txdenise

My previous questions were about safaris in June. If Zambia does not have a shoulder season in June our trip could be in July or August (just need during school break).
My agent is encouraging us to do the Wilderness Kafue Rivers trip for 7 nights and then South Luangwa for 3 at Bushcamps and Vic falls at beginning.Should we go to Lower Zambezi also? Should we spend less time at Kafue?

nyama

With less than two weeks for this trip, unless you really want to see the Falls, skip it - it's not a typical Africa or safari experience. Also most people find a stay at Lower Zambezi and South Luangwa more rewarding for a first-time visit.

txdenise

Nyama: I would love to skip Vic falls but that is a trip requirement from my husband who pays our bills!!When you say most people find Lower Zambezi and South Luangwa more rewarding---did you mean more so than Kafue or than Vic falls? Is the game better at South Luangwa and Lower Zambezi? Thanks!

nyama

txdenise, I meant Kafue. Lower Zambezi hasn't the game diversity of Kafue, but animals are easier to spot. Also Lower Zambezi has a great landscape, and you will certainly see one of these African cliche images of elephants crossing the river.

I'm a fan of Kafue and know the Lufupa area quite well (1st stop of WS Kafue Rivers), but sightings depend more on luck (compared to Lower Zambezi); and much less elephants. I don't know Musanza, but since this is a new area (camp has opened for this season) I would expect that animals are still very shy; also limited game drive area in July because of water. If you're interested in birds, go to Kafue.

South Luangwa is the main park in Zambia and a must. However, game sightings depend on the area of your camp. Bushcamp Co. is great for walks, but in my experience not a prime game viewing area.

txdenise

Nyama,
What are the best camps for game viewing in Zambia in June-August?
Thanks! Denise

nyama

Denise, here is a list of camps, sorted by area.

SOUTH LUANGWA, Nsefu Sector:

Nsefu Camp (www.nsefu.com), my favourite
Tena Tena Camp (www.tenatena.com)
Tafika Camp (www.tafikacamp.com). Tafika is located outside the park, but it's only a short drive to get into the park and you have still a lot of animals around the camp.

SOUTH LUANGWA, Lions Plain:

Kaingo Camp (www.kaingo.com)
Lion Camp (www.lioncamp.com)
Mchenja Camp (www.normancarrsafaris.com)
Mwamba Bush Camp (www.kaingo.com), my favourite

SOUTH LUANGWA, Mfuwe Sector:

Also a prime game viewing area and animals are very habituated. However, this area is used by a lot of operators, mainly from outside the park, and can become very crowded. If exclusive game viewing is of priority, I would avoid this area. No recommendations.

LOWER ZAMBEZI:

Ana Tree Lodge (www.anatreelodge.com), good value
Chiawa Camp (www.chiawa.com)
Chongwe River Camp (www.chongwe.com), just outside the park, but very good value
Mwambashi River Lodge (www.lionroars.com), good value
Old Mondoro Bush Camp (www.chiawa.com or www.sausagetreecamp.com), my favourite
Sausage Tree Camp (www.sausagetreecamp.com)

KAFUE, Busanga Plains
(unless you're interested in water activities or birding I wouldn't recommend to visit this area before mid-August):

Busanga Bush Camp (www.busangabushcamp.com)
Kapinga Camp (www.kapingacamp.com)
The Plains Camp (www.mukambi.com), my favourite
Shumba Camp (www.shumbacamp.com)

KAFUE, Lufupa area:

Lufupa Lodge (book through www.wilderness-safaris.com), good value

WS's Kafue Rivers & Plains tour is a good less expensive option to visit these two areas.

At last two special destinations, mainly for birders:

Luwombwa Lodge, Kasanka (www.kasanka.com), Pel's heaven
Shoebill Island Camp, Bangweulu GMA (www.kasanka.com), if you're after shoebills

dwc0201

Denise, We are just back from Zambia and we did one camp in Mfuwe sector for 2 nights. We were at Luangwa river lodge and enjoyed it but it was in an area crowded with other operators and I think Bushcamps might be in the same area. We saw some good things and got some rest after two long flights but two night was just enough time.

After that we went to Kaingo which I highly recommend but since you mention school break I wonder if you are taking kids and I am not sure about kids at Kaingo.

Our last camp was Chiawa and I didn't have a good experience there. Partly because of the lack of game and the camp just wasn't a good fit for me.

You might want to post again under "kafue river trip" to see if anyone has done that trip because I can't comment on Kafue but I had heard Kafue didn't have as much game to see.

I would recommend August over June.

Debbie

sniktawk

I agree with the comments about Chiawa and Kafue. Our visit was in October 2006.

txdenise

Debbie and sniktawk,
Thanks for your advice. Will you share with me why you did not enjoy Chiawa?
I guess from the remarks on this forum I am leaning away from Kafue because of the season (June/July).Should we just concentrate on South Luanga and Lower Zambezi (plus Vic falls for my husband)? Or should we add a couple of days at Malamala? I like the idea of canoeing from one lodge to the next and LZ and walking from one Bushcamp to the next at SL and then plenty of game drives in between. I guess I still wonder if we should just spend the extra and go to Botswana (or trim a few days off the trip to cut the cost).
I checked on airfare to Lusaka from London on British Airways and it seemed really high.I thought we could save some time on the front end by flying into Zambia instead of Johannesburg and then visit with some dear friends in England on the way back. Does anyone know of any good airfare deals?

sniktawk

I have no idea whether Kafue is any good or not (we saw not very much and Busanga Plains had the 2nd worst vehicles), but I do not think it would be any good that early, in particular on the plains.

We found Lower Zambezi to be very short of game, others have said exactly the opposite.

To be honest our visits to Zambia have in all honesty been pretty poor, but maybe it was bad luck. We much prefer Zimbabwe and Botswana (not all parts),that is if you go on safari for wildlife!

amolkarnik

nyama - Have you been on WS's Kafue Rivers & Plains tour? You opinion?

It was recommended to me by a TA and the details posted on the Wilderness website sound interesting. I was recommended it for late September/October.

Anyone else on here been on this mobile camping trip?

nyama

amolkarnik, I never used WS for going to Kafue.

I stayed at Lufupa and old Shumba several times before WS took over management. I made daytime visits to Lufupa, BBC, Kapinga and Shumba during WS's first season (2006). WS also kindly sent me location information on their new Musanza Discoverer Camp.

My opinion? If I had to choose between Kafue and Lower Zambezi (or even South Luangwa), I would go to Kafue. Kafue has much more diversity of animals than Lower Zambezi which makes it very interesting for experienced safari goers. Kafue Rivers & Plains shows you the best areas, with a good mix of activities. Thumbs up for this WS offer.

nyama

Btw, Kafue Rivers & Plains isn't a 'mobile camping' trip. Lufupa, Musanza and Lunga River are permanent camps.

dwc0201

Denise,I am very glad we went to Zambia for a first trip and it was wonderful. But next time we will find a way to do Botswana just because we know everyone says it has more to see. South Luanwga was great but do investigate your camps thoroughly in terms of how many other operators in the area and how far it is to get there ( I understand Shuma and Tafika are pretty long drives).

Please take what I say with a grain of salt because others like Chiawa but besides the poor drives, I didn't care for the singing before dinner, the "surprises" of seating you with certain other guests for lunch on a boat etc. without asking if we would enjoy that. Sometimes you are just tired and would like to have a quick lunch or maybe you aren't really connecting very well with a particular guest but they decide to set up lunch with that person. Again if we were seeing great things maybe that would have made the "surprises" less important or maybe I am just not a surprise kind of girl.

nyama

The nature of things in South Luangwa is that you have to drive far for avoiding the crowd. The only operator who is offering direct air transfers to camp is WS. We still have to wait for a trip report by an experienced Zambia traveller who can compare the quality of the Luamfwa concession with the other prime game viewing areas.

mkhonzo

Bcc operate in great areas, the fact that they walk primarily dictates that the game viewed is often less spectacular than from the gate area safaris.

That said I have never been dissapointed by the drives from any of the BCC camps. Always seen lion, leopard and good general game. Buff, ele and hippo in great numbers too.

Luamfwa area I know well. It is not dissimilar to the concessions of the bcc, however when Last I drove through that area, black cotton soil and thick encroachment would make game viewing a challenge. Yes WS is the only opertator to fly in.

nyama

mkhonzo, I also made drives from the BC camps and found very shy game. My guide and the ZAWA scouts told me that this is mainly because of poaching in the off-season. Interestingly Lower Lupande Concession in the GMA gives good protection, main problems are the poachers coming down from the escarpment. The ZAWA people are hoping that with the extended season of Kapamba the situation is getting better - more eyes to control the area...

mkhonzo

I will not venture to support motive, suffice to say the game is good. On foot it is not always at its best.

Weren't you the guy the guy that soiled his bed, moaned miserably about communication and demanded private vehicles as well? +/- a year ago?

nyama

mkhonzo -- if you carefully read this thread and also Denise's thread about walking safaris you'll see that I have a quite positive opinion about the BC product and encourage people to visit the area.

txdenise

I found a "Gem of Zambia" on the Robin Pope site. The 10 day safari includes 4 days with Robin Pope safaris in South Luangwa, 2 days at Chiawa in LZ and 4 days at Lunga River Lodge and Bush Plains Bush camp. Has anyone done this trip recently? Would it be a good sampling of scenery and wildlife sightings in August? Thanks! Denise