Highlights
- Stunning lagoon location
- Superb dry-season wildlife
- Boat cruises and fishing
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King’s Pool Camp is a luxurious, medium-sized lodge set in a stunning location overlooking the picturesque King’s Pool lagoon on the Linyanti River, Northern Botswana. The vast Linyanti Concession is renowned for its small number of high-quality camps and superb wildlife viewing in the May-October dry season, when large herds of elephant and buffalo congregate on the Kwando-Linyanti river front and lion, leopard, cheetah and wild hunting dogs can be seen in action. This exclusive camp is accessible via light aircraft and is a 45-minute drive from the nearest air strip.
The lounge, bar and dining areas are well set out on expansive decks with sweeping views across the wetlands and there is a small plunge-pool with an adjacent sunken seating area. There is also an open-air ‘kgotla’ (boma) for evening dining under the stars. The food is very good. Requests for private dining tables can be accommodated and on some evenings staff perform traditional dance for guests. King’s Pool has a strong commitment to local conservation projects and the environment, with 100% solar powered electricity and hot water. Note that there is no internet access.
Activities are naturally centred on the phenomenal dry-season game viewing concentrations of the Linyanti area. Vehicle safaris are offered in open 4x4 Land Rovers, each accommodating a maximum of seven people, allowing each guest a ‘window seat’. Predators are here in abundance during the dry season and it’s not uncommon to see lions and leopards. Night safaris with spotlights are also offered although these generally take place in the early evening and are sometimes rather short in duration meaning a lesser chance of predator spotting. They do, however, provide the opportunity to see some of the resident nocturnal animals including bush-babies, porcupines and genets. A particular feature of this camp are the two hides located within a 10-minute drive. One of the hides has an elevated tree-house location, the other is underground with the water at eye level offering superb up-close viewing opportunities. Walking safaris are possible (although this will depend on the availabilty of guides at the time), as are cruises along the Linyanti River in the camp’s colonial-style Queen Sylvia Barge (although note that cruises are water level and weather dependent). Birding is outstanding at King’s Pool Camp – many birds of prey such as Dickinson’s kestrel can be seen, along with waterbirds. Fishing on a catch-and-release basis is also available (seasonal) as are massage treatments in the privacy of your tent.
The accommodation comprises nine spacious, thatched, tented suites which are accessed along a network of walkways elevated slightly above the surrounding bush. There are eight twin-bedded tents and one king-size bedded tent. Twin beds can be moved together to make doubles and there is one guide/pilot tent which is smaller than a standard tent. The family tent comprises two bedrooms, each with its own bathroom and entrance and there’s an inter-leading walkway between the two rooms. All rooms have a covered balcony overlooking the water, an en-suite lounge area, and an outdoor shower. The indoor bathrooms are fitted with conventionally-plumbed basin, shower and toilet. There is no room service, but the suites do have minibar fridges which staff will stock with requested drinks and there is a safe in every room. A full laundry service is available and there are power outlets in the rooms for charging electronic equipment . Baboons can be a particular feature of this camp, so do ensure that your room is kept closed, with possessions carefully concealed! Whilst it’s true that this camp is on the large side for a property of this quality and therefore can lack a certain intimacy, it is a very comfortable place to stay, with highly professional and attentive staff, plus the wildlife is second-to-none.
Children over the age of 12 years are welcome, although the camp may accept children from the age of 6 if the entire camp is reserved for exclusive use. Although there are no specific programmes for children, staff and guides will try to tailor the experience to suit all ages. Young children are able to join the boat trips and private safari vehicles can be booked at additional cost. Walking safaris, however, are only possible for children aged 13 years or over. Note that the camp is unfenced and whilst it’s true that animals tend to stay away from tents and humans, this, coupled with the camp’s waterside location, means that children need to remain under the constant supervision of their parents.
King’s Pool is a premier camp offering a high level of service and attention to detail. Although the safari experience is perhaps more gentle than the more serious approach of some other camps in the Linyanti area, the property’s staff and exquisite riverine location certainly provide a stay that’s hard to beat. The exclusive nature of this region, with its small number of high-end accommodations and relatively low visitor numbers, mean that the camp’s price tag is necessarily high. However, the stunning wildlife viewing from the property itself and the fantastic game drives on offer make this one of the leading properties in the area.
Yes everything went incredibly smoothly , excellent guide and set up u have . I might need a new pair of calves though !!! Thanks for sorting ALL the changes out. Regards Charlie
charles b
reviewing 6 Day Toubkal Circuit
on 03 May 2023
Hi Lisa, We had a fabulous time thank you. The accommodation and other ideation were all terrific - that’s so much for your help. The apartment in Cape Town was particularly good - we would never have found that: Boschendal was great as well and game lodge was superb. Thanks again, Alistair
Alistair A
reviewing Cape Town, Garden Route and Kruger
on 28 April 2023
Dear Lisa
Well, we are back and still buzzing. We have had a marvellous time. The weather helped. We left Manchester in the snow and arrived in Marrakesh at 30 degrees. We were well looked after in the Riad. I'm glad we booked a meal for the first evening - ate it on the roof terrace. We can recommend that. It was delicious. We ate at the Foundouk, as per your recommendation and on the following night we ate at Le Jardin - got lost on the way to it!. We can really recommend Le Jardin.
The following day we went to Majorelle gardens. Fortunately we had looked it up before we travelled because you have to book in advance online only from Jan 2023. We found our own way to the Medera Ben Yousef and Latifa took us to Bahia Palace - both were stunning.
The following morning our lovely taxi driver Mohammond collected us to go to the EcoLodge. Yet another Mohammond made us very welcome. Again we ate well! You were right, the pool was freezing, but I can't sit next to water and not get in. Once you're in you forget how cold it is! I wasn't the only person to try the pool.
Rashid, our guide for our walk collected us. He was brilliant. It was hard work, but worth it. I was determined I would make it. Kevin is fitter than me! The Berber family were lovely. We stopped when we were nearly there to see how rag rugs were made. When we got back Rashid and Mohammond confessed that Mohammond had said to Rashid that he should get us to a road if we got too tired and they would send a taxi (or a mule!) to collect us - or me, but Rashid was sure that I'd be OK. He was right. I think they wondered about these 2 70+ year olds. We can't praise Rashid enough. He had walked over from Imlil in the morning and was going to walk back after he left us.
Thank you so much for putting our holiday together. We never thought it would be 3 years before we went. We are so glad we persevered. We did wonder what we had let ourselves in for as 2 oldies!
Fiona and Kevin
Fiona B
reviewing Boutique Marrakech & Atlas Mountains
on 21 April 2023
Yes everything went incredibly smoothly , excellent guide and set up u have . I might need a new pair of calves though !!! Thanks for sorting ALL the changes out. Regards Charlie
charles b
reviewing 6 Day Toubkal Circuit
on 03 May 2023
Hi Lisa, We had a fabulous time thank you. The accommodation and other ideation were all terrific - that’s so much for your help. The apartment in Cape Town was particularly good - we would never have found that: Boschendal was great as well and game lodge was superb. Thanks again, Alistair
Alistair A
reviewing Cape Town, Garden Route and Kruger
on 28 April 2023
Dear Lisa
Well, we are back and still buzzing. We have had a marvellous time. The weather helped. We left Manchester in the snow and arrived in Marrakesh at 30 degrees. We were well looked after in the Riad. I'm glad we booked a meal for the first evening - ate it on the roof terrace. We can recommend that. It was delicious. We ate at the Foundouk, as per your recommendation and on the following night we ate at Le Jardin - got lost on the way to it!. We can really recommend Le Jardin.
The following day we went to Majorelle gardens. Fortunately we had looked it up before we travelled because you have to book in advance online only from Jan 2023. We found our own way to the Medera Ben Yousef and Latifa took us to Bahia Palace - both were stunning.
The following morning our lovely taxi driver Mohammond collected us to go to the EcoLodge. Yet another Mohammond made us very welcome. Again we ate well! You were right, the pool was freezing, but I can't sit next to water and not get in. Once you're in you forget how cold it is! I wasn't the only person to try the pool.
Rashid, our guide for our walk collected us. He was brilliant. It was hard work, but worth it. I was determined I would make it. Kevin is fitter than me! The Berber family were lovely. We stopped when we were nearly there to see how rag rugs were made. When we got back Rashid and Mohammond confessed that Mohammond had said to Rashid that he should get us to a road if we got too tired and they would send a taxi (or a mule!) to collect us - or me, but Rashid was sure that I'd be OK. He was right. I think they wondered about these 2 70+ year olds. We can't praise Rashid enough. He had walked over from Imlil in the morning and was going to walk back after he left us.
Thank you so much for putting our holiday together. We never thought it would be 3 years before we went. We are so glad we persevered. We did wonder what we had let ourselves in for as 2 oldies!
Fiona and Kevin
Fiona B
reviewing Boutique Marrakech & Atlas Mountains
on 21 April 2023
Dear Lisa,
We have just returned from South Africa and wanted to pass on our huge thanks for helping to organise such a fantastic holiday. The entire trip was amazing - accommodation was first class. The safari was incredible!
We'll be sure to get in touch when we're next planning an adventure!
Best wishes, Ed & Jane
Roy P
reviewing Cape Town & Kruger Safari
on 17 April 2023
Thank you, Lisa! Our trip was wonderful even with the weather disruption. We loved seeing so many different parts of the country, meeting people and experiencing the culture. The desert was surely a highlight for our boys and the creativity and artisanship of everything from food to crafts were a highlight for me. A special shout out to our guide and driver, they became a special part of our trip and we will forever be grateful for meeting them and learning from them. I cannot believe we had to wait three years for this adventure but it was certainly worth the wait! Thanks for all your help building the itinerary, modifying it and troubleshooting during our stay. Leslie B
Leslie B
reviewing Luxury Desert Holiday
on 01 March 2023
Hi Lisa and everyone at Tourdust,
We've had a wonderful time on our holiday and wanted to pass our appreciation to you. Everything has been expertly planned and executed, allowing us to enjoy the holiday to its fullest. Special appreciation to Muhammed, Ibrahim, and Omar, our Atlas guide, cook, and muleteer, who couldn't have done more for us and were just generally wonderful and hardworking. Riad Hanane is a perfect base in Marrakech to complement the trekking as it's ina less touristy area of the medina, which we appreciated. The staff and accomodation was superb.Thank you again for a trip to remember!
Bob, May, Grace, and Lucas
Robert B
reviewing Marrakech & Mountains Family Trek
on 20 February 2023
Hello Lisa. We came back from our trip two weeks ago now so I am sending this email much later than I wanted to. Nevertheless, what I wanted to say was thank you very much for helping us organise an amazing trip. Our days in Mafia Island to celebrate my 50th birthday were exactly what I wanted them to be: a fantastic time with the family doing activities that we all love and enjoy in a relaxing, unusual, beautiful place full of sun, surrounded by water, wildlife and friendly people. We swam with whale sharks, did a lot of snorkeling, had two picnics on a beautiful sand bank, watched the sunset over the sea, did a bird watching excursion and tried scuba diving.
All merit to you because Pole Pole in Mafia Island was your recommendation. I never heard of Mafia Island before and didn't consider Tanzania to start with. It was an amazing place to stay: friendly, relaxed, beautiful, comfortable, with great food and fantastic service. Thanks not only for finding the place but also for your patience as we prepared the trip and I explored options and decided what I wanted. All went incredibly well (places, transfers, flights) and we had a very memorable time together that we will all remember forever - as we still do the safari trip to South Africa you organised for us 5 years ago.
I cannot wait to plan another trip! I am already thinking about where and when. Hopefully no pandemic will get in the way this time. And I will come to you as my favourite travel agent.
I copy in this message the Tourdust office because I want them to know how good you are and how much I appreciated the different trips you organised for us (including the trip to India for my parents that was cancelled due to Covid). I cannot thank you enough :o)
Kind regards, Carol
Carolina O
reviewing Relaxed Bush & Beach Family Holiday in Tanzania
on 25 November 2022
Hi Lisa
It was a fantastic experience, thanks very much. All the arrangements were seamless and our guiding/support team were excellent, if there is a way for you to formally commend the team to your ground operators then I would be grateful if you could do that, they really were brilliant.
Many thanks for your help in arranging the trip, and for your patience during the multiple re-arrangements over the past couple of years.
Kind regards, John
John B
reviewing Mount Kenya Sirimon Naro Moru Trek
on 14 November 2022
Can't praise tour dust enough, they helped us to create a holiday of a lifetime that has given us family memories we will treasure forever. From start to finish the whole experience was exactly what we wanted and more. Due to covid we waited 2 and a half years for this trip but worth the wait.
Carly
Carly R
reviewing Value KwaZulu-Natal Safari and Mauritius
on 07 November 2022
Hi Ben
Just to enlarge on my earlier, our M'goun trip couldn't have gone better. A great itinerary, altho perhaps an extra gentle day around the plateau before the summit might have eased things but that couldn't be helped given the road change. Our team were all fantastic, couldn't have been more solicitous for our comfort. Hakim our guide a real star. Food delicious. Kit was great - tents held up in a biblical storm, mattresses most comfortable ever (good thing as ground often v stony), loo worked well. You have a good local agent. Riads excellent, esp Adore. Great value.
Many thanks. William
William M
reviewing Mgoun Summit Trek
on 26 October 2022
