Read 80 traveller reviews of Lagoon Camp

The Kwando Concession is currently the largest private wildlife reserve in Botswana, covering 2,320km² of unfenced wilderness in the far north of the country. Only two camps share this vast reserve, Lagoon Camp to the north and its sister camp Lebala to the south. Most of its western side consists of dense mopane and silver terminalia woodland, but along the Kwando River is a band of lush riverine forest interspersed with open plains. Lagoon Camps nine chalets are shaded beneath tall trees on the banks of this river, which forms the boundary between the Kwando Reserve and Mudumu National Park in Namibia's Caprivi Strip. The region attracts superb big game, especially during Botswana's dry winter months (May-Oct) when elephants and buffalo may seem to be everywhere. Lagoon is famous for its wild dogs that have habitually denned within the reserve since 1997, providing one of the best chances of seeing these gregarious predators, particularly during the denning season (June-July).

Lagoon Camp was completely renovated at the beginning of 2011. Spacious thatched chalets enclosed by stretched canvas walls have replaced the traditional Meru safari tents. These are well furnished yet simply decorated, emphasising the wonderful outlook over the river which is seen (and heard) through large gauze windows. Higher individual wooden platforms also enhance the riverfront view, where elephant often come down to drink. Each chalet has a veranda, large bedroom with seating area and an en-suite bathroom. The latter boasts an indoor and outdoor shower, bath, double-washbasin and a separate toilet.

The thatched communal areas have been spaced out and expanded, creating a number of inviting spaces to relax. A circular structure acts as a central meeting point where you can orientate yourself with maps of Botswana. Around the exterior a staircase leads up to a cosy lounge and library with elevated views over the river. The bookcase offers a small selection of well-thumbed natural history books. To one side is an open-sided dining room and to the other an attractive bar, lounge and swimming pool deck with pool-side furniture and towels. The open outlook and use of both textured and polished wood, neutral tones and a scattering of richly coloured cushions gives a natural, bright and airy feel. Wild dogs feature as the stars of the photographic artwork.

The main areas, including a curio shop, are linked by wooden walkways. Steps down towards the riverfront lead to camp chairs around a sandy clearing where a campfire is lit in the mornings and evenings. Early morning breakfast is served here and this makes an equally nice spot for swapping the day's stories over a few drinks after dinner. A wooden deck with yet more seating and a swing bench juts out over the river. Here you can also find fishing rods to try your hand at casting off the deck, though on our most recent visit in November 2011 only two of the four were in working order. Moored to the side is Lagoon's double-decker boat.

The camp has retained its pleasant laid-back atmosphere and is run by an enthusiastic team of locals. You are encouraged to make yourself at home and help yourself to drinks from the bar fridge and tea/coffee station (which is useful as locating a staff member is sometimes tricky outside of meal times). Overall we've found the service at Lagoon to be genuinely warm and professional. The guiding here has consistently been good though, as with most camps, the amount of information communicated to guests can vary between guides.

The activities at Lagoon Camp focus on day and night game drives . They also offer short guided walks, fishing and double-decker boat cruises ideal for exploring the tranquil waterways and birdwatching. We have particularly enjoyed the boat trips on our visits to this camp – especially when the light was good and from the top deck we were able to watch hippo walking along under the crystal clear water. Note that the guided walks are at the discretion of the camp guides who will first assess the presence and movements of potentially dangerous animals. There are also government restrictions on boat cruises after sunset as well as fishing during January and February. Guided walks and game drives can take a maximum of 6 guests – the vehicles have two rows of three seats so there is no guarantee of always having a 'window' seat.

An able tracker, as well as a driver/guide, accompanies all of the 4WD excursions. This provides an extra pair of experienced eyes to search for predators and more elusive game. Game sightings appear to be more prolific during Botswana's dry season (May-Oct). However, rewarding sightings do occur year round and the rainy season often reveals more unusual sights as well as a greater variety of birdlife. The vehicles at Lagoon are open-topped Uri's. They allow unobstructed views of wildlife, but there is no shade so do take a sun hat, sunscreen and a waterproof for your camera gear during the rainy season (ponchos are provided).

Our View

Lagoon Camp's attractive riverside setting, lovely accommodation and generally excellent game viewing have made it a popular choice for many of our travellers. Unforgettable wild dog sightings are often the highlight and the experienced guides and hardy open-roofed vehicles do well keeping up when a pack is hunting. Be prepared for an exhilarating and bumpy ride when in pursuit! This is a great camp for those with a sense of adventure that love being in the wilderness, without having to give up most creature comforts.

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Tented Chalet at Lagoon Camp

Lodge overview

Lodge type: Safari

No. of bedrooms: 8 tented chalets, 1 family unit

Season: Open Year Round

Ideal length of stay: 3 nights. Lagoon and Lebala combine particularly well with one of their sister camps in the Okavango, Kwara or Little Kwara; as well as with Nxai Pan and Tau Pan in the drier reaches of the Kalahari to the south. Note: If you combine Lagoon with Lebala, Kwara/Little Kwara, Tau Pan or Nxai Pan for a total of 6+ nights we can usually offer a long stay discounted rate.

Geographics

Location: Kwando-Linyanti area, Botswana

Directions: Flying into Kwando airstrip, it usually takes 20 to 30 minutes to reach Lagoon Camp, depending on time spent game viewing on the way.

Accessible by: Fly-and-Transfer

Key personnel

Owner: Kwando Safaris.

Staff: When at Lagoon in November 2011 the camp was ably managed by Lebo and Keone. The guides were Carlos and Bali, accompanied by Aaron and James as trackers.

Food & drink

Usual board basis: Full Board

Food quality: Overall, the food served during our latest stay at Lagoon Camp was of a very good standard. An early light breakfast is provided by the campfire before your morning activity and usually includes freshly baked cookies or muffins, porridge or cereals and a bowl of fruit. To drink there's tea, coffee and juice. Brunch is served buffet style at around 11 o'clock and includes a varied selection of cooked breakfast and lunch dishes. When we were last at Lagoon we were offered toast, fried mushrooms, sausage, bacon, baked beans, and eggs cooked to order on a hot plate. On the buffet there was also a cheese and vegetable bake, green salad, pasta salad, fresh home-made bread, a cheese board and a platter of fresh fruit. You won't go hungry! High tea is served before the afternoon activity. This generally consists of a sweet and savoury snack such as mini beef and vegetable wraps, pineapple cake and a fresh fruit platter on our last visit. This was washed down with iced tea and very tasty lemonade. Dinner is a three-course meal, often a plated entree and dessert and various main dish choices from the buffet. We enjoyed a spinach roulade as starter; thai chicken curry or chickpea curry with fragrant rice, butternut and broccoli for the main; and a golden bread and raisin pudding for dessert. Vegetarians and any particular dietary requirements can be catered for on request. A choice of red and white wine is also served with the meal. All guests dine together at meal times and occasionally the camp will surprise everyone with an outdoor bush dinner or picnic lunch. Private meals can be arranged on request and are served on the pool deck or room verandas.

Dining style: Group Meals

Dining locations: Indoor and Outdoor Dining

Cost of meal e.g. lunch: Included

Drinks included: Bottled water, soft drinks, local beers and spirits plus a limited selection of (usually) South African red and white wines are included. Champagne and imported wines and spirits will cost extra and must be requested in advance.

Special interests

Birdwatching: Lagoon Camp abuts a deep waterway and you will spot a good variety of water birds from the camp itself. In season (Oct-Nov), there is often a colony of carmine bee-eaters which nests in the riverbank nearby and there can be some interesting interaction with opportunistic monitor lizards which lurk here. Swamp boubou, sacred and hadeda ibis, pied and malachite kingfisher, wattled plover, wattled crane, African darter, grey go-away-bird, slaty egret and Meyer's parrot are just some of the many other species also present in this area. - See more of our suggestions of the best places for birdwatching in Botswana

Photographic: The 4WD vehicles used by Lagoon Camp are open-roofed as well as open-sided which allows for un-obscured wildlife photography. However, please be aware that when all six guest seats are occupied not everyone will have a 'window' seat. We would therefore recommend a private vehicle and guide for avid photographers as this is a relatively inexpensive addition at Kwando Camps. It also means photographers can dictate the focus of game drives and the time spent at each sighting. - See more of our suggestions of the best places for photographic in Botswana

Wildlife safaris: As well as the excellent birding to be enjoyed within the Kwando Reserve, there is a wide variety of game here including lion, leopard, large herds of buffalo and elephant (particularly from May-Oct), red lechwe, kudu, warthog, tsessebe, waterbuck, reedbuck, giraffe, spotted hyena and occasionally cheetah. Lagoon Camp is especially renowned for its regular wild dog sightings as they have denned in the area for many years. The best time to see wild dog is during the denning season (June/July) and for a month or two after when the pups are too young to move far. Pools of water that gather in the mopane forest during the rainy season (Jan-Mar) allow the packs to roam widely, so they are seldom seen over this time. There are also crocodile and pods of hippo in and around the waterways. One particularly enjoyable activity is a cruise on the double-decker boat; on a bright day you may see hippo walking along under the crystal clear water beside you. - See more of our suggestions of the best places for wildlife safaris in Botswana

Children

Attitude towards children: Generally children are welcome but please take into account the restrictions below.

Age restrictions: Children from 6 to 12 years old are accepted – though families are required to book a private vehicle at extra cost. Children younger than 6 are accepted when reserving the entire camp for exclusive use.

Activities: Earlier meal times and kids meals can be arranged in advance with the camp manager. Child-minding is also available on request; though note that children are looked after by staff members who are not professionally qualified or trained in child-care. For a surcharge, a specialist family guide can be booked in advance to accompany a family group at Lagoon and its sister camps (Lebala, Kwara, Tau Pan and Nxai Pan) – please speak to us for more details.

Equipment: Lagoon doesn't provide any highchairs, cots, or special equipment for children.

Generally recommended for children: We would recommend Lagoon Camp for maturer children. Lagoon Camp has one family unit which consists of a double bedroom, off which a second bedroom is accessed through a wooden door. There is one shared en-suite bathroom within the master bedroom. The family unit is the only room situated to one side of the camps main area and its walkway is reached via the pool deck – note the pool is not fenced.

Notes: Lagoon Camp is unfenced with potentially dangerous wildlife in the area. It also abuts a deep water channel. Children must be under their parents supervision at all times.

Central communications

Power supply: Combination of power - Lagoon Camp is powered by generator and inverter system. The generator is mainly on when guests are out on activities. Water is heated by solar power. Batteries and electrical equipment can be charged using plug points by the bar or in the office – not in the guest rooms. The camp has a range of adaptors which they feel work for the majority of guests.

Communications: For all intents and purposes consider yourself out of contact. There is no direct phone, fax or internet. Contact in an emergency is made via radio. Some mobile phones with roaming may pick up reception here, as Lagoon is very near the Namibian border and cellphone network.

Health & safety

Malarial area: Yes

Medical care: The camp managers and guides are trained in first-aid and a comprehensive first-aid kit is kept in camp. Each guide also has their own basic field kit when out on activities. In an emergency, Lagoon Camp can arrange for clients to be flown out.

Dangerous animals: High Risk

Security measures: Because Lagoon Camp is unfenced and the Kwando Reserve is home to a large population of potentially dangerous wildlife, guests are escorted to their rooms after dark. An air-horn is provided in each guest room in case of an emergency.

Fire safety: In case of fire, there are fire extinguishers kept in the common areas of the camp and on the verandah outside each of the guest rooms.

Extras

Disabled access: On Request

Laundry facilities: A full laundry service is included, save for the washing of underwear. Washing powder is provided in the guest rooms for this purpose.

Money: No currency exchange facilities are offered. There are digital safes provided in each room.

Accepted payment: MasterCard and Visa credit cards are accepted. Diners and American Express are not. For curio shop purchases there is a 3% credit card commission charged. Cash payments can be made in Rand, £, US$, Euros and Botswana Pula. Some travellers cheques may also be accepted but not American Express travellers cheques.

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