Reviews of Kaingo Camp
(96%) From 188 travellersThey do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa.
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Kaingo Camp review
Kaingo is a very special place - in comparison to Kwandwe it is much more remote and a Camp inside a national park. We really enjoyed Zambia and our time in Kaingo.
on our penultimate day we decided to have a walking safari in the morning. This was well worth it - despite some nerves at the beginning. We all learnt a lot from Sandy on all our drives but also the walking safari. I feel i need to raise one issue though - at the end of the walking safari we were due to meet our car at an agreed location. Due to a misunderstanding the car was not there and our guide Sandy had difficulty in getting a response from the Camp on his radio. It seemed like a long time standing and waiting but it probably wasn't that long. What surprised me though was the way the camp office reacted. Surely they must have standard operating procedures - especially on walking safaris?
What if one of us had fallen and broken a bone - or had a heart attack? Being on foot rather than the car creates additional risk that I didn't feel the camp recognised
Expert Africa comments
We’re really sorry that a delayed pick-up raised safety concerns and we’ve looked into this closely with the Kaingo team. An error led to the delay – but the guide didn’t view the delay as a major emergency, and so didn’t activate the camp’s emergency protocol for raising the alarm, which is only used in extreme circumstances.
Firstly, the guide had informed the managers of the planned route for their walk and organised the rendezvous correctly. However, when he first radioed for a pick-up, the message was received by Kaingo, but not passed on as it should have been. When their guide radioed a second time, on arrival at the rendezvous point, poor radio reception caused the message to be garbled, and hence the vehicle was further delayed before it finally arrived. The camp has put additional training in place to double-down on this for the future.
This shouldn’t have happened, and we apologise most profusely to these travellers.
Fortunately, had the situation been more serious or urgent, then there are two more extreme steps that would have been taken – which would have alerted more people and brought help immediately. Fortunately there wasn’t a major emergency, and these weren’t needed.
Kaingo Camp review
Kaingo is well situated on the Luangwa River - benefiting from beautiful views and some amazing sitings from the comfort of your very own private deck (every room has one!). Their staff are one of their greatest assets. Everyone we met was so welcoming and friendly, really making you feel at home. A special shout out to Joseph and Stephen who must have the biggest smiles on the planet and are always ready with a cool towel and a glass of wine just when you need it!
The game viewing is exceptional in the South Luangwa - lions, leopards, hippos, elephants, giraffes, civet, genet, porcupines, and some of the most stunning zebra you'll find anywhere. There were a few occasions where the park felt a little too busy, especially on the evening drives when the headlights of competing vehicles are a distraction, but it's a stunning safari location and caters to photographers especially well.
We found the food a little too fussy for our tastes, but we're probably in the minority, and the chef here does a great job of catering to different dietary requirements.
Had a great time!
We loved staying at Kaingo camp! We thought everything about it was wonderful – – the room, the food, the extremely friendly and helpful staff, our great guide, Sandy. The game drives were great and we saw lots of lions and some leopards in addition to the usual suspects—giraffes, kudu, zebra, elephant, etc. The hippo hide and the bird hide were both amazing and a real addition to our experience. We found the scenery in South Luangwa to be particularly beautiful in a haunting African way. We would recommend this camp to anyone.
Read more about the whole safariLuxury by the river
Again, I was greeted as an old friend. Kaingo ensures that nothing is left undone. Every detail has been thought of by the management and staff, and our every need was attended to. Having photography advice on hand was much appreciated by my elder daughter.
Our 'picnic' lunch out was an absolute treat, and our final meal together on the verandah of our beautiful accommodation was just the most exquisite way to end our special family holiday. Thank you.
Special mention has to go to the wonderful chef who bent over backwards to find my granddaughter's taste buds. The quiche sent for our picnic at the airport hit the spot perfectly. Thank you.
Kaingo Camp review
Kaingo again (this was our second visit) exceeded expectations.
The accommodations are really quite excellent, the guides very qualified. Be prepared for in-camp wildlife, including baboons, hippos and, in our case, a friendly (?) elephant. The food was excellent....top quality. The staff was uniformly friendly and helpful. The common space is really extremely nice...as is the new (to us) waterside deck. Overall, a really great experience.
Only negative was availability....we would have chosen to stay 3 nights but only two were available.
Highly recommended.
The sound of Hippos at Kaingo
We walked from Mwamba to Kaingo and we were greeted by a visiting Elephant on entering the camp. We really enjoyed our stay at Kaingo. The location next to the river, the sound of hippos at night and the views from the platform outside our comfortable hut all made for an enjoyable time. Kaingo's hosts, Agata and Gerard, made us feel very welcome - and Catherine and her team produced some delicious food. We particularly enjoyed lunchtime picnics by the river and dinner on the terrace outside our room.
Sylvester (Sly) was our excellent guide and his ability to spot photo opportunities and put the truck in the right place was key to my better photographic efforts! We had some fantastic Leopard sightings including Chiphadzuwa with Cub and were able to observe several unsuccessful(!) leopard hunts. Traffic was higher than at Mwamba and the presence of leopards and lions while we were at Kiango seemed to act as a draw for traffic from other lodges - but traffic still remained low and most of our sightings were in seclusion. Sly successfully led us to wild dogs on our last full day - cue celebration!
Kaingo and Mwamba camps are very different but both excellent - which is best - depends on which one we are in!
Kaingo Camp review
Kaingo Camp is a first class, well thought out and run camp where attention to detail is as perfect as it gets, for those wishing to do wildlife photography, bar none! The vehicles are open and tiered. The side bars and front bar (in the first row) are all accompanied with soft rests for support of your camera and lenses. You can move and adjust them as well. Who else does this? Leave your bean bag at home. The guide/driver during the day is not only knowledgeable but knows where and how to position the vehicle for the best viewing possible. No instructions are necessary. How cool is that for a change? You concentrate on shooting only. If you don't get the shot its not the drivers fault! At night, there is a tracker who also has a spotting light to help with focus. By the way he also carries a large caliber rifle in case the wildlife gets a little too friendly. Together this duo will get you to the best spots to see leopards (with or without a cub) in the trees with a kill at night. That's 2 nights with kills out of a 5 night stay. Hard to beat that statistically speaking.
The wildlife is abundant and can be "in your face" close, for all the big game. This makes for good video as well. But there are other less common species here as well including the Crawshay's zebra and the Cookson's wildebeest. Both are not difficult to see.
You can walk out of your tent to a separate overlook on the river (each tent has it's own). The camp also has "hippo hides" but these hides make most hunting hides look destitute in comparison. Again, there are places to sit and support for your heavy lenses, if required. You are at eye level with the animals in the water. Some effort went into their design including taking into consideration the sun. You will not bake inside these enclosures.
This was our first time at this camp but if we go back it will not be our last. Only the Masai Mara can come close to the experiences you will see here. The best thing is there are only a fraction of the visitors. We have now been to Africa some 8 times so these comments do not come from inexperience or naivete. Yes, the rest of the camp is first class also: good food, rooms, staff service and general facilities.
Loved it Kaingo
First time to Kaingo and it was awesome.
The staff there is the best. Our guide Yoram was a bit quiet, but found the game. Saw lots of Leopards.
Will return.
Kaingo Camp review
This was the best part of our stay !
The hosts ...all of them were awesome !!! sightings and the guide were terrific....my son was even taken out for late nt drive to see the stars....
Looking forward to our next visit to Kaingo !!
Kaingo Camp
This is the third time in four years we have spent a week at Kaingo which says all you need to know about our assessment of the camp and its location.
See my more detailed comments on previous years reviews.
One little point to look out for is that if you wish to visit the hide at Mwamba bushcamp (and it is a good location) but you are staying at the main camp at Kaingo then your ability to access this hide cannot be guaranteed as residents at Mwamba have priority.
