Reviews of Lagoon Camp

"After the drama of Duba Plains Camp, Lagoon Camp was a little less exciting although there were a few experiences which made the stay far from pedestrian.
The highlight for us was the discovery of a wild dog den after bumping many miles over terrible roads. We arrived early and witnessed the dogs waking up and welcoming each other in anticipation of a hunt which sadly did not materialise on this occasion. However, it was great to be there watching them interact.

Another highlight was the arrival of three male cheetah into the area after a six month's absence. Again, it was great to follow these beautiful animals through an entire day as they relaxed and attempted to find prey, which, unfortunately, they failed to do. It was much more unfortunate, of course, from their perspective than from ours.

Sadly, we missed a highly dramatic encounter between hyenas and a male lion as the latter failed to protect its kill from the huge pack of scavengers.Those fortunate enough to witness it returned with tales of awe inspiring savagery. A case of being at the wrong place at the wrong time, but that is the nature of the safari experience, I suppose.

We saw many other species, including a huge variety of bird life which never disappoints. On our final day, not long before our onward flight, we rushed to see the only leopard of our entire trip. I got one outstanding photo of the predator staring at us through the thick grass.

Overall, we enjoyed our stay at Lagoon Camp although the standards of catering, while adequate, were not in the same league as Duba Plains Camp." See all these reviews: 13n in Botswana; 2n in Zambia

"Superb location on river wonderful views and hippos at night.

Game not as plentiful so longer drives but still saw everything including wild dogs after a kill and cats. Good river trip with elephants at water and many hippos.

We also enjoyed the evening dancing and singing of the camp staff." See all these reviews: 11n in Botswana

"The highlight was watching four month old cubs with their mother and big sister. the cubs playing with one another, climbing trees,or trying to, and all totally oblivious to our presence. It was truly magical!

The one downside was our guide Paul. Although he was very nice we found it quite distracting and sometimes annoying that he took as many, if not more photographs than the guests; to the extent that he sometimes blocked our view. Our tracker ( we think P.D.) was great.

We found Lagoon quite busy but the staff were all very friendly and helpful and overall we had a good time." See all these reviews: 11n in Botswana

"The "tents" at Lagoon overlook an arm of a river - a most beautiful view! That afternoon we boarded a two story pontoon boat and meandered down the arm looking at hippos galore - it was just magical seeing the beautiful sundown sipping a favorite beverage while surrounded by hippos snorting away in the water. The view from the top deck was spectacular and allowed us to see a lot of wildlife.

Next morning Paul rounded us up and off we went - the chatter on the radio was that the dog pack that was a Lebala had traveled overnight to the grounds around Lagoon! So we observed the pack on a hunt for about 30 minutes as the dogs jogged looking for prey. We then left the pack and joined another jeep that had spotted lion tracks. Oti jumped out of the jeep and joined the other tracker with lots of discussion on the direction and the types of lions. Paul looked around and decided to loop around and behold we found two lioness, two cubs and a large male lion - a most remarkable sight! We proceeded back to camp and had our brunch and what had become the norm for our afternoon - siesta/reading.

The PM drive started with looking at a herd of wildebeests. We then went over to a double lagoon/watering hole and encountered a large group of marabou storks all gathered in a shrinking pool. We heard some noises and looked over to see five hippos lumbering between the two large lagoons & they went into the water and kept going until submerged. Oti then spotted fresh lion tracks and shortly we came across Blondie, a beautiful young male lion whose fur was significantly lighter in color than the other we saw earlier. We observed Blondie for some time and proceeded to go to our last sundowner with Paul and Oti. On the night drive Oti spotted a porcupine crossing the trail and we stopped to watch it. Oti also spotted several owls on our night drives. The next morning we had a short game drive and went directly to the airport for our flight to the next camp: Kwetsani.

We bid fond farewell to Paul and Oti who had treated us so well during our stay at Lebala and Lagoon." See all these reviews: 8n in Botswana; 2n in Zambia; 2n in South Africa

"This camp is located in a beautiful setting. The camp staff were very efficient and accommodating.

The guide and tracker were very knowledgeable and gave us a good safari experience." See all these reviews: 10n in Botswana; 9n in South Africa

"Kwando Lagoon Camp, as you predicted, was a very good place for game sightings. In fact, within 15 minutes of setting out on our first drive we spotted a leopard and spent almost an hour following it. Then, about 100 meters away there was a pair of lions to watch.

Our guide, Matt, was kind, thoughtful and professional. The camp manager, OB, was friendly and helpful and all of her staff seemed eager to please. One other staff person, Kim, deserves special mention. Her enthusiastic personality and kindness to all of us was memorable.

The accommodation at Lagoon is very, very comfortable. The tents are huge and are divided into three rooms - bedroom, dressing room/storage room, and luxurious bathroom. The outside shower was a treat.

The atmosphere at Lagoon is quite informal and comfortable. The food was good." See all these reviews: 7n in Botswana; 2n in Zimbabwe

"Accommodation was luxurious.
Guide was experienced and knowledgeable.
Camp was efficiently run.
Staff attentive to our needs.
Vehicles were good - Toyota land cruisers with no more than two people per row and no overhead cover. This made for the best visibility" See all these reviews: 7n in Botswana; 2n in Zimbabwe

"We had exemplary guiding - easy to put full confidence in them. Dining staff were also wonderful, very attentive and radiantly joyful. Particularly wonderful was that the Manager was Motswana. For all its luxury, the place had a special 'homely' feel - enjoyed being able to help ourselves at the bar and generally 'hang out' - nice feature was the little library upstairs - space to be quiet and alone when needed, or to socialise with our own party and not always be with the entire camp-full of guests and guides.

Loved our HUGE suite on the river!" See all these reviews: 7n in Botswana

"An excellent camp, lovely staff and superb food in a beautiful situation. Being able to go off road and out at night made the safaris all the more exciting and although the high grasses and their density made it difficult when spotlighting, the green season is a wonderful time to go and shows a different aspect of the country.

Our guide, Carlos, and tracker, PD, worked very hard and gave us some excellent sightings." See all these reviews: 12n in Botswana

"The comparative grandeur of Lagoon Camp came as something of a shock after Footsteps across the Delta. The enormous rooms are beautifully situated by the water, but seemed to me to be ostentatious and ill fitted to a wilderness setting.

Food was excellent, but the camp lacked atmosphere.

The guide and tracker were good at tracking, but a little less communicative than at other camps.

When I arrived I was told that the camp offered four activities - game drives, fishing , walking and boat trips.However it was difficult to persuade them to provide any thing other than a game drive and only after a lot of pushing was I 'squeezed in' on a crowded boat with another group.

It is a camp rule that guests must be escorted to and from their rooms after dark. On one occasion I was forgotten and had to shout for assistance. I felt that management and communication were not as good as elsewhere." See all these reviews: 9n in Botswana