Linyanti
Lebala Camp
Lebala Camp fronts onto the Linyanti Wetlands where the perennial and southerly flowing Kwando River disappears into the vast marshes before emerging as the Linyanti River, flowing in a north easterly direction. Lebala means “wide open spaces” in the local Setswana dialect which aptly describes this incredible area.
The camp has been recently renovated in a modern bush architectural design. The eight spacious, open tents are unique, each built on a raised teak deck and with expansive views, laid out with maximum comfort and privacy in mind.
The tents have an entrance foyer with a reading and writing area, en-suite bathrooms with Victorian claw foot 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 on demand. The main lodge is under thatch featuring a bar, dining area and open lounge connected on wooden walkways to a plunge pool on raised decking and the boma area.
At Lebala Camp, the activities concentrate on open vehicle game drives and walking safaris. However, game walks are at the guides’ discretion due to the concentrations of elephant. Lebala Camp offers off road and night game drives – night drives being a specialty at Lebala with its high-visibility plains.
The wetlands and flood plains around Lebala offer a wonderful variety of wildlife with excellent sightings of elephant, hippo, lechwe, zebra, giraffe, impala, wildebeest, kudu, tsessebe, roan, sable, buffalo and the ever present predators; wild dog, lion, cheetah and hyena.
Facilities
Tented rooms, outdoor shower, large bathtub, thatched bar, dining room, lounge, boma and plunge pool.
Jonathan Morris
Area Specialist
If you have any questions regarding our Botswana tours, please feel free to contact me on +44 (0)1803 866965
On behalf of my wife and myself, I would like to thank all at Reef and Rainforest for arranging so superbly yet another exceptional wildlife experience. As you are aware our ‘expeditions’ tend to be species led and this year’s brief was to observe and photograph the ‘Three Big Cats of Africa’ in a truly wild setting (i.e. no fences). Your recommended destination, Botswana, did not let us down, in fact the whole trip proved an outstanding success in all aspects.
We stayed in three camps (three nights in each) across the Okavango Delta and surrounding area, each provided a different environment which ensured our aims were met. Each camp was run to a very high standard, was extremely comfortable and provided excellent meals. The quality of guiding and tracking in all our camps was of the highest standard. As Botswana manages its natural resources so well all the camps were small (no more than 18 guests) ensuring a very intimate safari experience in pristine wild African habitat.
I am delighted to report our big cat objectives were realised. All observations were lengthy and offered excellent photographic opportunities. However, unexpectedly, the highlight of our spectacular trip turned out to be sightings of two separate packs of African Painted Dogs. We visited two dens, the first had a very healthy number of adult dogs, approximately fifteen and eighteen pups. The second had seven adult dogs and sixteen pups. At Lebala we had the privilege of spending a prolonged period of time following the pack of dogs as they hunted, an experience we will never forget.
When one also considers the significant mammal and bird species we observed, Botswana is truly a must visit destination for the wildlife enthusiast. Incidentally we also observed three serval and two African wild cats. We also thoroughly enjoyed our few days at Victoria Falls, possibly the most spectacular waterfall in the world, the hotel in Zimbabwe was excellent. Viewing the falls from the Zambian side and also the helicopter flight are both well worth doing.
This was our third consecutive trip with Reef and Rainforest, and I would be very surprised if there is not a fourth being planned very soon. Thank you all once again.
