Reviews of Lebala Camp

"Lebala was another excellent Camp in all respects. Although not at the edge of flowing water like Lagoon and therefore no boat rides, the countryside is more open with some beautiful vistas and many areas of open water, some quite large.

Once again the chalet, the food and the laundry service were all excellent and the staff were also first class, efficient, friendly and charming. The Camp had very few other people staying and on our last day we were the only guests. Our guide, Mayezi, and tracker, KB, were absolutely first class with a great depth of knowledge not just of the animals but also the birds, trees and other vegetation and everything else about the area we were in.

The stand-out experience was a group of twelve lions -- three lionesses each with three cubs -- all except the youngest cubs (about two months old, who were too busy playing or suckling or doing a little gentle exploring) feasting on a sub-adult elephant which had died of natural causes. That was on the first and second days. By the morning of the third day there was nothing left of the elephant, the vultures had even cleaned its head absolutely white and the lions had disappeared. However, Mayezi's and KB's tracking skills came into play and they picked up their footprints in the sand. From those we soon found them and they had been joined by two handsome male lions. They all looked magnificent in the early morning sunlight. The interaction between the three youngest cubs, who wanted to play, and the male who was doubtless their father and who was classically not interested, was almost human.

Apart from this there was much else to see. We travelled down from Lagoon overland, changing from one Landcruiser to another at the "border". The scenery was beautiful. Apart from other wildlife we had an excelent sighting of another pride, this time of six lions, all in superb condition. On our other days in Lebala the wildlife was plentiful with some large herds of red lechwe and other plains game. Also some unusual, even rare sightings. These included a crocodile on the track well away from any water as if out for an afternoon walk, and an aardwolf at its burrow in the evening and again the next morning out in the open, striding purposefully forward. And in an amazing piece of spotting KB saw a chameleon on the track, no more than about 12cm long and almost the exact colour of its mottled green background.

Lagoon and Lebala make an excellent and easy pairings." See all these reviews: 12n in Botswana

"The camp needs to be redone, and we were told that that was the plan.

Our biggest disappointment was with our guide (I think his name was Mike). We feel he lacks the proper personality, demeanor and respect for the guests. He was very inappropriate at a number of times (like when you asked to have some tonic water and he would say No - then just kidding), but it was said in a very disrespectful and non- kidding way.

He also did one evening’s drive (to see Cheetahs, which we very much appreciated seeing), but the drive was done at high speed and we could easily have been thrown out of the Jeep. It wasn’t necessary. We told the camp manager of our concerns." See all these reviews: 9n in Namibia; 6n in Botswana; 3n in Zimbabwe; 1n in South Africa

"Another Kwando camp which we much enjoyed.

Great game viewing with Myaesi as our guide and Kaiser as our tracker. Our first evening was spent at a Spotted Hyena den.

The next day was spent locating two of the Lion prides, notably following a famed huntress named Striker. We were delighted to see part of the Golden Boys coalition of Lions in lovely early morning light.

Elephants were present in large numbers and we spent quite a bit of time watching their antics on the water's edge.

Less common species we were fortunate to see included Bat-eared Fox, Roan and Sable Antelope and Wild Cat." See all these reviews: 19n in Botswana

"The tents here are spacious, very comfortable, well appointed and spaced out with views to the surrounding marsh. Passing wildlife give the feeling of a bush stay, even spotting a local male leopard from the balcony of our room. The food is good, and the staff friendly.
Of the three Kwando camps we visited, this camp offers a really interesting mix of terrain and hence wildlife viewing in our opinion. River, water holes, pans, grassland (some flooded in July) and mixed forest areas made for interesting and varied game drives and sightings. Good predator and game, with a honey badger eating a snake a real highlight/ bonus!
Our guide Elvis was excellent and a real model for others- knowledgeable, calm, in tune with the needs of his guests and fun as well. He and our tracker Dredd were great company for our 3 days, tracking down and spotting some great wildlife." See all these reviews: 14n in Botswana

"We loved Lebala! It was our first camp in Botswana and a great one to start with. It had a wonderful welcoming and friendly vibe. The guides, trackers and staff were very kind and genuine. The rooms are beautiful with lots of space to get your things organized, two sinks etc. In retrospect the rooms here were a little more rustic than at other camps, but were completely comfortable. There is only hot water midday for the outdoor shower, but that was no problem. Meals were great, always enough choice for guests' palettes and special diets. Fresh baked bread and peanut butter available for the pickiest of eaters. The staff planned a special private dinner for me and my son on our last night, celebrating his graduation, which was the purpose of our trip. We were totally surprised.
We shared a vehicle with other "new" guests which was wonderful because we were all just beginning our safari experience together so we stopped for every bird or antelope on the first drive as we got accustomed to the wildlife. Then by late in day two we knew that we could drive by some animals. Lions were the stars of Lebala. We got to observe playful cubs and adults in many settings. We saw many many elephants as well. We saw hyena pups which were adorable. Plus cool surprises like a few African wild cats, mongoose, an aardwolf and a civet. Fantastic birds of prey and owls.
The night noises at Lebala are fantastic, more interesting than other camps we visited. We were in room 8 and heard hippos each night, for a lot of the night. We heard lions at night as well as a lot of other sounds. Some guests were a little nervous by the volume, but most thought it was amazing. (Staff are very safety conscious, they would not let guests outdoors when dangerous animals were near, but we could listen to them from the safety or our chalet.)
We also really liked the Kwando safari company that uses trackers and guides. We had so many discoveries." See all these reviews: 8n in Botswana; 2n in Zimbabwe

"Very upscale and lovely rooms. I loved the bathtub!

More "civilized" than Chobe under Canvas so a nice change. Staff was welcoming and guide was good.

The guide at Labala was very knowledgeable but less passionate.

Food and other guests were again top notch." See all these reviews: 8n in Botswana; 3n in Zimbabwe

"Guide not as enthusiastic or informative as elsewhere but wildlife still plentiful- good game viewing" See all these reviews: 8n in Botswana; 2n in Zimbabwe

"Lebala was more of a dry plains camp, with waterholes and marshlands. We were told that the cheetahs and wild dogs had been mostly displaced by large prides of lions (June 2022).

There were plenty of plains animals - lions, giraffe, zebra, impala, wildebeest, jackals, ostriches. The night game drive gave sightings of an aardwolf, genet, serval, spotted hyena and spring hares (which reminded us of small wallabies). Hippos, and a lion prowling the camp area, roaring loudly, woke everyone during the night - authentic African safari experience!

The tracker "Akeem" and guide "Mike" worked very well together, enthusiastically tracking and finding game off-road, and explaining the habits of the animals. We were delighted to see small lion cubs practicing their hunting skills on each other, and chasing our vehicle while their mother was absent!

A baby hippo provided a lot of entertainment by riding its mother's back then introducing itself to basking crocodiles on the bank of the waterhole (oops), before mother came to the rescue!" See all these reviews: 14n in Botswana

"Nice people, like every where else in Botswana. But when you are not there to see lion, they are very much out of their comfort zone. Tracking lions, that is what they (can) do. They do not (try to) keep track of the dogs. Wildlife and wildlife sighting disappointing. Not used to approach other - potential - interesting sightings. Neither have the patience. Area nothing special.

Could have skipped this camp in my itinerary without missing anything.

Rooms could use some repairs, refurbishment and fresh paint." See all these reviews: 20n in Botswana; 1n in South Africa

"we really enjoyed our time at Lebala and met some really nice guests

We had an excellent guide and tracker plus the food was just mouth watering" See all these reviews: 7n in Botswana; 1n in South Africa