Reviews of Lagoon Camp

"We spent two nights at Lagoon from May 13-15th with Charles as our guide and AT as tracker. The entire staff at the camp was very courteous and attentive. The rooms were well kept. At night, it gets really chilly in the room. You can hear the hippos in the lagoon outside your room the entire night. It's quite beautiful especially coming from New York, you hear cars honking and fire truck sirens, so it's a very welcomed change to hear hippos serenading you.

The game drives were very exciting. We saw a lot during this time. The guide and tracker are very active in tracking for cheetahs, lions, leopards and wild dogs. We did see lions during the afternoon snoozing but didn't catch the elusive wild dogs and cheetah though others during our time there were lucky to see them. Also, the camp gave us checklists which was a plus so I can just tick off what I saw instead of jotting down the names in my notebook.

Some negatives:
Freezing in the evenings - At Vumbura, they left "hot water bags" between the sheets that warms your bed considerably, perhaps, Lagoon can do something similar

The water in the sink goes down very slowly and the water is yellowish-brown which leaves a metallic after taste after teeth brushing.

Concerns:
The staff does seem a bit tired as I understand they work 7 weeks a day for three months straight followed by 21 days off. The guide joins you for breakfast, lunch and dinner. At Vumbura Plains, the guide didn't have to join you for brunch and dinner which I believe enables him to have a slight break and/or time to unwind." See all these reviews: 7n in Botswana

"Although the facilities are not as posh as the previous camp Selinda this turned out to be our favorite camp of the whole trip.

Issac the manager was also our guide with Bede our tracker, the atmosphere of the camp was exceptional, no request was too much trouble.

The game drives were tailored to our requirements including an extra long game drive to see elephants in the south concession we also walked, fished and had an evening boat ride, the camp was regularly visited by baboons and after one game drive elephant tracks were seen on the path to our tent, this was confirmed the following day when the elephant turned up whilst we were there." See all these reviews: 9n in Botswana; 4n in Zambia

"The camp is beautifully situated on the lagoon, and it was good to enjoy the siesta on the verandah watching the hippos and crocodles. The staff here were very friendly, helpful and efficient and the food good.

Animal sightings here were plentiful and varied. Our guide, Roc, was very good, although not usually employed at this lodge. He worked extremely well with the tracker, who had been at the lodge for some years. Apart from lots of herbivores, we saw lions and cheetahs.

The highlight, though, were the African Hunting Dogs. We had been following tracks one day, without success, and then the next day a dog ran through the camp while we were having the early morning breakfast . There was a quick rush to the vehicles, and we all joined in the chase. The dogs were not at all bothered by the vehicles, and the driving skills of the guides were amazing. We had lots of sightings of dogs, and then came upon the pack just after they had killed an impala.

We were able to watch the dogs feed, then trot down to the water to drink, and then wander back into he bush to rest. We located them again in the afternoon, and stayed to watch them waking, greeting each other, and then set off to hunt again. At this point we lost them, but while we were having a sundowner by a pool, two dogs appeared at the other side of the pool, and ran round to within a few feet of us. We felt very lucky at privileged to experience the whole hunting and resting routine of these beautiful animals.

We didn't experience the boat trip - our choice - we were enjoying the safari drives too much." See all these reviews: 12n in Botswana; 2n in Zambia

"The purpose of our safari at Lagoon Camp was to see wild dogs. Through the excellence of our tracker Atang and our guide "General", they turned a chance sighting into an encounter with the full pack on day one. The next day we tracked them to their well hidden resting place for more observasion and later in the day returned to follow them at hectic pace through the bush on their successful night time hunt. The dogs flushing out a pangolin during their hunt.

In all a very special experience." See all these reviews: 7n in Zambia; 6n in Botswana

"The position of the camp on the lagoon, near the river, is very beautiful and the boat trip we made was most interesting, sadly cut short because that was the one day when we had really heavy rain. But the frogs liked it! We also liked the layout of the tents

The guides were very skilled and enthusiastic. We saw wild dogs, a leopard and we also saw the most elephants here: large groups with several babies ! This camp was also good for hippos.

We especially liked the friendly atmosphere at this camp: the waitresses came and introduced themselves and guests, managers, guides all sat down together for meals . The food was of an excellent standard. We loved the campfires where we sat at breakfast time to eat delicious porridge." See all these reviews: 9n in Botswana

"Another lovely setting, quite serene and picturesque. Staff were very friendly and amusing.

Our first snake encounter - came across a python which was 2 metres long and moved pretty quickly!

Experienced 2 wild dog chases both of which ended in a kill right before our eyes! Exhilirating drive through the bush trying to keep up with them. KB and AT are driver and tracker kept us amused and were very knowledgeable about the flora and fauna. This was a great end to our stay in Botswana." See all these reviews: 9n in Botswana; 3n in Zambia

"The highlight was a pack of 13 wild dogs and the hippos walking past the tent at night. Generally the game was plentiful.

A very well run and organised camp in a lovely setting." See all these reviews: 13n in Botswana; 7n in Zanzibar; 3n in Zambia

"The camp, it's staff, the food, our guide and tracker were all very good and friendly.

Although all our guides and trackers were excellent Kaybee and Baruti (sorry may have spelt names incorrectly) stood out. We tracked three cheetahs for well over an hour and found them. Following the wild dogs on a hunt was truely amazing.

The ostrich we had one night was lovely." See all these reviews: 8n in Botswana

"The Kwando ethos seems to be primarily about the wildlife. The game here was brilliant, first afternoon yielded wild dog interaction with a Hyena and a Leopard on a kill, surprisingly these standards were kept up.

The tracker/guide system employed provides results, combined with the willingness to drive off roads for long periods give you the best chance of good wildlife experiences not just sightings.

Camp facilities whilst very good, are not quite to the same level. There are plusher camps in existence, this is reflected in relatively small tents compared to some and a camp that is quite compact.

Food of good quality, frequent and generous!" See all these reviews: 9n in Botswana; 2n in Zambia

"The Kwando Lagoon Camp experience was amazing - albeit unbelievably expensive.

Overall this was one of the highlights of our trip and we would most definitely visit again (once we have saved up more money or robbed a bank !!)" See all these reviews: 3n in Namibia; 2n in Botswana