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Kaingo Camp

Reviews of Kaingo Camp

Wildlife sightings and reviews

222 independent comments and wildlife information from our travellers who have visited Kaingo Camp and kindly agreed to share their thoughts. They do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa

Wildlife sightings by our travellers
Starting in May-2018, 62 of our travellers have recorded their wildlife sightings at Kaingo Camp.
Lion

98% success

Leopard

98% success

Wild dog

53% success

Elephant

100% success

Giraffe

100% success

Showing 171-180 of 222
Duration
Arrival date
Mr & Mrs S
UK

"Excellent team at Kaingo"

4 nights Arrived 25 Sep 2010
"This is a superb camp, made excellent by the consistent top quality and enthusiam of all the staff - there just appeared to be no weak link. Derek and Jules have clearly put together a great team and show constant effort to go the extra mile with a number of nice small touches. We had some great game viewings with Gondwe and the potentially disruptive handover as managers from Brian & Michelle to Isabelle and Ian (which happened while we were there) was handled in a way that actually added to our experience....

The Shentons (at both Kaingo and Mwamba) have a different timetable from other camps we visited, with a quicker early morning start and an added midday activity. With their specialist hides, this normally works well. We particularly enjoyed the Carmine Bee-eater and Hippo hides (although strangely the highlight at the "Hippo hide" was an elephant amusingly "tobogganing" down the bank to the river....)

This is a lovely camp with a great feel which we'd very much like to return to." See all these reviews: 19n in Zambia
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Good
Facilities:
Excellent
Mr & Mrs LS
Dorset

"Kaingo Camp review"

5 nights Arrived 16 Sep 2010
"Spot on! So glad we had booked for 5 days, a visiting agent queried if that was too long but not at all, if we'd had longer we would have transferred to the bush camp for a couple of nights.

Derek and Jules are splendid hosts, Patrick is a guide par excellence, and all the staff did their best to make our stay memorable. The recent arrival of Izzy only added to the professionalism. Game was more than plentiful and the hides added another dimension to the day's activities. Derek was in his element when acting as a guide, much to our benefit.

Only one quibble, lunch was really superfluous!!" See all these reviews: 11n in Zambia
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Good
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Good
Facilities:
Excellent
Mr & Mrs W
Croydon

"Kaingo Camp experience"

4 nights Arrived 11 Sep 2010
"Just the right combination of adventure & luxury for us.

Everyone very welcoming." See all these reviews: 14n in Zambia
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Good
Mr M
Norfolk

"The perfect South Luangwa safari camp"

3 nights Arrived 8 Sep 2010
"Had a brilliant three day stay at Kaingo Camp. You are far enough into the park that the animals behave naturally for you to feel that you are part of the 'real' Africa.

Gondwe was an expert guide, along with Ben in the evenings, which enabled us to see the elusive leopard at very close range! So close that you felt you could hear her breathe as she walked past the vehicle! She was relaxed enough for us to watch her drinking and then stalking Impala.

Derek is very passionate about the area around Kaingo and has developed brilliant opportunities to see species at very close range in the hides that he has set up. The sound and smell of the Hippos is something we will never forget! We were lucky enough to have Derek accompany us on a visit to the Carmine bee-eater hide, paddling us across the Hippo filled river!

Michelle and Brian were excellent hosts in camp, even organising a private dinner on one evening and a surprise brunch in the Ebony Grove on another occasion. Food was also excellent, particularly Michelle's home made cakes! We really enjoyed the lunches served on our private deck with the Hippos laughing in the background.

There are so many fantastic memories, two of the highlights being the wonderful leopard sightings and a close encounter with the Hollywood pride of Lions as they set off on their evening hunt with the cubs in tow." See all these reviews: 8n in Zambia
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Mr H
Bristol

"Kaingo Camp review"

3 nights Arrived 2 Sep 2010
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good

Location:
Good
Service:
Good
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Good
Facilities:
Good
Mr & Mrs S
Harrogate

"Kaingo Camp review"

2 nights Arrived 30 Aug 2010
"Especially loved the hippo hide, and the private balcony/terrace where lunch was served" See all these reviews: 5n in Zambia; 4n in Malawi
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Good
Facilities:
Excellent
Mr & Mrs H
Bedford

"Kaingo Camp review"

2 nights Arrived 26 Aug 2010
"This was the low part of the trip. Part of the staff was distinctly unpleasant. The first dinner everyone complained (there was a full house with a Canadian party, an American couple and an English couple), there was simply no wine on the table and we had to beg for getting served by the glass and the camp management was nowhere to be seen.The food was disappointing. I don't go to Zambia to eat a pizza/bruschetta as a starter and a vietnamese fish with French fries as a main.

The camp itself was OK, the idea of a private dinning area on the river for each bungalow is certainly very nice. We would have preferred "would and straw" rooms (as everywhere else) to concrete built ones whereas at the same time it is the only place where we had plumbing problems (the water taking ages to drain out of the shower).

The activities were disappointing, we were not allowed to go to the elephant crossing point on day 1 (apparently there were too many people wanting to get there) and this activity was simply canceled on day 2. Apart from lions, the night drives did not show anything, the staff was significantly and obviously less experienced that Remote Africa's, in fact on the second night the spotter was a room attendant.

When we stopped for a sundown drink, someone found a lower jaw of a crocodile (so distinctive) which was identified as .... maybe an hippo!!!. As far as their driving was concerned, it was absolutely clear that they were going far too fast to be successful in spotting wildlife.

Would we go back? no." See all these reviews: 11n in Zambia
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Average

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Poor
Activities:
Good
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Average
Facilities:
Average
Mr & Mrs H
Altringham

"very disappointing"

4 nights Arrived 24 Aug 2010
"Service - poor - e.g. there were gazebo type constructions where visitors ate their lunch iprivately near their huts after it had been brought to them, and one day the previous day's empty beer bottle had not been removed and on one occasion the wine bottle in our lunch drinks container had only an inch or two of wine in it, presumably left over from another person's lunch.

When Margaret asked about this Brian the manager brushed the matter aside. Brian was unimpressive in dress and even more so in his management which was noticeable at times by its absence. We were half way through our second course at dinner one night (neither Brian nor Michelle were at the table) and no wine had been offered. When Russell complained a Zambian guide offered to bring him some wine and it was suggested he should bring it for the whole table. After the first glass we had to ask for another one because it was not offered. Brian's explanastion the next morning was that we should have helped ourselves. This might be the American way but it is not the British way, nor the South Luasngwa Valley way.

Food - poor - Food came quite frequently but was not in any way comparable with the Robin Pope expereince. For one thing it was already dished out onto our plates at dinner and there was not a great deal of it on the plates, and neither of us are big eaters. The standard of cooking was not high and on game drives at sundowners the nibbles were very poor and always the same.

Guiding - we had Ian, a newly qualified guide for some drives and he was excellent - knowledgeable and enthusiastic, and one drive with Gronwe who was also very good. Unfortunately most of our drives were with Derek Shenton who appeared to be completely disinterested in communicating his knowledge with his guests. In fact the first time we went out with him, with other guests in the vehicle, for the first 25 minutes after leaving camp he did not say a word to any of us. We always stopped for 5 minutes to watch the same hippo in a pool. On 2 occasions he had an old university friend in the passenger seat and the majority of the drive they spent chatting together, which obviously distracted him from guiding his visitors. It was as if we were an inconvenience although away from guiding he was very friendly and courteous.

We did have our best lion sighting at a kill while with him, but it had originally been found by another guide. After 2 days Russell suggested to Margaret that he try to move on to Nkwali because he was not enjoying the experience. There was a French couple often with us, Alain and Bridget, who live in Bedford and who booked through you who could confirm what we say. This was not a pleasant experience.

One plus point was that there were short wooden ladders for guests to use to get in and out of the vehicles, including when out on game drives, which was marvellous for ageing joints. This is something other camps could emulate." See all these reviews: 14n in Zambia
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Poor

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Poor
Activities:
Good
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Poor
Facilities:
Excellent
Mr & Mrs B
Bucks.

"Hippo Heaven"

4 nights Arrived 26 Jul 2010
"This was an excellent start to our Safari. It is a camp in a stunning location and gave us a very warm welcome. The whole area is one of great variety and is beautiful.

Michele and Bryan could not have done more to make our stay a real pleasure and the drive with Derek Shenton was excellent as he understands what photographers/videographers need by way of light and positioning. The guides, ours were Mayam and Gondwe , were very good and did all they could to help get us the best shots and video film. We especially enjoyed the night safaris and had some great Leopard and Lion sightings including some 16 Lions drinking togther at a water hole.

The much advertised hides are superb. We used both the Hippo and Bird hides to great effect especilly when two male Hippos had an almighty fight right in front of us. A relatively new feature is for each room to have its own deck overlooking the river and this was a superb way of relaxing after the morning drive and having lunch privately.

The accommodation is not new but very comfortable. The only down side is washing in safe, but brown water. At first it felt that daily life was organised round the food of which there was plenty (too much?) and not the wildlife ,but Michele responded to this and made changes.However we could not help but wonder if a buffet style of meal would be helpful in that tourists could choose how much they wanted and it might also mean that Michele and Bryan would have an undisturbed meal occiasionally instead of waiting on us.

The main problem I had was with being placed in a truck with what I call maching gun photographers. Video which is my main choice and makes no impact on photographers, but photographers can and did ruin video soundtrack by the noise of their shutter in burst mode. There is no easy answer to thus unless you have your own truck. Even if the camp has enough vehilces the cost is often prohibitive. I discussed this with derek Shenton who undertood the problem and changes of seating were made where possible but this issue is something which other camps might think about when deciding who goes on which truck. Equally I should ahve been more explicit in the planning." See all these reviews: 12n in Zambia
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Good
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Good
Facilities:
Good
Mr & Mrs B
Belfast

"Kaingo Camp review"

3 nights Arrived 20 Jul 2010
"Another excellent camp, following on from our stay at Tena Tena. The accomodation is different from Tena Tena in that the rooms have solid walls and the bathroom/shower is also indoors. There is also an outdoor bath beside the small cottage if required. Again there was always plenty of hot water provided via the solar panels, certainly we never found any shortage of supply.

The new individual viewing decks sitting over the river where you can have lunch are a great place to relax and recharge the batteries after the early morning starts.

The food was of a very high standard and the team at the camp were very friendly and helpful. Ian, Michele, Brian and our guide Mayam went out of their way to make our stay as memorable as possible, down to having breakfast in the Ebony Grove one morning follwing the early morning game drive and then to a champange sundowner at the stork colony on our last evening.

Mayam's guiding was excellent, finding leopards on our first two nights and then finishing off with the Hollywood pride of lions on our last night. The hippo hide is another wonderful experience, getting really up close and personal with these huge beasts was quite daunting.

Can't wait to come back !!" See all these reviews: 9n in Zambia
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Showing 171-180 of 222
97%
222 reviews of Kaingo Camp by travellers since August 2007
Overall rating by our travellers
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0
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