Okavango Delta, North of Moremi Wildlife Reserve, Botswana
Kwara Camp
Date: 09.-11.10.2007
Assessment Criteria
Satisfaction in %
Comments
Pool
50
Tent/ Room
50
scorpio in bathroom upon arrival
Restaurant atmosphere
60
Food
70
Management & Staff
70
Mgmt.: Lloyd
Camp/ Lodge
60
Originality of reserve
90
no roads, private concession
Diversity of reserve
90
Vehicle
100
customized jeep for safaris, separate seats
Guide - communication
40
Guide Donald was a failure, Tracker Alfred was very attentive
Guide - information
50
Guide - cust. orientation
40
see above
Wildlife - quantity
80
Wildlife - diversity
90
Wildlife - extraordinary occurrences
80
cheetars with cubs, big herd of buffalos passing through
The Kwara camp is a private concession. The camps of Kwara and Little Kwara are close to each other and belong to Kwando Safaris, just as the Lebala Lodge we had stayed at
before. The jeeps were the same but that is were the comparison of the camps ends. Lebala is by far the nicer camp of the two.
The private concession that Kwara camp is in borders to the Moremi Wildlife Reserve in the North. The landscape is therefore similar to it (Xakanaxa Lodge).
The camp has a large waterhole so that we could watch the hippos and crocodiles from the terrace of our tent, from the restaurant, and from the coffee area.
Just as at Lebala Lodge, the vehicles used for game drives are customized for Kwando safaris (the operator of Lebala Lodge, Kwara Camp, little Kwara, and Lagoon Camp). The
jeeps had two rows with each three seats. The seats were really comfortable and one could strap themselve to it with safety belt for the ride off road.
Game drives were kind of a disappointment due to our guide Donald. His philosophy was pretty much on of "Self Service": Ttourists had to know exactly what they wanted to do,
wanted to see, and wanted him to answer. He offered little to none elaboration when asking our preference of a game drive, a boat ride, or a walking safari and little explanations
on the game drives and boat cruises themselves. Had it not been for the tracker Alfred we would have been better of driving ourselves.
There is one thing we have to give Donald credit for, he took us to the cheetahs that we had not seen until then, after the other vehicle told us on the radio where to find them.
On one of the safaris we saw a huge herd of buffalos passing trough the plain, there were everywhere. It was really amazing that the next day we were at the same spot all of
them were gone.
Once again, we were really lucky: On our early morning drive Alfred spotted wild dogs for us. There were 22 wild dogs that were facing a hippo in a challenge it seemed - but the
hippo backed off.
On our boat trips we saw little more than birds. There was a big colony of marabous though caring for their off-spring, while a big crocodile waited underneath for the less fortunate
ones. We did see a kill though: A bird caught a fish right in front of us - if that counts...
There was a group of hippos and on our way back we did hear some elephants trompeting and Donald did an excellent job riding the boat in complete darkness.
The camp itself looked a little worn down in comparison to Lebala Lodge. Of course, it didn't help that on our first arrival we encountered a scorpio in the bathroom (it had hidden
itself in the rolled-up bathroom door) that the general manager Lloyd took it away immediately. We learned that with scorpios you always have to watch out for the claws and tail:
The ones with big claws and little tail use their claws to take down their prey, the ones with small claws and a big tail use their venom to take down their prey - you need to watch
out for the latter one.
The restaurant was a few steps below the coffee area, so viewing the waterhole was easier from the exposed coffee/ bar area. Early morning muffins, afternoon tea and snacks
were served around a fire place out in the open close to the waterhole.
After one of the tourists had found out that the general manager had actually studied music and her first instrument were the vocal, she and the staff offered a traditional singing
and dancing show at night. It was amazing how much rhythm one can do with vocals and feet.
The food was nice, great snacks to enjoy in the afternoon.
In conclusion, the camp was not the best on our safari but we were there for the animals, and those we saw:
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