janeq

One of the ways to occupy yourself on a 14hr+ flight home--- put down trip report notes, so here goes my contribution to the Zambia files:

We spent 11 nights in Zambia during the latter part of May, visiting Victoria Falls(Livingstone), South LunagwaNP and Lower Zambezi NP., here are some highlights-

The trip was arranged through Voyagers Travel , a local Zambia agent. I do not hesitate to recommend them-- pre-trip, we received prompt replies to emails, and they were very patient with the going back and forth of working out an itinerary that met our moderate budget. It would be nice to have the option to use credit card rather than wire transfer, but everything worked out.

Livingstone(Victoria Falls)- Stayed at Maramba River Lodge, which I believe was off the main road, about 4km from the falls. Loved having breakfast on the river terrace each morning with background music of hippo laughs, and one morning a group of elephants were breakfasting on the opposite river bank- what a treat! Victoria Falls were in full force-- on the knife's edge bridge, I feel like we experienced the Falls with all 5 senses-- not a mist but a rain--- definitely glad to have the ponchos and the $1 rental of the croc shoes was the best $1 spent on the trip. Voyagers arranged a tour of the falls for us throught Bushtracks-- the guide was informative and patient with picture taking, and provided rain coats and water. We also did a helicopter flight-- the 15 min one was sufficient , and was good to have this overview of the area since at ground level it was difficult to get the full perspective with all the mist this time of year.

South Luangwa NP- I had never heard of this park until I started reseaching Zambia, I have only ever been in Africa once, to South Africa, so am not a safari expert(need more time and $ ha, ha), but I thought it was a real gem. We stayed outside the park, at Wildlife Camp in a chalet-- no complaints there- its not fancy but what had everything we needed and great people, and Sylvester our guide was not only knowledgable but very personable as well. Even though it was still kind of early in the season, we were not disappointed with our sightings. Highlights were seeing lions each day, including a pride of maybe 15 one night, one leopard (better than zero leopards), finding ourselves in the midst of a huge herd of buffalo, elephant close encounters, seeing a green field full of zebra and impala grazing in the morning sunlight ( the phrase animal eden came to mind at that scene), and eagle flying low over us onto perch in a tree with his catch of a snake, and beautiful sunset colors.

Lower Zambezi NP- had a bit of a splurge for us, stayed at Kasaka River Lodge --wonderful, professional staff and bit more luxurious accomodation than the previous ones, and elephants were also enjoying visits to the lodge-- I was able to see one step over a rail to get closer to a tree on the property, wild elephants are much more graceful than I thought! For game viewing, could not compare to SLNP, and the river was pretty high, but we were still able to add some animals to our list, such as a hyena sleeping in the sun and a jackal pair in a field, and to see a group of elephants walking single file in a line to their next destination was also special to see. We also got to go canoeing on the river. (With the current it was just as much drifting as canoeing, but still a pleasant way to spend a morning). Scenery here was different from SLNP, so it was a nice change of pace.

Overall, I am happy we chose Zambia for this trip, it did not disappoint, and will end by mentioning how wonderfully pleasant, polite, and helpful we found most of the Zambian people to be.

mopsy

Hi Janeq,

Thanks for the report, sounds like you had a great time!
I am interested in hearing more about LZNP and Kasaka River Lodge. I am close to booking this lodge and would be interested in your thoughts if you have the time.

Did you stay on the wild side or the tame side at Kasaka? Is there any real difference between the two in your opinion?

Was there a good variety of game in the park? And was it common to see other vehicles in the park?

janeq

Mopsy- re: Kasaka

Initially I was a little disappointed that we had been booked on the "tame" side, but as the manager explained to us, the tame side actually gets more wildlife visitors, the names come more from the fact that the tame side tents are situated around the lawn, whereas the wild side is on the other side of the dining/bar area, accessed via elevated wooden boardwalk. There is a hippo named Frank who likes to bring his girlfriend to dine at night on the lawn(though we never saw them, only heard them, as they never arrived til after we turned in for the evening), elephant also come through-- one afternoon, we were leaving our tent to go to our pm activity, and I had to stop as there was an elephant in the middle of the lawn and he was teenage boy, having a bit of an adolescent fit, so the manager came and escorted us around a back path to avoid him. So, they were right, staying on the tame side was a more "wild" experience!

For activities, they offer game drives, river cruise, walks,canoeing, fishing, and you can also arrange to visit a school they support. Due to being there in the beginning of the season, and also pretty high water levels in the Zambezi,(and maybe being a little spoiled from South Luangwa) the game viewing probably was not as good as it would be later in the season when the water levels go down more. For example, they say elephants and buffalo sometimes cross the river, but during our visit the water level was so high, what are usually islands in the river were submerged, could only see the trees. We were there just 3 days, and did not partake of all the game drive activities, as we wanted to so some water activities, and on the last morning just felt the need to have a lie in and relax on the property as we were starting to have "safari fatigue". That being said, on the game drives we did, I recall impalas in large groups, water buck, plenty of elephants, saw a hyena, jackals on a couple occasions, warthogs, there are no (and apparently have never been) giraffe in the park. We never got to see lions (tracked one for a bit, but just saw the footprints), but they said the night before we arrived, a group were on the airstrip in the evening, and they went out to watch them, so they are there. Very few sightings of other vehicles, but again, may be due to the time of year, though there do not seem to be a high density of lodges there, so crowding may not be an issue.

I will end by saying that the managers, Linda and Mike were very accomodating and flexible about the activity schedule, and sometimes it was just the two of us doing an activity, as the lodge was not full and the other guests had decided other things, and that was never a problem, you did not feel forced to follow a group plan.

mopsy

Thanks very much Janeq, I really appreciate all the info!
Must confess now I'm a little torn between booking the wildside as always planned or defecting to the tame side!!

canadian_robin

We are planning a self-drive to LZNP and SLNP, so your trip report is most timely and helpful. Thank you! I am interested in the gaming viewing in Lower Zambezi NP. I gather Kasaka is west of the national park. Did the guides take you into the national park to game drive, or did you stay in the GMA? If you drove into the park, how long did it take you to get to the park gate from Kasaka, and how deep was the water when you crossed the Chongwe River?

We are thinking of camping at Wildlife Camp. Did you see the campsite and, if so, what was your impression? I gather Wildlife Camp can be a bit crowded and noisy in peak season, but I doubt it was when you were there. Is the accommodation at least fairly well spread out? We are debating between Wildlife Camp and Track and Trail. Thanks for your assistance. Robin

janeq

mopsy- seems like either side is "wild", you can't lose.

canadian-robin- LZNP- From what the manager said at the time we were there, due to the water levels?, accessing the park by road to the main gate was still either difficult or time consuming, so what they had done was pre- positioned the game vehicles, and we would take the lodge boat on the river for maybe a 15-20 min or so ride, dock(there is not a real dock) and take a short walk up to the vehicles. I noticed Chongwe had vehicles there too. There seemed to be a makeshift entrance there, with a tent, and a gentlemen at a table with an entrance book. The manager said one of the local catchphrases is "make a plan", so I guess thats what they did for this situation.

As far as Wildlife camp, the campground is well separated from the chalet area, you don't even know its there. We did walk down there once-- the location is better than the chalets, in that you are closer to, so have a better view of, the river, the small pool is also there and they have their own bar. Yes, when we were there, only a couple of campers were present, but I know one of the workers said that around World Cup time they have large amount of bookings, and were anticipating a crazy time.

canadian_robin

Thanks Jane! Most helpful! I wondered if Kasaka was boating you into the park. I was pretty certain that, given you mention that that the water levels were high, you hadn't driven across the Chongwe River. I wondered perhaps if you had been limited to the GMA, and that was why the game viewing wasn't as good as SLNP.

Thanks for the info about Wildlife Camp. I had heard that the campsites have a lovely location next to the river. However, a "crazy time" is exactly what we are trying to avoid. Robin

canadian_robin

I would love to see some photos! Robin

atravelynn

Thanks Jane, it's about time for a Zambia report. SL and LZ are a super combo. Thank you for sharing your experiences there.