best hosts we had at any of the camps we stayed at."