I am glad to see Kaingo mentioned here as we loved it last year.

As for your concern about missing a drive in the transfer -- that does not happen as the transfer from Kaingo will be at the end of a drive or during the afternoon siesta.

South Luangwa is a large park. Most of the camps are toward the Southern End -- Kaingo is pretty much by itself in the Northern Park and they have excellent guides. You do not meet a lot of other people from other camps which I really liked. There were a lot of animals. We did get a few leopard sitings there -- my first!

We stayed at Luangwa River Lodge after Kaingo and loved that also -- met many more vehicles on the game drives there as they are more in that area but it was not bad. A couple of times the sundowner locations were taken before we got there but no big deal. The owners are great and to be on main power is a nice treat. The bathtub is great!

We did not do Puku Ridge as ther had been some bad reports regarding management then and it is close to Luangwa River Lodge. Sind then, people have stayed and the management has been changed and the place is, I hear here, very good, so I would not hesitate.

We did go to Lower Zambezi and did not enjoy it as much as the South Luangwa. IF you want to do some water activities, then this should be considered as canoeing ot fishing are big in this area. When we were there, we did not see as many animals as the South Luangwa.

To the original poster: I see that you are interested in walking. You might consider a combination of Luangwa River Lodge for an all-around fabulous place to stay, (great food, guides, managers, chalets, vibe) and then look into one of these:
• Bushcamp Company - They specialize in walks. I loved Chamilandu; others on the board gave favorable reviews to Kapamba. Chamilandu is in a beautiful spot, with Chindeni hills across the river, wonderful breezes into the chalets.... or:

• Tafika camp - Also do walks - but across the river, IN the park, they have two walking camps Chikoko and Crocodile. An English couple had just returned from there during my stay at Tafika and they loved it. There are no roads over there and the park is very isolated. They saw leopard - right in camp, I think, as they were just sitting and relaxing, lion, and all the rest. I flew over the area with John Coppinger on his microlight and it looks fabulous. I would def. recommend it. Just more food for thought. You can see we all have our favorite places!

Good luck!
Sharon

Will someone (Dennis or S.Tamiya) please tell whether they thought that Luangwa River Lodge was "close" to Puku Ridge.

Personally, I do not find this to be the case, given that it is a 1+ hour drive away.

I would say that Nkwali and Kafunta are relatively close to Puku Ridge but I would not say the same of Luangwa River Lodge. However, of the three, both Nkwali and Kafunta are outside the park while Puku Ridge has a great location within the park. It is still about a 15 minute drive away from Kafunta & Nkwali.

I think Luangwa River Lodge and Puku Ridge is a wonderful combination, especially if one happens to visit anytime between November to May when Kaingo and the other northern camps (Tafika, Nsefu, Tena Tena) are closed.

However, if one was visiting in high season and only had time to pick two camps, I would definitely say Kaingo should be one of the two camps while the other should be either Luangwa River Lodge or Puku Ridge.

Of course, the very best option is to be able to get all three camps, Puku Ridge, Luangwa River Lodge and Kaingo, in on your safari! Then again, if Puku Ridge is booked solid, after all the positive press it has been receiving lately on the forum, then Kafunta is a nice way to enjoy game drives in a similar area and at an excellent value! :)

Puku Ridge and Luangwa River Lodge are not that close, 1.5-2 hours apart, though in the wet season they do share the same viewing areas as some of the roads are impassable from either camp and all the lodges seem to meet in the middle for drives. In October while at LRL, we did go over to PR area a few times in search of dogs, but the rest of the time we didn't see a Star of Africa vehicle but occasionally. LRL is situated on the river, PR is on a flood pan so the views from the tent/chalet are entirely different. I'd definitely do both again, and throw in Kaingo.

Predator,
Thanks for posting that newsletter from RPS. Wished I could have been included in one of Jeeps VIP, guess I am not ranked high enough yet. What a great testimony for our new Jeep.

Now I have to figure out a way to get to Zambia and have the company pay for it.

Rocco, your suggestion of PR, LRL and Kaingo is whetting my appetite. I will email you direct for more details.

Carla

I would agree that Puku Ridge is not near Luangwa River Lodge. Victor and I did a drive out there one day in search of dogs. I didn't go inside the camp but it is in a very pretty area, and everyone who has stayed there lately loved it. You can't go wrong Carla, and Rocco will be able to plan a very nice trip for you. Can I come?!

Sorry to OP for tacking onto your thread!

Sharon

Carla: do you work for Jeep? I have a 99 Jeep Wrangler with over 180,000 miles now. It is a workhorse that gets me into some rough sites for my field work. Every year I get an invite to go to Jeep Camp to put it through the paces somewhere in the U.S. -- I've never gone but it sounds like fun. I think I would have accepted an invite to drive South Luangwa though!

Predator, I have been the fleet manager for 18 years at South Bay Chrysler Jeep Dodge http://www.south-ca.fivestardealers.com/

180k on your '99, wow! My brother has a '99 Warngler but no where near that many miles. They are great vehicles and most people hang on to them for a long time as they are so reliable.

Maybe someone from Daimler Chrysler will read this and invite us to the next South Luangwa event! DR.Z ...ARE YOU OUT THERE????

Have you heard of the Jeep Jamborees?

Sorry Marc for latching onto your thread, its a good one. I will be following your progress.

Carla

Carla: that's cool, I obviously love my Jeep. All my field work throughout the west has really packed on the miles but the Jeep has taken me though some of the best spots in Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico and the Dakotas. I'm hoping I can hold off from buying a new one for a little while longer since Africa keeps draining my pockets.

I have heard of the Jeep Jamborees but never attended. Looks like fun, I'm often driving where no one else is.

This has to be the best digression to date.
Nice job! =D>

Marc - hope you guys are still with us! :))

I said I was sorry. Marc are you there?