I really think Kwando has an excellent product, and after seeing it first hand it makes my job a lot easier to sell because I am confident in the product and the service. I would highly recommend Kwando Safaris. I think they do an excellent job.

My favourite property was Songwe Village because it really felt like an authentic village.  I felt like I was family in Dorothy and Immanuel's home. Immanuel has the most amazing laugh and he is always laughing. They were by far our most favourite hosts. Everyone was a great host, but they really stood out to us.  The huts are perfect and the view is amazing right over the gorge.  I loved taking a shower and being able to look over the gorge and see the Zambezi River.  Of course the sunset bath is a must.  The one night we had a traditional meal, and the whole experience was great.  We wore the traditional cloths and ate with our fingers from our laps. I have been to Africa 4 times now and have seen a lot of properties, and this property is by far my favourite. I love how simple it is, but all the necessities you need are right there.

The water at Victoria Falls was so high that we had to wear yellow rubber suits and umbrellas.  We got soaked, which was great.  I liked the view of the Falls from the Zambian side more than the Zimbabwe side because I got to see the river actually go over the Falls, and I liked walking over the bridge with the water right underneath, and having that great view of Livingstone bridge.  We decided to do a helicopter flight and it is a must do because the views are beautiful, absolutely breathtaking.  I also did a gorge swing, which I found a much better thrill than bungee. My only complaint is the climb out; they really have to figure out a way to pull you back up.  The visit to the Village was great and not "touristy" at all. My clients always ask if it touristy and after seeing it I can definitely say it is not.  There were a few boys there that I took pictures of with my digital camera and showed them the pictures after. Well they thought this was great and could not stop laughing at themselves.

We were met by Bush trackers who took us to the ferry, and I must say I was very impressed with their vehicles. They are very clean and air conditioned, it was great. The boat across to Botswana was short, and I expected to be on a ferry but it was just a small motorboat. When we got across the water we found our driver (African Odyssey) who took us to Kasane airport where we then flew to Lagoon camp. I now understand why the need for soft bags and the weight restriction of 12kg. We had small soft bags and they still had to be shoved in. The views from the plane were awesome.

I loved Botswana and all 3 camps are wonderful, they really complement each other.  It is hard to say what my favourite camp was, probably Kwara because the highlight was the mokoring. Too bad we could only do it for 10 minutes because of the water level.  If my clients only have time to do 2 camps in Botswana I would suggest Kwara and Lebala.  The reason is because at Kwara you can do mokoring, boat cruise and day and night drives.  At Lebala they have a hide to view animals, which is a little bit of a different experience than from a vehicle or the water.  Lagoon camp was really great as well because it had day and night drives as well as a boat cruise, but not the mokoring so this is why I choose Kwara over Lagoon.  I really enjoyed Lebala because the tents had a bath and outside shower.  However I think the best view from our tent had to be Lagoon because you looked right out onto the Lagoon, and at night you could hear all the hippos grunting and splashing around, which was great.  At Lebala and Kwara the tents are a little different from Lagoon.  They have wooden floors and are a bit more spread out and private.  At Lagoon the tents are close together and have concrete floors.  Other little differences are that at Lagoon the bar stools are plain and wooden, and at Lebala they have wooden bar stools with beautiful leather backs so are a bit more luxurious looking.  Kwara had beautiful leather couches.  Lagoon camps main area was smaller than the other camps making it more intimate.  The dining area, bar, and sitting area were all together, whereas the other two camps had the dining area in a separate area.  I guess Lagoon felt a little more rustic than the other two camps, which is why all the camps complement each other because they are all unique in their own way.  When I asked other guests which camp they liked better, Lagoon or Lebala, all the women said Lebala and all the men said Lagoon, which I thought was interesting. My husband even said Lagoon Camp.

The thing I love about Kwando is that they have a tracker who sits in the front of the vehicle to spot the animals and look for the tracks, as well as a driver who has a vast amount of knowledge of the animals, birds, stars, surroundings, and even photography.  I have been to East Africa 3 times and the guiding does not compare to the Kwando guides.  They know so much more information.  In East Africa the game is literally everywhere so I think the guides have a little bit easier job.  In Botswana it is not about quantity, it is about quality.  In a 4 hour game drive you may see lion, leopard and cheetah, elephant   and the guides will sit for as long as you want and tell you absolutely everything about the animal.  There is no rush to get back to camp; they are on your schedule.  We sat for 2 hours and watched a cheetah eat a gazelle.  I learned so much information it was amazing.  What is really neat is to watch the tracker work.  He will see lion paw prints and we will track the animal until we find it.  When you finally do find the animal it is this big triumph.  We followed 3 males who were looking for the females.  It was so fascinating to watch while the guide explained every detail of what the lion was doing.  The lion would sniff the bushes for the female scent and off he went down the path.  When the males finally found the females it was such a reward for us to watch.

I think by far our favourite guide and tracker team was Rus and LT. They were so in sink with each other, and so fun to have as guides because they would laugh and joke around. They knew each other's signs so well it was fascinating to watch them work together. I think the guide that seemed the most knowledgeable was Mutsi. He was amazing with clients and would help us in taking the best pictures. Because he was so knowledgeable with a camera he would position the vehicle at the best angle for the best picture and give you tips on how to take great photos. There was a Swiss woman with us who had never been on safari and her first drive was the evening drive. We ran right into an elephant that was feet away from us and she freaked out and said, “Go, I want to go back to camp”. She was really petrified. Mutsi calmed her down and told her, “Why would I put myself in danger and you? I do not want to get trampled by elephant so why would I put you in danger?” That calmed the women down. So Steve and I put her in the middle of us instead of on the end and that made her feel better. Mutsi was good with her and knew exactly what to say to her to calm her down.

Another thing I liked about Kwando is that the atmosphere is very relaxed.  All the staff eat with you, even the drivers.  It is great because you tell stories of what you saw, laugh and joke around.  All the staff are very attentive and are always asking if you want something to drink, or if they can get you anything. It is amazing how hard they work and such long hours and weeks at a time, and they are so on top of everything. I thought the service was excellent and had no complaints at all.

If you are interested in a quote for the itinerary I did please feel free to contact either your agent or me directly at 1-800-991-6111.

Melissa Kooijman
Wild Africa Safari

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