Is there a problem flying out of JNB to Lusaka
on a Saturday. We need to be in Lusaka at about 1.30pm. Are there delays/trikes etc.we plan to travel in October 2006.
Many thanks for any comments.

You will save yourself some money by flying Zambian Airways from Joburg to Lusaka. Zambian Airways, for this flight only, may be booked at:

www.kulula.com

This flight departs Joburg at 8:30AM and arrives in Lusaka at 10:30AM. This will be much better as you will then arrive in South Luangwa much earlier.

I flew SAA JNB-Lusaka last October, flight was on time, no problems. If going through JNB again I'd take the ZambianAir flight as it does leave and arrive earlier.

With the South African Airways flight into Lusaka arriving as late as it does, there is a moderate risk of missing the evening game activity in South Luangwa. This happened to me my first year visiting when my transfer from Lusaka to South Luangwa (Mfuwe) was late. It cost me my afternoon/evening game drive as I did not get into Mfuwe until about 5PM. The park closes at 8PM and the game drives for properties outside the park usually conclude by about 7:30PM.

My last couple visits to South Luangwa followed stays in Lower Zambezi so I did not have any such problem. However, I agree that the earlier flight out of Joburg is preferred.

FWIW, I check very closely the arrival times of flights to camps. Lusaka to Mfuwe is a good example. We are taking that flight in a couple of weeks and I know that it arrives in Mfuwe at 1240 hours. Which is time enough to get to the safari camp (Nsefu) for afternoon/evening drive. Had the flight arrived much later I would have been paying $1000 for just the room and dinner. In that case I would have stayed overnight in Lusaka and taken early flight out next morning. My travel agent is also aware and takes care of such throughly.
regards - tom

1:40PM Arrive Lusaka
2:30PM Depart Lusaka to Mfuwe
3:50PM Arrive Mfuwe
4:05PM Leave Mfuwe Airport To Lodge
5:00PM Arrive Lodge

(Park closes at 8PM and those staying outside the park at places like Nkwali and Kafunta will start exiting the park by 7:30PM...it really depends on whether the lodge feels like giving you a private game drive or not...a delay of even the smallest time will result in no game drive as happened to me my first year). This is why I like Luangwa River Lodge because it is the utmost in personalized safari experience and even with a 5PM arrival one is guaranteed at least a 2.5 hour game drive.

The above post of mine is for the South African Airways flight from Lusaka to Mfuwe and is for all the lodges nearest to Mfuwe. For lodges further away like Kaingo, Tena Tena, Nsefu, Puku Ridge and Bushcamp Company camps, it would take far more than an hour from Mfuwe to the lodge.

However, with the Zambian Airways flight, as Tom is doing, it should be okay to get to even the furthest camp and still be in time for the late afternoon/early evening game drive.

I would only recommend the South African Airways flight for starting out in Lower Zambezi, which is less than a 30 minute flight and a much shorter transfer to the camps. Even then, however, one is better off with the earlier Zambian Airways flight.

Thanks to Rocco, Matnik , Cary 999 etc for the most useful information.August 26 2006