travelwoman

I am planning a 10 night trip to Zambia in early July 2008 and would really appreciate some feedback on the following itinerary:

3 Nights Kalamu Tented Camp
2 Nights Kapamba Bush Camp
3 Nights Chiawa Camp
2 Nights Old Mondoro

I am most interested in any feedback on the quality of the wildlife sigthings at these camps at this time of the year.

Thank you!

atravelynn

I spent 2 nights at Old Mondoro and saw eles, giraffe, zebra and buffalo on foot and walked with a pair of honey badgers. In a vehicle we saw more honey badgers, much closer eles, more hooved species, lions day and night. Elephants and buffalo were right outside camp.

To get to Old Mondoro I canoed from Sausage Tree via the Chifungulu Channel. Don't know if you can still go via that channel.

Old Mondoro was outstanding.

cooncat3

I agree with Lynn. I would try to stay at least 3 nights at Old Mondoro. I stayed for two nights and that wasn't enough. (That said, two nights isn't enought at any camp, IMO.)

You would be one of the first on this board to stay at Kalamu!

travelwoman

Thanks for the feedback. I am very excited about staying at Old Mondoro based on the posts here! The biggest concern I have about my itinerary is the 5 nights in South Luangwa. I like the idea of being in a very remote part of the park at Kalamu Camp(in the Luamfwa Concession), but is it so remote that the wildlife will be too shy and difficult to see? Also, Kapamba Camp appears to be relatively close to Kalamu Camp. If there are any issues with scarcity of wildife at Kalamu, would Kapamba potentially be a repeat of the same experience, due to its proximity to Kalamu? Any feedback would be great. Thanks!

atravelynn

I was looking at your camp on
http://www.expertafrica.com/area_map...ional_Park.htm

Actually I was looking at Kapamba because Kalamu was not listed yet. They seemed remote but not so remote that none of the animals would have encountered vehicles. I think you are right to consider splitting up your S. Luangwa camps. It is nice to stay in more than one region of the park.

I am interested in how you picked your S. Luangwa camps. Did the agent suggest them? Had you read about them? Any idea on how their pricin compares to others?

travelwoman

The South Luangwa camps were recommended by an agent. I had orginally requested a quote for Chiawa and Old Mondoro in the Lower Zambezi and Luangwa River Lodge and Puku Ridge in South Luangwa. The agent advised that Luangwa River Lodge was very nice, but located in a busy, well-traversed part of the Park. He also indicated that Puku Ridge was undergoing an ownership change and the new operation had not been sufficiently reviewed to be recommended. The agent suggested Kalamu and Kapamba as alternatives because in his opinoion they are of the same caliber as Chiawa and Old Mondoro in terms of their remoteness and the quality of the camps. As I said, I like the idea of being at a remote camp, I just want to make sure that "remote" doesn't also apply to the wildlife!

Lynn - as a side note, I loved your pictures of the Pantanal! I was there last year and loved it, but didn't see any jaguars.

atravelynn

I've heard the same thing about Puku Ridge. Luangwa River Lodge has been highly praised on the forum, as I recall.

Does your travel agent have am answer to the remoteness of wildlife at these places?

New and remote do add up to more skittish wildlife. I wonder if the agent is getting a bonus or something for promoting this new camp. Of course, it could be exactly what you want.

In response to your side note, where did you go in the Pantanal? I am curious about the Southern Pantanal, Porto Jofre, Araras Ecolodge. These are places I did not go.

travelwoman

Lynn:

Thanks for your feedback. I decided to spend the 2 nights at the Luangwa River Lodge instead of Kapamba, which will give me opportunity to stay in a different part of the park, as you suggested.

When I went to the Pantanal I stayed for a week at the Caiman Ecological Refuge. It's a combination working ranch/ecological refuge and is located 140 miles west of Campo Grande in the heart of the southern Pantanal on 131,000 acres. We stayed in a small lodge with six other people (3 from Brazil, 2 from Ireland, and 1 from Amsterdam) and spent the entire week with this group. We also had the same guide for the week, so by the end of the week we were like a family. It was hard to say goodbye! Each day we would participate in a different guided activities - game drives, horseback riding, canoeing, hiking, and a tour of the cattle ranch. It was a great experience and I would definately go again.

Thanks, again, for your feedback about Zambia.

atravelynn

Travelwoman,

That is the lodge I was most curious about. Thank you! Have a wonderful trip to Zambia.

ez4ucolo

Oh, I wish you hadn't changed from Kapamba, it was absolutely fabulous. The huts were fantastic with the huge bathtub, the lions we walked up on during our walk, Dean, the guide is great fun. We saw a greater variety of animals in S. Luangwa but the most peaceful place was Old Mondoro where we were surrounded by 11 elephants munchy the branches above our hut, the great hosts Helen and Rulouph. And at both the limited number of people. At one place it was suppose to only have 12 guests but there were close to 20 one night for dinner.These were my 2 favorite camps in Zambia.

Lynneb

I stayed at South Luangwa River Lodge this September. That part of the park is busier than other parts but it's quite easy to find areas where they're aren't other vehicles. There tends to be a lot of vehicles around if there are lions or during the night drives. We had a fantastic stay at South Luangwa River Lodge and were very well looked after. The approach there is very flexible.