afrigalah

"On many occasions I have had poeples (spelling correct) tell me this but on departure they will write on their comment form that the meat was tough. Of coarse the meat was tough you bloody idiot because it was prepared for x time and I have no problem with you staying out longer but meat does tend to dry out over a period of time."- jackssid2

I'm not taking sides in this discussion, but this is a point about which I am extremely knowledgable (thanks to my highly skilled cook-wife; she's an excellent photographer too, so don't shoot me down ) and have personal experience on safari.

We once had eland for dinner. It was the only time in countless safari meals that I have left food on the plate. I am not a fussy person when it comes to food, but I could have soled my boots with that meat. The problem was that the camp staff had no idea how to tenderise tough meat.

The ideal answer for flexible safari camps where meal times might be delayed (and should be, if there are things happening in the bush) is a slow cooker. The meal can be cooked for many hours, and if it goes under for an hour or two, or over for a couple of hours, no matter. Tender, tasty and nutritious is always the outcome.

afrigalah

And in case anybody tries to say slow cookers are a bit difficult in remote areas: you can bury a slow cooker in hot coals in a hole in the ground and prepare a delicious meal.

jackssid2

I wish people were not so demanding with food on safari these days. I too would gladly have the left over food slopped onto a plate in order to enjoy a decent sighting. Wish the other 90% of people were as well!

Solar cookers do work very well. I have one of my own for South Africa (thanks to Eskom!) and it is fantastic and the meat is tender. You can even boil water in the simplest ones! (in the day).

amolkarnik

Wow!!! Thats one hell of a thread.

May I now present what I experienced firsthand at Kwando camps in the past week.

This was my first visit to Kwando camps. For the record, I am quite
happy with simple rustic accommodation and I am quite happy to eat simple wholesome food as long as its properly cooked. Note - properly doesnt mean gourmet.

I stayed at Little Kwara (2n), Kwara (2n), Lebala (3n) and had the
opportunity to use Lagoon to shower after a long, hot and dusty drive to
the airstrip from Lebala. I was quite lucky to see all 4 camps
in one trip.

Accommodation -

Little Kwara - The accommodation at LK is luxurious and in line with that they charge in peak season ($900+ pppn). Way more that I
personally need. Overall condition of the camp was very good. Nothing to fault.

Kwara - Perfecty aceptable acommodation. However the tents are getting a bit tatty and should be replaced soon. Note - I say replaced, NOT upgraded. The size and quality of the accommodation is perfectly fine but expensive compared to whats on offer at LK. For the proce difference between LK and Kwara, I think LK offers significantly better accommodation for the incremental price difference.

Lebala - TRASH. We were one of the last guests to stay at Lebala before
it shuts down for an upgrade. The tents are in an appaling condition.
Torn, leaking, holes large enough for an animal the size of a genet to
enter, netted doors with holes large enough to let any known insect in the bush through. I dont care that they are being upgraded. They should have been upgraded years ago. Overall - very substandard accommodation.

Lagoon - Accommodation is similar style and condition to Kwara. Tents need replacemetn soon.

Food -

LK was best, but overall the standard is poor. For a camp charging $250 pppn, this might be acceptable. For one charging several times more, the food was substandard. No thought given to the menu. Same dull breakfast menu for 7 days!!!


Guiding -

I was frankly surprised at how many junior/new guides there were at Kwando Camps. We were guided by John at LK (good but slightly low on experience), Ramsey at Kwara (poor guiding), Hector at Lebala (good). I dont know any of the old guides, but I was told that a number of their old experienced guides have left.

Management -
Lizzie and Keya at LK were awesome. Doreen and Gert at Kwara were a level below useless (details in trip report) and Alwyn/Bleu at Lebala were very good too (did the best I suppose under the conditions).

Overall -

I am no fan of what WS is doing to Botswana. However, for a similar price they (WS) deliver a #better product. Kwando used to be about top quality guiding but I am not so sure anymore. Staff morale is very low. It takes only a slight scratching of the surface to see how stressed out the staff is.

At Lebala, Kwara and Lagoon, the coffee mugs and plated were chipped, Napkins with little holes in them, Bed Linen with holes in it, furniture and fitting in rooms old and tired.

Cost cutting measures were evident everywhere, except at LK. After all WS have made a business decision to go after a certain market and I think they have been much more successful at it than Kwando.


Would I recommend Kwando camps - Not under the current circumstances. Not until field reports about morale improve. Not without booking a well know private guide. Good game on a concession can carry a camp only so far.

Do I think WS is a viable alternative? Given that Kwando have their their camps, pricing wise into Ws territory, I dont think they have a comparable product right now. Their acommodation and food is substandard. Game in their concession may be good, but surely WS also market properties that have game to compare. Guiding wise, a lot of Kwando guides have left, so careful selection of WS camps that have good guides is an option.

skimmer

Amolkarnik,

Sad to read but no surprise at all.

Did you see Hobbs or Ezechiel at Kwara?

And Hilda, the woman who runs the curio shop there.

I am actually surprised Bleu is still around.

Greetz,

Johan

mugaber

I have read this thread and a lot of interesting points are contained in it, most notably that WS is much better than everybody else and is entitled to break the rules and be less than friendly to its competitors.
These conclusions contrast a lot with my experience of the same camps.
Interestingly there is little mention of game viewing which to my mind is more important than food or accomodation.
I suspect that a trend is developing, which will hopefully mean that no one visits at all.

amolkarnik

Johan

Didnt see Hobbs or Ezechiel at Kwara, but Hilda was there.

Bleu has actually quit and left Lebala with us on the 31st March. She is moving to JoBurg.

Saw your pics at Lebala. Awesome!!!

Amol

amolkarnik

mugaber - I dont think anyone here is dismissing game viewing or guiding which is what Kwando's forte was.

Unfortunately, guides are demotivated and will leave to work elsewhere (already happening). The levels of staff morale are shockingly low. One might argue that my assessment of staff morale is a subjective opinion. But the condition of the camp isnt.

Game viewing is still good and will remain so. The tipping point might be several such reports making the Kwando situation public.

I would like nothing more than Kwando and other such operations to provide WS a run for their money, but my own experience suggests thats not the case right now.

skimmer

Amol,

Glad you liked my pictures.

I just mailed Bleu, if she's not staying in the bush she'll possibly be able to read her mails on a more regular basis.

Mugaber,

When were you last at Kwando and what did you experience in contradiction to what other people are saying about it.

sandi

Haven't any of you picked up on the "mugaber" screen name?

Mugabe,R ?

One other thread - looking for a place to live and maybe a job! Get with it folks instead of snapping at one another!

HariS

Amol,

John you mention from LK - is a very enthusiastic guy! Has tracked for us a couple of times. Funny, there has been atleast twice that he had to jump off the tracker seat due to snakes crossing the track (Spitting cobra first time, Black Mamba the second).

You mention going to Lagoon - You see Lebo (the lady manager) and the guide KB there?

Who were the guides on location at Lebala during your trip?

Thanks

HariS

Johan,

Is Ezikiel Who they call "Easy"? - i think i saw him on drive in january

PredatorBiologist

Hari: I just heard from someone who had KB come along with her guide at Kwentsani to learn the terrain as a new guide, and was told it was KB formerly of Lebala. I don't know if there is a second KB but it sounds like this is another departure from the Kwando guiding staff.

HariS

Hi Bill,

The KB i refer to has usually been based from Lagoon and has incredible knowledge of the area. He was at WS prior to his past few years at Lagoon. If he is at Kwetsani - he certainly will be missed at Lagoon!

arswype

Does Kwando no longer have game viewing, if so why would you go there. Reading this also says the guides have left no wonder nobody sees game anymore. Perhaps it appears through the holes in the tents.

amolkarnik

Johan - Ezichiel that you mention must be Easi (sp?) that we met at Kwara. Still very much there.

Hari - Funny you mention that snake thing. Hector saw a Balck Mamba dissapear under a bush and was outright scared to go anywere near it. I am going to request a snake-loving guide next time.

Of course I might have different feelings if I had actually stepped on a Puff Adder that I narrowly missed.

Lebo was at Lagoon. Nice girl..

jackssid2

This all sounds very interesting.
I have to ask one question though. It seems that many people are noticing that the staff morale is low especially guides at Kwando. From a pure management perspective this is not acceptable. I noticed in East Africa especially how guids milk the guests for everything they are worth (and most fall for the family in town bullsh!t) but also when I was a guide I would never let my feelings be known to guests as this is not professional. I was trained to entertain guests at (almost) all costs but never did I let lodge life and politics affect the quality of guests stay. I find it more and more common in the industry that local guides are telling guests abouot all their difficulties (which is complete rubbish most of the time) and it seems som many people know when there are problems at lodges.
Sorry but I am from an older school of training and guests knowing about problems logically tells me only one thing.

I think old standards should come back into play. The industry in general is totally FU@%^D up in my opinion overall due to a different kind of guest and untrained crap guides who are only good at talking to people.

I think what needs to happen is all the guides in East Africa must be fired (maybe not ALL in Kenya), then FGASA in South Africa needs to up the standards, then enforce these standards on Bots. Then East Africa needs to send some of the potential guides to South Africa to do the FGASA course. A bit bold hey but a lot needs to change - oh yes and then the industry needs a new kind of guest, or should I say an old kind of guest who truly loves the bush (and does not have 50 million dietry requirments!!)

pippa13

i just want to state something regarding kwando:
their concession are also used for trophy hunting. they don't exercise hunting themselves but leave it with sub-contractors.
how can one expect to pay 400+US$pppd for photographic safaris searching for elusive leopards knowing that leopards are shot on that very concession. it's immoral and a contradiction in itself!

sniktawk

Pippa13

Yet another spook I fear, why don't you just say everybody hunts other than WS, apart from at Abu of course. I only wish Kwando was $400 per night.By the way Leopards are the most prolific of all predators.

sniktawk

Here is the latest news on Air Botswana, regarding new management, it seems highly unlikely but is dated 2nd April!
http://www.examiner.ie/irishexaminer...208-qqqx=1.asp

Here is some detail of the Maun Airport development plan

2.2. MAUN AIRPORT DEVELOPMENT

22. Maun International Airport which services Botswana’s tourism capital Maun, is the busiest airport in the country. Most passenger traffic is destined for the tourist destinations such as the Tsodilo Hills, Okavango Delta, Moremi Game Reserve, Chobe National Park and the Victoria Falls. Tourism has been identified as having the greatest potential for the diversification of the Botswana economy. The expansion of Maun Airport is critical for this potential to be tapped.

23. The Design Consultancy Services for Maun Airport Improvements at the existing site are ongoing and are expected to be complete by May 2007. The proposed improvement works involves development of a new parallel runway to accommodate second generation Boeing 737 aircraft on medium/long range flights. The present runway will become a taxiway. The proposed alternate airside layout will now comply with ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) specifications in that adequate land will be available to provide apron facilities outside flight strips. The main advantages are that the airport will now comply with ICAO safety standards, aircraft will not have to taxi on the main runway and the airport will be able to accommodate the increased demand.

24. A new terminal building will be constructed and the existing terminal building will be converted to offices for Departments of Civil Aviation and Meteorological Services. The existing apron will be strengthened and enlarged. The existing services and drainage system will be improved to accommodate the new movement areas that will be constructed. Other structures such as the security fence will be relocated. Sensitization meeting of the affected ward for relocation exercise has been done and assessment of the people/ property to be relocated is complete. The cost of construction as per the Stage Report will be P 252 million or about US$ 42 million.

Don't hold your breath on either of these.