kempfand

Hello,

Ok ... this is my first post here ... so lets go !

My spouse and I We have been to Lower Zambezi, South Luangwa, and Livingston areas last year, and
we liked it so much that we would love to return, to also include new parks and locations such as Kafue.

Looking at "Kushiyana" ( http://www.kushiyana.com/ ), I have seen a number of places such as
- Nanzhila Plains,
- Kaingu Lodge, and
- Mukambi Busanga Camp

We were wondering how these compare to the locations ofered by Wilderness, such as
- Lunga River Camp ( http://www.wilderness-safaris.com/ca...mp;method=menu ) or
- Busanga Bush Camp ( http://www.wilderness-safaris.com/ca...mp;method=menu )

Are the Wilderness ones basically the same area, differing but in price (and therefore service and luxuray offered), or is there material difference wiht the wildlife viewing ?

Hope someone can give some more information.

Thanks and cheers,

Andreas

santharamhari

Andreas,

I was doing research for a potential Kafue trip and looked into Nanzhila, Kaingu, Mukambi......i heard lots of great things about Mukambi Busanga camp.

Keep us posted about your trip and ofcourse, on your return.....

Hari

santharamhari

The only people who have been to Kafue on these forums(from memory) are Lynn and Johan.....pl do a search you may find some info/trip reports.

Hari

atravelynn

Welcome to the Forum.

Sorry I cannot compare the accommodations. I stayed only at Busanga Plains Bush Camp before it was operated by Wilderness.

Here are four links that include some repetition.

http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=34878497

http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=34933488

http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=34682805

http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=34548887

I hope someone has a more specific answer. Good question.

kempfand

Thank you all for the information and comments. After some research, I found that Wilderness' Busanga Bush Camp and their Shumba Camp are very close (within 15 minutes drive).
Mukambi's Busanga Plains Camp is in the same area as well !

We have therefore decided to proceed as follows:
- 4 nights Mukambi Safari Lodge ( http://www.mukambi.com/?section=homepage )
- 4 nights Mukambi's Busanga Plains Camp ( http://www.mukambi.com/?section=busangaplains )
- 4 nights LZ / Old Mondoro
- 4 nights Chiawa
- 1 night Lusaka

Having been to LZ last year, this gets us back to the area we enjoyed very much, plus the initial Kafue sections provides something new.

Andreas

nyama

Good decision. Plains Camp and Busanga Bush Camp are for people who like to be near to nature, while Kapinga and Shumba offer a more distant (platform-based) luxury option. All four camps share the same game viewing area.

atravelynn

Looks like a great trip Andreas!

HariS

A few months ago, while i was doing some research for a potential Kafue safari, i was told Nanzhila plains area was very good for cheetah.

Mukambi had a good reputation for all predators, just like we may have read game updates about the Wilderness Kafue camps.....i was told that Mukambi was seasonal bushcamp just set up for the dry season every year.

Either way, Zambia is on my agenda for a future safari.....in particular Kaingo, SL and Kafue area.

Hari

HariS

Mark (Marksafari) had some good youtube footage from his Kafue visit, from what i remember he did a boat trip there.....landscape looked good. Do a search!!!

Rgds,
Hari

nyama

Andreas, I know both Mukambi camps and would recommend that you shorten your stay at Mukambi Safari Lodge to 2-3 nights and add this time to your Plains Camp visit.

safaridude

I understand that Wilderness is building at least a couple of new camps this year (Lufupa, which I believe they took over from another operator, and Ntemwa, which was a defunct camp south of Busanga Plains -- they are both supposed to open this year). They currently have 3 camps already operating in Busanga Plains (Shumba, Kapinga and Busanga Bush) and one just outside the park in the northeast called Lunga.

Shumba and Kapinga are fancier and priced accordingly as I understand it.

Lunga, Lufupa and Ntemwa are located in woodland areas -- a contrast from Shumba, Kapinga and Busanga. I am booked for Busanga and Lunga in August '08. I can't wait to hear what other Fodorites have to say about Kafue...

nyama

Lufupa has not been overtaken, it's still owned by Busanga Trails and only managed by WS. Lufupa will remain low-key and still offers a campsite for the self-driving traveller. The lodge certainly will never make it on the WS website - it just doesn't fit in the portolio that people like you expect (like Palmwag Lodge in Nam).

Lufupa will be used for WS' 'Kafue's Rivers and Plains' exploration safaris, along with a new trails camp, Musanza Bush Camp (to be opened in July).

Ntemwa will house the Children in the Wilderness programme and never be open to the public.

nyama

safaridude, you should better go to the Plains in September. Depending on water levels, in August the game viewing area can be smaller than expected, and it is shared by the vehicles of four camps.

luangwablondes

"Ntemwa will house the Children in the Wilderness programme and never be open to the public."

I believe this is the camp in Zambia that is part of the program, but as I understand it, The camp will be closed only for a few weeks in order to facilitate The Children in the Wilderness program. The rest of the time it will be an upmarket camp.

nyama

A WS official told me this week:
"Ntemwa will house the CITW programme for Kafue and will not be a guest camp."

luangwablondes

http://www.eyesonafrica.net/updates/2006/upd_feb06.htm
"Finally, 2007 will see the opening of Ntemwa, a 24-bed luxury lodge in a private concession that overlooks the permanent pools of the Ntemwa River, inhabited by hundreds of hippo."


http://www.expertafrica.com/lodge/Ntemwa_Bushcamp.htm


http://www.wilderness-safaris.com/co...onitem_id=2685

Nothing I could see right off that said the camp was dedicated entirely to Children of the Wilderness.

nyama

Contact WS, ask them about these camps. Subscribe to their newsletter. Send Chris McIntyre a mail that he should update his website.

luangwablondes

What is there to ask?

http://www.wilderness-safaris.com/co...onitem_id=2685
The Future
As successful as the Children in the Wilderness programmes continue to be, the numbers of impoverished rural children and those affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic are rising. There is a vital need to grow and expand this programme so that it can have a real impact on African communities. It is costly for Wilderness Safaris to close down its camps on a regular basis and the numbers of children we can host are therefore limited. To increase the capacity, there is a real need for permanent venues that will be capable of hosting children all year round. Therefore, the first permanent year-round camp is being planned in South Africa at Mkambati on the Wild Coast, Eastern Cape.

nyama

Silly question. Websites aren't always up-to-date, and who cares about one year old press releases. If you have special questions or need to know the current situation, the best way is directly asking the operator. That's what I usually do (and what I actually did in case of Ntemwa).

Maybe WS also use Ntemwa as HQ for their Kafue operation? Similar to Kaparota and Vundumtiki in the Okavango Delta which are also used for CITW and closed to the public.

luangwablondes

Now wouldn't it have been easier to just post a copy of this email. Is there a reason you don't?