Travel reviews by Mrs U from Luton

"A great and easy place to recover from a long flight before embarking on Safari. A bonus having free access to Victoria Falls from 6am-6pm.

Nice to have some wildlife in the grounds, Zebra, Impala and Giraffe and many colourful birds. Very comfortable beds. A few options for eating, we used Squires which was very affordable and served excellent steaks. Breakfast buffet was very varied and of good quality. Large pool in pleasant surroundings.

Easy and safe to take a taxi into Livingstone centre not expensive we paid 50 Kwacha (about £6) but agree price first. We changed a small amount £ for Kwacha at the airport, there is a Barclays bank to the left as you come through arrivals. Tip; Hotel has large Umbrellas to borrow for visiting the Falls, no charge."

"Muchenje really has the "Wow" factor from the moment you arrive and see that view! We were made to feel at home right away by the relief Manager Cathy who was the perfect host throughout our stay. Accommodation is very comfortable and all rooms have a great view. There are several nice areas to sit and they have a small waterhole below the lodge where we watched Water Buck, Impala, Warthog and Zebra.

Food was very enjoyable and all homemade. We enjoyed homemade soups each evening and lovely roasts such as fillet of beef and leg of lamb both excellent. This place has the feel of a house party, helped by the socialising with lodge staff and guides in the evening. It was great fun listening to their tales especially Ocean who was a great raconteur and Peter who told us about local life. But it was our personal guide, Synack who brought Africa to life for us. His knowledge of all things Botswanan was amazing.

We saw so much wildlife on all our activities but the best day was the full day which included a lovely boat trip on the Chobe river. We saw many Elephants by and in the river including a large one that swam across completely submerged except for using its trunk as a snorkel. Good sightings of Hippo and large Crocodiles, Beautiful birds, Water Monitors etc... etc... and had lunch on the boat in the company of Elephants.

We had surprises and new sightings each time we went out even if it was walking to dinner from our Bungalow when we saw Slender Mongoose, Small Spotted Genet and numerous colourful birds. All in all I think Muchenje is a great first place to stay before venturing into the Okavango Delta. We saw larger groups of animals here than we did in the Delta and some very special Antelope including Puku, Roan and Sable. Thanks to all at Muchenje for a memorable stay."

"Kwara was our favorite camp for a true "Bush" atmosphere without actually having to pitch a tent! The tents are not luxurious but we weren't looking for that, they have a great real bush feel but the beds are very large and very comfortable and bathroom facilities are fine. I enjoyed the outside shower.

Sleeping with the storm flaps up across the front of the tent was a great experience (there is a gauze sliding panel so no worries about insects etc). We could see silhouettes of Elephant and Hippo and heard Impala grazing just outside our tent it was magical!!! Kwando camps are all staffed by local people, Kwara's Manager was Hilda who has risen through the ranks from Waitress and is doing a fine job, a lovely lady. Food and drinks are excellent at Kwara all home cooking not Gourmet but very tasty and 4 meals a day you won't be hungry! Sundowners out in the bush are great fun.

Our personal team of guide, Tom and tracker, Justice were fabulous. Their combined skills of tracking and knowledge of wildlife was at times astonishing. They successfully tracked Lion (several times), Cheetah and Wild Dogs (twice) the tracking was a fascinating experience and thrilling, speeding across wild country in hot pursuit of our goals. We saw many other animals including, Porcupine, Sitatunga, Red Lechwe, Steenbok amongst all the usual animals you might expect to see. Tom has a particularly good knowledge of birds and in 3 days we saw 76 different types.

We were sad to leave Kwara we really got into the rhythm of an African Safari here and could have done everything we did again and again. Thanks to everyone at Kwara,"

"We came to Lagoon from Kwara another Kwando camp initially we were a little disappointed as Kwara had been we felt a bit more of a "Bush" experience but 1st impressions can be deceptive. The rooms are far more luxurious in every respect and a good contrast to Kwara. Food was very similar to Kwara, good home cooking.

Be under no illusion this camp is open to animals and in the first afternoon our room was surrounded by a breeding herd of Elephants. We were warned about their presence on arrival and they soon moved on after drinking from the Lagoon in front of our room. No need to worry about this as the camp staff are constantly vigilant. We saw them several times during our stay and a large male Kudu on the way to the communal area but it was never a problem, actually rather thrilling.

We had come to expect high standards from Kwando staff and Lagoon again delivered on this. Everyone is so courteous and friendly, nothing is too much trouble. Chatting with the staff round the camp fire and at dinner had become a highlight of the day. Our personal team here consisted of guide Paul and tracker James who knew each other from their village and had a very good rapport. The tracking was again a highlight of our experience in this case particularly Leopards, I hadn't dared to hope that we would catch a glimpse of one Leopard but we saw 4 individuals 2 of which were a young brother and sister who we watched for ages as they posed for us like supermodels on a termite mound, it was enthralling!

We also had good sightings of Wild Dogs (The Alpha Female came tearing past us in hot pursuit of Impala as we were out of the vehicle having our Sundowners!) and Lions together with the other usual sightings. Other special things we saw were an Aardwolf, large herd of Eland, a herd of several hundred Buffalo.

All this was thanks to our expert team of Paul and James. Our best regards to all at Lagoon,"