Reviews of Lebala Camp

"Our visit to this camp started in a spectacular way: we saw one leopard on our way from the airstrip to the camp, and another one on our first game drive that afternoon. They both were doing what leopards are known for: hanging out in trees. And unlike our experience in Chobe NP, we were the only guests watching them, so our guide Elvis could drive around and provide the best possible angles for photography.

Other than that, our activities were really focused on lions, and for big cat people like us that was really a joy.

At least one tour operator in the UK rates this camp as the best for lions in all of Africa, based on long-term observations. This was one major reason to visit this camp, and the other one was that we have become fans of Kwando Safaris (see my review of Kwara Camp). While we had plenty of lion sightings, we didn't see any cubs or many females. We happened upon several lion matings, which are always a memorable sight. Our guide Elvis assured us that this camp "has too many lions". According to him there was a territorial "war" going on between competing males, which is why a large pride of females with their cubs retreated into the hinterland.

We also were lucky in meeting one male lion to perform a roar a few meters from our vehicle.

I would also like to mention that, on the morning of our departure, we sat on the veranda of our tent, and out of the blue, a lion pair showed up engaging in a lengthy rendezvous approximately 50 to 60 meters away. In between matings the lioness showed some interest in us and moved closer to the tent. That was the signal for us to retreat back behind our screens. We were in fact picked up by a staff member in a car, although the walking distance between the tent and the main area was perhaps only 100 meters. As soon as we entered the car and slowly drove away, the lioness walked towards the tent, briefly went under the veranda and sniffed it out. But it was of no particular interest to her, as she quickly returned to her loverboy.

Another thing that puts this camp and the others of Kwando Safaris in a different league is that they utilize a driver and a tracker in their cars. Based on our experience, this often increases your chance of finding predators.

The room, the food and the facilities were all exceptional, as we came to expect from Kwando Safaris.

Taken together, I would recommend this camp wholeheartedly, particularly to those with a strong interest in the big cats." See all these reviews: 11n in Botswana; 1n in Zimbabwe

"Lebala Camp was amazing. A great mix of terrain, and animals everywhere. Our transfer day had us going out for the evening game drive on what was my birthday. What a present to be able to see the weeks old lion cubs of the Wapoka Pride as they suckled. Upon returning to camp for dinner, they had baked a birthday cake for all for dessert, and sang and danced. What a precious memory for me. And then, upon retiring for the evening, more surprises. Just, wow!

In the following days, we would follow the 19 strong pack of lions. Just extraordinary to watch their interactions. Many "teenagers" and sub-adults with their antics made for great photo opportunities. I must mention that at this camp, we had a private vehicle and guide/tracker. KK and MP were absolutely wonderful, teaching us many things, and allowing us to fully participate in the search/tracking. When I mentioned that I hadn't seen any "nice" elephants yet in my stay (all had been males in musth so far), the following morning, he found us a "parade" of elephants heading to the water. There had to be 40.....all very relaxed around us. And many with young ones. Another favourite moment.

If I had one small criticism, it would be the lack of privacy in the units. Being mesh on all 4 walls, and spaced fairly close together, we found you could hear even whispered conversations in the next tent. Other than that, they were very lovely, with a pleasing layout. It was always warm enough during our stay for the outdoor shower, but I did wonder if it was June or July, would I be happy with that as the only option.

On our final night, the staff surprised us with a private dinner. It was absolutely unexpected, and was so touching how they spoiled me on this milestone trip.

The service, the food, staff, superior guiding, the camp, and the terrain and wildlife made this camp a must for any return trips for me. It put it in a league of its own. And......as if to make it even more special......on our final morning on the way to the airstrip.......we were witness to the lion pride bringing down a cape buffalo and feed. Right in front of us. Remarkable." See all these reviews: 9n in Botswana

"Excellent all round. Staff at Camp were especially warm and welcoming, creating a very pleasing ambience and the Kwando formula of driver guide and tracker, working as a team on the game drives worked very well and made for some very interesting sightings.

We subsequently stayed at the sister camp in this concession (Lagoon) which was equally as impressive but quite different in character with its waterside setting. Lebala is set in an area of more open grassland and the opportunity to experience both locations back to back made for an interesting and varied programme and we felt it maximised the wildlife viewing opportunities." See all these reviews: 16n in Botswana; 10n in Zimbabwe

"Lebala was my favorite for three reasons - location permitted going offered which meant better sightings, absolutely loved the architecture of the rooms and had the best guide-tracker combo of the trip.

The rooms were well appointed, luxurious, with a feeling of openness that made it a pleasure to spend the quiet afternoon hours there. Our guide Elvis was fantastic!

He knew the landscape and the wildlife like that back of his hand, went out of his way to ensure we had good sightings, educated us with lots of minute details and entertained us with some good stories in the evening." See all these reviews: 8n in Botswana; 1n in South Africa

"We had an outstanding guide, Elvis, and despite only staying 2 nights we built an excellent rapport with him, helped by often being the only couple in the vehicle. Of the 4 camps we visited, this was one of 3 that had trackers as well as guides and we found having a tracker considerably enhanced the experience.

We spent 2 nights at both Lebala and nearby Lagoon camps in the hope of seeing wild dogs at one or other of them and had a sighting at Lebala of a small pack, although disappointingly not of them hunting. Ironically, later, at Splash camp, we had 2 sightings of a large 25+ strong pack of wild dogs although again not of them hunting. Although game sightings were below expectations, with little or nothing at night, the highlight was following a large pride of lion hunting and then fighting over their kill.

The chalet had socket outlets for both a variety of worldwide plug types and also S. African 3 round pin plugs as well as USB plugs. By taking a UK plug to S. African round pin socket adapter, we were able to simultaneously utilise these 2 sockets to charge 2 gadgets..

Food at Lebala average, with meat a challenge but vegetable items good. The absence of mosquitos was welcome." See all these reviews: 10n in Botswana; 2n in Zambia

"Good camp, no "frills". Spacious rooms.

The sightings on the game drives were excellent, with a big pride of 19 lions (very close), cheetahs, wild dogs, roan and sable antelopes, great birdlife and much more. The spotter worked very well with the guide." See all these reviews: 11n in Zambia; 9n in Botswana; 1n in South Africa

"This was my third stay at Lagoon. It has a beautiful location on the riverbank. Plenty of predators, but due to the dry terrain you have to work harder to find them. Personally, I don’t mind lengthy periods of tracking but first time travellers may wonder if the guide and tracker have gone off on foot to chat about the football results. All I would say is stick with it because it generally pays off.

We had some amazing lion sightings. It was only six months since I was last in the area and so many changes in lion politics!

Some nights you don’t see much on the drive back to camp, but on our last night we saw a leopard up a tree, a porcupine and a Serval all in the space of five minutes.

The staff are lovely. We were with the guide G (who is a complete legend) and the tracker Kern who is charming and has the makings of a great guide." See all these reviews: 6n in Botswana

"As ever, a lovely camp with very friendly, welcoming staff, good food and the personal touches which make the Kwando camps so special and keep us coming back.

We had some amazing sightings thanks in part to the excellent and sustained collaboration between our guide and our tracker. It was wonderful to watch the way they worked together to find wild dogs and older pups which were no longer denning, as well as two different prides of lions.

We very much enjoyed the staff's singing and dancing one evening before dinner." See all these reviews: 10n in Botswana; 2n in Zimbabwe

"Very good guide and tracker, Mike and Seemo were excellent, informative and fun to be with.
The location was good, despite not being near water, and the accommodation, food, service and welcome was again very good.
Our highlight was seeing three young (2-3 months old) lion cubs chasing a honey badger. Fortunately for them they didn't catch it!
As well as the sightings mentioned below we also saw jackals, a mongoose and a bat-eared fox.
Again, despite only being there for two nights, we saw a lot of wildlife and had a great time." See all these reviews: 10n in Botswana

"Lovely facilities and food and guiding" See all these reviews: 9n in Botswana; 2n in Zimbabwe