Experience a true safari in both comfort and style at two of South Luangwa National Park's top lodges. River Lodge overlooks the Luangwa River on the edge of a game rich flood plain and Bush Camp is located deep in the National Park.
River Lodge, is a classic safari camp with very personalised service just outside the South Luangwa National Park, and Bush Camp, a rustic camp in the remote and true wilderness within the park.
Game Drives Game drives take place every morning and afternoon and are accompanied by qualified safari guides. The morning safari starts at sunrise after a light breakfast. You return to the lodge for a delicious brunch around 10:30 o’clock. The afternoon safari includes a stop for sundowners and is combined with the night drives
Night Drives Our night drives provide the unique opportunity to see the great variety of nocturnal animals and the chance to see lions and leopards in their time of ease. The safari starts in the late afternoon. We return to the Lodge around 8:00 for dinner.
Walking Safaris The walking safaris are a great opportunity to be at one with nature. Our qualified and highly experienced safari guides and armed National Park rangers will escort you safely into the true and unspoilt African bush. The Luangwa Valley, is one of the few places in Africa where it is possible to walk amongst wildlife, which allows you to fully immerse yourself in African impressions, smells and sounds.
Bird Watching Safari South Luangwa National Park, boasts over 420 of Zambia’s 732 species of birds. This includes 39 types of birds of prey and 47 migrant species, so whatever the season, the South Luangwa National Park is an excellent bird watching destination. Our guides will accompany your personalised safari. The most recommended and interesting time for bird watching is from November to May when the birds have their breeding plumage and the migrant birds visit the Luangwa Valley.
Natural Touch Wellness Hideout Tucked away in a quiet corner is a special treat for all our guests. Together with Personal Touch we now offer Massages and Treatments. Just the right thing to freshen up after a day at the bush. This is a unique possibility to experience some of Zambia's rich heritage in traditional healing in combination with a range of conventional and professional techniques.
Cultural Tour During your stay you also get the opportunity to visit the local community to find out more about their way of life and culture. The Kuanda people are a friendly and proud people who welcome visitors and are happy to share their culture and traditions. Our guides will join you on these excursions and will advise you about correct behavior and courtesy. During your 3 hour visit to the village you will learn about the daily life of the people as well as their traditions. An amazing way to get in touch with the people who’s country you are
Bush Brunch After starting out at first light on your morning game drive, the welcome sight of a lavish bush brunch is sure to make your mouth water. Step out of your vehicle and take pleasure in another perspective of the Zambian landscape. Sit back, relax and enjoy the mixture of sights, smells and sounds only brunch in the bush can offer
6 day Bush Experience (5 nights) Day 1 - 2 River Lodge Day 3 - 4 Bush Camp Day 5 River Lodge Day 6 dept
Prices Peak season USD 2,225 pps Shoulder Season USD 1,910 ppps Single Supplement USD 270
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8 day Bush Experience (7 nights) Day 1 - 2 River Lodge Day 3 - 5 Bush Camp Day 6 - 7 River Lodge Day 8 dept
Prices Peak season USD 3,115 pps Shoulder Season USD 2,645 ppps Single Supplement USD 380
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Peak season 1 July - 31 October 2013 Shoulder Season 25 may - 30 June 2013
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Rates are per person per night sharing, inclusive of accommodation, game drives, walking Safaris and night drives at the River Lodge, all meals and snacks, National Park entry fees, Conservation & Community Levy, laundry and transfer from Mfuwe Airport.
Children & Teen rate: River Lodge, 6 to 12 years sharing with adults 50% of the rate, teens 12 to 18 years sharing with adults 75% of the rate. Bush Camp no children under the age of 12 years.
Inter Camp transfers: Transfer between River Lodge and Bush Camp and to lodges in Mfuwe area free of charge.
see also ID 2418 and 2419 for 11 day and Green Season safaris
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The trip was fabulous, well planned and well executed.
The hospitality and accommodations at the lodges were great, only surpassed by the wildlife.
I can’t say there were no surprises (i.e. elephants holding us captive in our tent at Seba camp while they ate Marula fruit; hippo in the front yard at our Toka Lea tent; or having a baby hyena chewing the brake line under our vehicle rendering us without brakes, etc.) They were all fun, of course, providing special photo opportunities.
Thanks to such great driver/guide, my husband and I really had unique sightings every day – all day. We spent hours enjoying the numerous up close leopard, lion and elephant encounters.
All of the transfer / plane connections went as planned.
The overall safari was excellent. The guide was pleasant and personable and had abundant knowledge of Botswana's bird and wildlife. Our game viewing was superb and the route chosen through Botswana was ideal.
Our cook was the king of four wheel drive cooking and able to create culinary marvels over an open fire.
We spent 1 week in botswana + 1 week in zambia, sleeping in a tent litterally in the middle of the game! During the night elephant scratching and crashing trees, hippos eating grass, buffalos walking, just beside beside us!
And in the day so much game + beautiful landscapes, even more beautiful than we had expacted (rivers are a surprise!)
Our guide was an excellet guide, trust him and for sure you'll see the most beautiful places to experience Africa
A very exciting holiday, unique. We're thinking about going back for new trips.
I would highly recommend a trip with this operator.
The itinerary was far better planned than we could possibly have managed ourselves, even if we had done thousands of hours of research and internet searching.
We loved the trip, the company, and for us especially, the flexibility to change plans at a moment’s notice when our circumstances changed. Nothing was too much trouble. . Every detail was wonderfully organized. We will be back!
We took a one-week safari in Zambia in May of 2008. We had an excellent experience.
The tour operator worked with me before the trip - by phone and email - to design a safari that met our needs. The safari was private for me and my two daughters. We visited Lower Zambezi and Kafue game parks. I had an excellent host, guide, and raconteur. We discussed everything from the excretory habits of hippos to the current political situation in South Africa.
We stayed in the camping sections of excellent lodges in each park. We had three excellent meals each day, prepared on a remarkably sophisticed kitchen powered off the Toyota Land Cruiser. We were not looking for luxury, but were looking for comfort. We found just the right mix of both on this trip.
I'd highly recommend the operator to anyone looking for a private (or small group), custom-designed, safari without frills but with plenty of comforts.
With high expectations we started the safari from Maun in Botswana and ended it 15 nights later in Lusaka Zambia.
Thoose nights and days went far to fast with excellent game drives with very knowledgeable guides and with chefs that made some magic things to all our meals. On top of all that we fell into sleep to the sound of lions and had hippos around the tents at night.
A very well organized safari with all the ingredients you can only hope for.
Our experience was excellent. The safari met and, in some aspects surpassed our expectations. The trip was well thought out and was done as it was planned. We had a great service from travel professional, by our guide. The knowledge about routes and the driving skills were excellent too, and he did his best to let us enjoy the trip.
Throughout the trip the food was really fine in quality, quantity and variety.
It was amazing to bush camp amongst the game, but with enough comfort, and with the confidence of being with someone whose knowledge about wildlife is so good. Doing a walking game viewing we did in a private game concession was also exciting.
We really enjoyed the game viewing, as we had several excellent spots - four leopards - three days -, a herd of 18 lions, a lioness with cubs, and lions mating – three days - , lions almost hunting sable antelope, a herd of 16 giraffes, a big herd of buffalo, a huge herd of Zebra – may be 40, too. We will never forget Chobe’s, Okavango, or the Kwai river landscapes, or the astonishing night sights of the Kudiakam pan.
My friends and family and I spent eight of the most memorable days of our lives with this company on safari in Botswana.
As people who grew up on National Geographic nature documentaries and camping in North America's national parks, I was worried that we might find Botswana nice, but not quite up to all the hype. Not the case!
Our experience in Botwana, in every way, simply blew the doors off all of our expectations! No matter you've seen or done before, there is no preparation for the thrill of lions - huge and hungry-looking - walking past your open vehicle so close you could pet them and roaring so loudly you feel it in the pit of your stomach.
Clearly you do not want to entrust your safety to amateurs during such an encounter. Beforehand, the operator patiently but thoroughly coached us on how to handle ourselves with lions and other potentially dangerous wildlife. In fact, the wilderness expertise of the s staff was truly impressive. They seemed familiar with the names and behaviors of every animal and plant we encountered. By the end of the trip, under their tutelage, all of us learned to read animal tracks and spoor like a Bushman.
Although the operator offered us a tempting "semi-luxury" option, we chose the "semi-participatory" version for our safari. We wanted the feel of a camping trip more than a catered excursion, although our actual "participation" in the camp chores was limited to putting up and taking down the tents. As someone who is used to sleeping on the ground, I found the stand-up height tents, cots and thick sleeping pads a comfortable surprise. Showers were available at each campsite. Throughout the trip the food was delicious, and the battery-powered refrigerators guaranteed an endless supply of cold drinks.
It is a cliche to call a safari like this a "trip of a lifetime" but our case it is simply not true. As I told them, we will be back, I hope, for many such "trips of a lifetime."
Best safari we have ever been on in Southern Africa. The operators vehicle, trailer and camping equipment was superior to most of the other safari operators.
With a deep freeze, fridge, plenty of water and camp lights and GPS they can travel to isolated destinations because they carry all the water and supplies needed without having to replace them every few days.
The food was plentiful and well prepared and made cooking easy. We enjoyed healthy and tasty meals. The variety of meals was impressive.
The tents, camp beds, lights and table are of high quality and make camping more comfortable especially if you are not young.
We visited some of the best game viewing areas and were impressed with the number of animals and beautiful scenery. We were able to take great still and video pictures and are delighted with the results.
Our guide's knowledge of animals, birds, trees, african tribes and routes was impressive and made the safari more interesting.
We had a very enjoyable and safe safari and would recommend this tour operator to other people of thinking of going on safari in Southern Africa.
PS: Just so you know - we are ex South Africans and have been on many safaris.
It is terrific to be on a trip with a person who so delights in every detail, planning and running our trip as if it were for his own best friends and while he worked very hard to make everything go smoothly he also seemed to enjoy himself. I don't know how he manages to make each trip feel so fresh and each client feel so valued.
We are very lucky to have travelled with them and recommend the tour operator enthusiastically.
