To us Lion Sands was a great balance of what we expected from safari - great guides, great wildlife and we saw the 'big 5' in the first two drives, delicious food, and the great accommodation was a bonus. The rooms are pretty modern and plush with a/c, tubs and showers, but still set in the bush overlooking the river, very nice. Our guide Kyle was a young guy, early 20s, but so put together and passionate about all animals and birds. A class act. He stopped and explained to us how the elephant was turning a branch in his mouth and moving from end to the other, like a corn cob, eating off the bark. We watched a lionness abandoning her adolescent male cub, and Kyle narrated what may have happened - little food, lots of mouths to feed, and how the male would be less valuable as males do not hunt - still a very poignant moment, hearing the mother lionness saying goodbye. A rather macabre highlight: we watched a very relaxed leopard that was well known in the area as she perforated the belly of a freshly nabbed impala, something no one on the truck had ever seen.