Lebala Camp

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stamp3Why photographers love Lebala Camp

  • Very good value camp especially in the green season
  • In the enormous Kwando River concession, which covers 232 000 hectares
  • On the headwaters of the Linyanti
  • Offers excellent predators and elephants in the dry season
  • Night drives, walks, off-road driving on offer
  • Excellent Land Cruisers and guides
  • Still use trackers on all vehicles
  • Good wild dog and cheetah in the area

How we rate Lebala Camp

Wildlife starstarstarstar
Wilderness starstarstarstarstar
Lodge starstarstar
Dining starstarstar
Vehicles starstarstarstar
Guides starstarstarstar

Lebala camp at a glance

  • Eight luxury tents with en suite bathrooms connected by paths
  • Service is very authentic and charming
  • Dining is wholesome
  • Camp has not been upgraded for some years
  • 220 volt charging in rooms

The concession

The Linyanti marshes form the boundary between Botswana and Namibia. Here the southerly flowing Kwando River disappears into the vast marshland before emerging as the Linyanti River. Lebala means ‘wide open spaces’ in Setswana, and the vast plains with scattered palms and tree islands are backed by wooded savannahs. This special ecosystem is home to a wide variety of Africa’s plains game such as zebra, wildebeest, impala, giraffe and tsessebe and also provides refuge to lechwe, waterbuck and the shy sitatunga. The area is famous for its predators and large numbers of elephants.

The seasons

  • Game viewing season is from May to October and November.
  • Out of season, game viewing is still great, and you get better rates—March and April are recommended.

What Lebala costs

  • Rates start from about $450 per person per night sharing in Emerald Season
  • Access by flights to Maun (50 minutes) and Kasane (45 minutes)

Photographers need to know

  • Guides are very focused on finding and following predators and work hard at it. If you are keen on someone explaining about the smaller things and little birds, this can be disappointing. But photographers will find it fine.
  • The camp has not been renovated for some years, but it is extremely comfortable. Watch out when it rains; some of the tents have leaks.
  • As a result of the very large size of the area, game drives can cover very large distances.
  • Elephants and general game tend to disperse here in the wet season (December to February), but the area is still capable of producing astonishing sightings.
  • Lebala combines well with Kwara, which is a sister camp with more concentrated game.
  • The camp has excellent guides, many of whom have been here for many years.

The good news

Lebala is one of the last camps in Botswana using skilled trackers on the front of their vehicles. The guides here still employ age-old bushman skills, which are passed down through the generations. It is amazing to observe their ability to consistently find and predict the movements of game.