The renowned Kwando concession is over half a million acres but contains just two small camps that are 30 kilometers apart. Lebala has built its reputation on action packed gameviewing, with dedicated tracking, tremendous guiding (Spencer and Charles amongst the countries best), and making the pursuit of wildlife sightings the priority. Lebala Camp uses unique vehicles, the URI, a workhorse vehicle that was custom designed by a farmer in the Kalahari desert of Namibia to deal with the rigors of offroad driving and this allows for exciting off road pursuit under special circumstances such as African wild dogs on the hunt.
With 50 miles of river frontage the open flood plains form the focus of the animal concentrations. The area is well known for its huge elephant and buffalo herds during typical dry seasons. Predators you’ll have access to from Kwando Lebala Camp are diverse with lion, wild dog, hyena, leopard and cheetah all frequently seen, currently cheetah and wild dogs are especially prevalent but this ebbs and flows according to the strength of lion and hyena populations. Night drives from Lebala camp take you through the rich Kwando concession and can be particularly productive with lots of smaller carnivores in the area such as serval, caracal, honey badger, African wildcat, genet and civet. Open grasslands and pan systems abound with impala, red lechwe, steenbuck, reedbuck, wildebeest, buffalo, giraffe, tsessebe, kudu, zebra, waterbuck, sable, and roan.
Lebala Camp recently received a needed refurbishment during 2008, restoring the simple elegance of this intimate camp of just eight tents. Each tent at Lebala is built on a raised teak deck, laid out with comfort and privacy in mind. The tents have an entrance foyer with a reading and writing area, en-suite bathrooms with Victorian clawfoot bathtubs, "his and hers" washbasins and flush toilets. The bathrooms lead out to a reed enclosed open-air shower with hot and cold running water, powered by LP gas for hot water on demand. Each Lebala Camp tent has its own sundeck, and is set in the shade within the trees. The endless vistas from the large windows and decks across the vast plains illustrate the name of Lebala, which is Setswana, meaning wide open spaces.
There is a wonderful communal area to relax at Lebala Camp during the mid-day where you may possibly see an elephant approach across the plains, as well as a plunge pool. Food is hearty and the staff provides a very welcoming atmosphere at this camp. Activities at Lebala Camp focus almost entirely on game drives, which is appropriate because it is such a productive area and the guide/tracker system is a point of emphasis to deliver the maximum experience. Walks are available seasonally at Lebala.
For the serious wildlife viewing enthusiast Lebala Camp is an outstanding choice within the Kwando regions. Likewise, for those willing to pay extra for a private vehicle, especially photographers, there may not be a better choice than Lebala.