Reviews of Lagoon Camp
Wildlife sightings and reviews
274 independent comments and wildlife information from our travellers who have visited Lagoon Camp and kindly agreed to share their thoughts. They do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa
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"Lagoon Camp review"
Large herds of elephants, zebras, Cape buffalos, giraffes, roan, sable, kudu and tsessabe antelopes were regularly seen. Our guide Ike and tracker Tefu were experts but the predators they were tracking unfortunately did not materialise so despite following many tracks we saw no leopards, cheetahs or hyenas and only one sighting of 4 lions. Birdlife was similarly relatively sparse.
Had our BA flight delay not forced us to miss our first day we would have seen an aardvark and an aardwolf, which were seen by other guests who shared our car. We did see a pack of 6 resting wild dogs on the drive from airstrip to camp.
As with all the Kwando Safari camps we visited the exclusivity is wonderful - the only other game trucks we met were the other two from our camp." See all these reviews: 9n in Botswana
"Lagoon Camp review"
The staff was smaller and a little more intimate with the guests. They shared more of their culture by engaging us with song and dance during the wonderful meals. We enjoyed the cabin (and loved the outdoor shower) and the view out to the nearby lake. In fact, one of the favorite times of my day was to sit on the cabin deck during siesta watching the animals in and around the lake.
We were fortunate that our rides included a total of 4 passengers, instead of 6." See all these reviews: 6n in Botswana
"Lagoon Camp review"
The camp was lovely, and the staff made everyone feel special. They even treated us to a concert before dinner. Food was great. Again, wish dinner was a little earlier, but not a big deal. I did try to fill the claw foot tub, but the water came out brown, so decided a bath was a no go.
As for the wildlife - even more exceptional than at 4 Rivers, which was amazing. Fabulous tracking. We even saw an aardwolf." See all these reviews: 7n in Botswana; 3n in Zimbabwe
"Great camp & heaps of wildlife"
There were a lot of different animals and birds, and we had successful night drives! The accommodation and meals were "safari glamping", and the view from the camp is great. The flood hadn't filled the river enough for boat safaris, but enough for a large pod of hippos in the lagoon right below the camp - they party loudly all night (ear plugs required)!
Many animals had young, which was fun to watch. We saw all the big cats - a large male cheetah posed for us at sunset, also coalitions of male lions, lionesses with cubs, and a leopard. There were wild dogs (with pups), several small herds of zebra, wildebeest, giraffe, Cape buffalo, antelope of different types, large herds of elephants and large pods of hippos. We also saw an ostrich, various mongooses (mongeese?), squirrels, and many different types of birds! On the night drives we saw a couple of ardwolves, a civet and a honey badger.
It was a wonderful and exciting safari experience!" See all these reviews: 12n in Botswana; 4n in Namibia
"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." See all these reviews: 10n in Botswana
"Lagoon Camp review"
The shop has many useful items such as extra clothing layers, books, and souvenirs." See all these reviews: 11n in Botswana
"Lagoon Camp review"
Our guides were the best of all three camps we visited. Their knowledge, understanding, and enthusiasm made our time at Lagoon unbelievable." See all these reviews: 9n in Botswana; 1n in South Africa
"Lagoon Camp review"
"Lagoon Camp review"
Anyway, given our affection for Kwando, we decided to visit three of their camps this year, starting with Lagoon. Like Lebala (see next section), this camp is located in the vast Kwando concession just north of the Okavango Delta. Like Lebala, this camp is at or near the Kwando River, which forms the border to Namibia and its Mudumu and Nkasa & Rupara National Parks.
The room they gave us a Lagoon was spectacular, very spacious and furnished in classic safari style, with a nice view overlooking the Kwando River. Around mid day, several elephants would show up to drink. On one afternoon, a lioness visited the camp as well and inspected our tent very carefully. Unfortunately, I was out on a game drive, but my wife who skipped this one, told me all about it.
On the first game drive we only saw two giraffes, and I thought this was probably the most boring game drive we ever had. Anyway, things started to get much better after this initial disappointment. We had several encounters with two resident male lions who roamed the area and occasionally roared during the night. They were named Golden Boy and Rrabelante (Mr. Belt, because at one point he wore a radio collar). On one morning, Golden Boy was lying 3 m from our vehicle and started roaring. My wife made a video of him and then played it back. Rrabelante who was sleeping 15 m away from the car was alerted to the roaring lion, got up, tried to locate the roaring lion and looked at us in the car. But our guide Stan told Ingrid immediately to stop playing back the video. But this enabled me to get some stunning photographs of the irritated lion in a nice perspective.
Other than that, we saw two cheetah brothers, but they were just lazing around, and on the last morning when Stan, our guide, drove us towards Lebala Camp, we met the lioness again who visited our tent, and she was cavorting with Golden Boy, less then a kilometer from the camp. Due to the early morning light I was able to shoot some beautiful pictures.
It should be mentioned that Lagoon Camp has a reputation for reliable wild dog sightings, but on this visit they were nowhere to be seen.
Our guide Stan could give amazing and fascinating lectures about the wildlife as well as trees and plants, and he didn’t appear to be lecturing." See all these reviews: 12n in Zimbabwe; 11n in Botswana
"Lagoon Camp review"
The water levels were exceptionally low for this time of year, but game sightings, both predator and general game, were still good.
The team are as friendly and welcoming as ever." See all these reviews: 11n in Botswana
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