Reviews of Kaingo Camp
(96%) From 160 travellersThey do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa.
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Breathtaking experience at Kaingo
For us the perfect place for wildlife holidays in every aspect. Remoteness, personalized game drives and service, beautiful location, abundant wildlife, wonderful hosts, family atmosphere, world class guiding, very close to nature........ The love and respect for nature is the main theme in this camp and its sister camp Mwamba! Everybody from the owner to the whole staff live this idea.
Read more about the whole safariGreat guides and many leopard sightings
This is a very friendly and welcoming camp with very good guides. Gerard and Agatha were charming hosts. We wanted to see big cats and in our stay here and at the satellite Mwamba Bushcamp we were not disappointed. We have enjoyed several safaris mostly in different countries but have not previously seen as many leopards, both at rest in trees in the morning and hunting at night, thanks to the skill of the guides at Kaingo and Mwamba.
Although the camp was fairly full we had one evening when we (father and adult daughter) were the only guests in our game drive vehicle and on other drives we were paired with a lovely Swedish couple, so never more than 4 and easy viewing and photography.
The two camps tend to share the same area for the game drives which enables them to share information on sightings but with hardly another camp or vehicle in the vicinity, we had the area to ourselves and the animals were never crowded.
The chalets are comfortable and have en suite bathrooms as well as each having their own viewing deck by the river bank. The catering was excellent.
The game walk to Mwamba Bushcamp led by Derek Shelton was an enjoyable experience, despite the extreme October heat, and better than game walks previously experienced.
Kaingo Best Safari Camp in Africa!
This was the third time we have stayed at Kaingo and Mwamba and unbelievably each time excellence has been improved and exceeded our expectations.
Gerard and Agata were the ultimate hosts and Catherine's cooking was superb The guiding food and accommodation are second to none.
We cannot recommend Kaingo and Mwamba camp highly enough.
Kaingo Camp review
Awesome!
Wildlife was fantastic, we saw 45 different lions, 4 leopards, wild dogs, 3 kills during the 3 nights we stayed there! The only thing is that although the river bed was dry, we were not allowed to follow the animal when they were crossing due to exclusivity (Shenton on our side, Norman Carr on the other).
Our guide Patrick was one of the best we had and we met many guides in more than 100 game drives.
We'll come back there for sure.
Expert Africa comments
Great news that these travellers had such a fantastic stay; game viewing from Kaingo this year has been phenomenal. Sorry about the frustration of not being able to cross the Luangwa by vehicle, even when the bed of the Luangwa was dry. The issue with this was park rules forbid the camp to cross, not anything to do with any other camp owners.
Kaingo Camp review
The newly refurbished chalets were a great improvement on the old style giving much more privacy. The furnishings were delighlful and in keeping with the feel of the camp.
The camp manger, Gerard, was very affable, easy going and very good company. The guiding was excellent and productive. Shenton did not disappoint.
All the staff were friendly and made us feel at home from the very start of our visit.
Peaceful remote situation in South Luangwa va
The accommodation was excellent and even had an outside bath, although it might have to be shared with the monkeys.
Lovely individual deck in front of each chalet with view off the river and the birds and game. The camp was superb.
Food prepared by Catherine was of a very high standard. We are missing the 3.30 pm cakes.
Our guide Noelle was outstanding. So knowledgeable and great fun to be with. We had wonderful game and bird sightings including a leopard kill and standoff between a large herd of buffalo and a pride of lions.
The hippo and bee-eater hides were excellent enabling us to have great close up views.
Kaingo Camp review
A super camp at the southern end of the park - we rarely saw another vehicle which was something that worried us when booking for South Luangua, Camp situated in beautiful location overlooking the Luangua river and each bungalow was spacious with several seating areas and outside bathing facilities...
Friendly staff and Catherine, the cook, deserves a Michellin star for producing amazing dishes at every meal! Must comment on the attractive lights (from Malawi and S Africa which hang in the main area.
We had fantastic sightings or birds and animals - several leopard kills (gruesome), lions mating, visits to hippo hide and carmine beeater hide - lots of elephants (lots of young), endless hyenas,Thorneycroft giraffes, lions missing killing a buffalo - and so on and so on..but must say our guide Noelle was just fantastic and her knowledge astounding and we had such amusing and informative times with her - thank you Noelle.
Leopard Haven
We arrived opposite Kaingo Camp from Tafika to be told that we would have to wade across because the water wasn't deep enough for even a canoe! I was slightly thrown but apart from getting our boots wet, it was uneventful. The camp is well named as leopards were abundant - usually about 3 sightings every day, including with kills.
Activites included visits to game hides to view Carmine Bee-eaters, Hippos or elephants as well as game drives by day and night. Our guide, Yoram, was excellent and, as a photographer himself, ensured we had the best sightings of all the animals and birds. I could not have asked for better.
Unfortunately, just prior to leaving, I became unwell - it turned out to be Malarone- rather than food-related - which was to curtail my subsequent activities for a while.
excellent range of game
The concentration of game to view was really impressive; this is the place for Leopard sightings! I thought the camp was well organised, and the guiding pretty good. Derek Shenton personally guided on our walk in the bush. My daughter and boyfriend considered their experience as great; large pride of lion, aformentioned leopards (8), wild dog, hippo fights; all seen, and much more.
The site of the camp was also appreciated on the banks of the river, with the hides providing an interesting focus.
Again if visited one must be prepared for photographers, as for understandable reasons the camp is promoted to this section of the market. They do not really get in the way.
Kaingo Camp Review
Despite having a rocky start to our stay due to some confusion over the level of guide that we had requested (we wanted a level 1 guide who could lead us on both walks and game drives but were assigned a level 2 guide who could only do game drives), once we were assigned Patrick, everything went smoothly. It's not clear how this misunderstanding occurred. When we expressed our concern about the guide assigned (Noelle), we were introduced to Derek Shenton who didn't acknowledge the problem but, rather, tried to assure us that Noelle was the "best level 2 guide in South Africa. They then gave us the option of spending the rest of the day with a Zambian guide who turned out to be a capable, but junior level guide. That evening we said that we would prefer Noelle and spent the next day with her. Later that day, Agata and Gerard told us that they were going to assign us to Patrick who was returning from a conference that evening. So, hence the "rocky start" comment.
The redesigned chalets were lovely and very comfortable. The staff were very competent and friendly. Special thanks to Gerard and Agita for getting our guide situation worked out as quickly as they could. The food was fantastic; chef Catherine took great care in tending to my husband’s lactose intolerance.
Our guide, Patrick, was absolutely wonderful. We were fortunate to have him for the remainder of our stay at both camps and couldn’t have been happier. We had many wonderful sightings of the Mwamba-Kaingo lion pride, including the aftermath of a buffalo kill, several amorous couples, and an “initiation ceremony” to introduce a lion cub to several members of the tribe. In other words, we saw lions in action, not just lolling around. We also had numerous sightings of the various leopards that live in the area and 2 wild dog sightings. Two of our group are birding enthusiasts, and Patrick’s birding knowledge kept them informed and excited about all the sightings. I could go on, but won’t. Suffice to say, we loved our stay at Kaingo.
Advise on which chalets to stay in: not #1 which is close to the kitchen and dining area and can get noisy in the early morning.
