Travel reviews by Ms S. from Germany
Review Distribution
Total number of trips
1
Countries visited
1
Lodges stayed in
4
Excursions taken
0
Absolutely awesome experience
Botswana between 7 Jun 2024 and 17 Jun 2024
The combination of the 4 camps worked to make it possible to see everything we'd hoped to see, with each giving us unique and wonderful moments. We really appreciated the trackers at the Kwando camps.
Our guides at Lagoon (Spencer/Gee) and Camp Kalahari (KG) were great, very dedicated. We could tell that for them, guiding and wildlife sightings were a passion, not just a job. As photographers themselves, both Spencer and KG knew how to position the vehicled perfectly, too.
Our guide/tracker team at Lebala (Thabo/KB) were very good, but needed a bit of prodding before they gave us their best effort - but boy, did they come through with the leopard!
We were least impressed with Rogers/Chris at Kwara. Instead of really tracking predators on their own, they took us on 'scenic' drives, showing us the animals that happend to cross our path. Rogers also managed to get us stuck in sand on our first night drive on the way back to camp. After unsuccessfully trying for at least 30 minutes, he had to call the camp for help and we had to be towed out. However, once sightings were called in by other guides, he turned into a combination race driver/hunter and managed to get us to sightings of lions, a cheetah and best of all, Wild dogs - once tracking a pack of three through dense bush and the same evening, a pack of 3 feeding just before the light went.
The helicopter transfers were comfortable and very enjoyable, done in helicopters that seated just 4 including the pilot. Interesting fact: Since there was no room for our luggage, our bags got their own helicopter flights! As soon as we were dropped of at the camps, the pilots flew back, picked up the bags and brought them to us.
We were also very, very glad we had private vehicles for all our game drives, as it allowed my Mum to sit up front in the passenger seat and my Dad in the 1st row."
Arranged By Lucy Copson
![Kwara Camp](/images/background-image/21c24ec3b61e43c199b2636cf07d457e.jpg)
Kwara Camp
"Great for in-camp viewings"
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Buffalo
6 sightings
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Cheetah
1 sighting
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Elephant
10+ sightings
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Giraffe
6 sightings
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Hippo
6 sightings
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Lion
2 sightings
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Spotted Hyena
1 sighting
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Wild dog
2 sightings
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Wildebeest
6 sightings
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Zebra
6 sightings
![Lagoon Camp](/images/background-image/1ba4cbaa075f49d69260f05375695cf4.jpg)
Lagoon Camp
"Wonderful location"
The Family Suite has the best location overlooking the bend of the river while the others are spread out along the river.
The road transfer from Lagoon to Lebala is normally treated as a game drive in the morning, with a set meeting point in the middle and time (8:30-9 am) for guests to transfer from one vehicle to the other. So bascially there is not much time for sightings during the first part of the transfer. We were lucky that our guide took us all the way which gave us the chance to enjoy the best lion viewing we had on our whole trip (2 males roaring around camp, gearing up for a fight; a pride of 9 including cubs crossing the river; 2 younger males roaming).
We were so glad that we had booked private vehicles at both camps which give us flexibility and made this possible!
We did not see Wild Dogs here, but all the guides are working together and dedicate part of the game drives to search for the den. They found lots of tracks going in and out a very dense thicket, so are confident that the den is hidden there. Hopefully they'll locate it!
The rooms are as spacious as the ones at Lagoon, but it felt a lot colder, since the canvas 'blinds' to keep out the breeze were inside (instead of outside) and there were none in the bathroom/toilet area.
The food was as good as at Kwara, with almost the same arrangement of table service and buffet. The only difference being that there was just one appetizer in the evening (at Kwara there were two).
Charging station in the rooms worked great. There is no wifi yet, but it's coming, supposedly later this year."
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Cheetah
2 sightings
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Elephant
Many sightings
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Giraffe
Many sightings
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Hippo
Many sightings
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Leopard
1 sighting
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Lion
10+ sightings
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Wildebeest
Many sightings
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Zebra
Many sightings
![Lebala Camp](/images/background-image/5147e6697d554a58be6530dd8f806a81.jpg)
Lebala Camp
"Views of the Plains rather than water"
The rooms were the coldest we had, because the sides are basically mesh all around, including bathroom/toilet. Probably great in the heat of summer, but it was really drafty in winter. There are no blinds of any kind to help with the breeze and the cold. There is a bathtub inside, but only outside showers.
The food was good, but the 'egg station' we enjoyed at both Kwara and Lagoon for brunch was not offered consistently.
Charging station in the room worked fine, but again, no wifi yet. Lebala is the only camp which still uses generators. They will be switching to solar power later this year and are also supposed to get wifi in the process.
There are Wild Dogs around, but we did not see them and the guides are making no effort to find the den. The big pack they used to have, split up and apparently, haven't settled in one area.
We had the best Leopard sighting of our trip here. Our guide found a female Leopard early in the morning and we followed her to a tree where she'd put her kill - and Aardwolf! We watched her feed all morning and then tracked her again in the afternoon. Our patience and tenacity were rewarded when we watched her re-unite with a very young cub none of the guides had seen before!"
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Buffalo
1 sighting
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Elephant
Many sightings
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Giraffe
Many sightings
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Hippo
10+ sightings
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Leopard
2 sightings
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Lion
Many sightings
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Spotted Hyena
1 sighting
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Wildebeest
Many sightings
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Zebra
Many sightings
![Camp Kalahari](/images/background-image/2ad2c1a55c064ebca356c5e45b42827f.jpg)
Camp Kalahari
"Lots of unique experiences"
Camp Kalahari shares the reserve with two sister camps, Jack's and San and ALL the experiences are planned and assigned by the people at Jack's. It was assumed that we wanted to do every activity - which we did - but there was never really any discussion about that. I guess we could have decided not to do one, but then we would have missed it, since there's no flexibility with regards to the Meerkat experience and the night on the pans. As such, we found it a bit annoying that the information was only ever shared in the afternoon for the following day.
The activities are assigned to each jeep. So a family group of 6 will have an exclusive experience, but 3 couples sharing a vehicle would also share that experience. We were lucky to have the jeep to ourselves, as it allowed us to go out on the pan in the vehicle, rather than on the quads and for my horseback ride to end at the Bushmen village, meeting up with my parents there.
There is flexibility with the timing of the horseback ride. It can be done in place of a scheduled morning or afternoon activity, but also in addition during other times of the day, like I did. It is also exclusive to the group doing the booking, so as I had booked as a single rider, I was taking out by myself, which is great, as the guides could tailor the pace to my capabilities. We saw jackals, elephants, wildebeest and the guide explained about termites and special plants along the way. It was a wonderful and completely unique experience and I highly recommend it!
Overall and as expected, we did not see as much wildlife as in the other camps, BUT we were extremely lucky:
- We saw a cheetah on the airfield as soon as we landed and caught up with her again the next day, feeding on her kill.
- There is a very accomodating Aardvark which comes out before sunset and he even allowed us to walk with him for a bit.
- On the way back from the pans we spotted a Black-footed Cat, one of the rarest sights of all!!
The food was good, but there is no buffet - other than the cereals in the morning. Lunch is one dish decided by the chef and there is a choice of three entrees for dinner."
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Aardvark
1 sighting
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Cheetah
3 sightings
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Elephant
Many sightings
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Giraffe
1 sighting
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Meerkat
2 sightings
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Wildebeest
Many sightings
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Zebra
Many sightings
We did not see any predators in the Kwara section of the concession. Every sighting was found/tracked and called in by guides from Splash.
There are Wild Dogs around 4Rivers and Splash, but NOT Kwara!
The vehicle we were assigned had no 'floorboard' on the 2nd row of seats, so for someone with short legs like me, there was a lot of (unnecessary) bouncing around. I did not know there were vehicles with such a floorboard until the ride out to our helicopter or I would have asked for another vehicle. There also were issues with both the truck (overheating) and the boat (fuel pump), technical according to our guide, but maybe due to lack of driving skills on their part.
The rooms were very comfortable and spacious. Even hairdryers were provided on request.
There is a charging station in the rooms as well as wi-fi that worked without a glitch."