July 2007

Last minute availability

With only 3 months left for access to some of our very special seasonal areas, we've focused on last minute availability in one of the smallest camps left in Africa!

The North Luangwa Park - Zambia
Known as the North park, this is the wild child of Zambia's game reserves. Remote and raw this area is practically a trackless wilderness - an ideal terrain for the connoisseur of wild places.

With only 3 small camps established in an area half the size of the South Luangwa (or the whole of the Masai Mara) the most delightful of all bush camps in Africa is a minute, seasonally built camp on the banks of the Mwaleshi River. 

There are very few camps left in Africa claiming to be truly owner-run, truly eco-friendly and available to just 6 guests per night -  a greater luxury than available at most top of the range camps anywhere in East or southern Africa!

The camp leaves only the lightest of footprints on its surroundings. At the end of the season, Rod, Guz and their staff dismantle the camp, haul it down to the river and light a match. Then, the following April they return and rebuild everything. Rod was just 17 when he started guiding in South Luangwa in 1989 and is a great asset in camp with his hands-on approach and personal attention to every detail. 

The LandCruiser that collects guests from the airstrip comes to a stop on the far side of the river, from where one must wade through calf-deep, crystal clear, happily cool water to reach the camp.

On the far side is a masterwork of African bush chic: three guest huts strung out along the bank that transcend their raw ingredients of packed mud floors, reed walls and thatch roofs to become airy and stylish enclaves with curving veranda and a sand-floored, open-top bathroom with a flushing loo and hot shower. 

At the centre of the camp, a marvellous giant mahogany tree divides the open-air library from the dining area and bar and provides welcome deep shade in the heat of the day. Guz the wizard owner/chef produces cordon bleu meals from open, hot coal fires and gas fired fridges.

In temperatures of 30 degrees centigrade plus, we've been served from a homemade ice bowl delicately encasing lime leaves and filled with outrageously delicious mango sorbet; we've eaten delicate passionfruit souffles; home-made ice creams, tortellini with basil and shavings of parmesan and Thai-style entrees all worth a long walk!

While it lacks South Luangwa's lagoon systems, the northern park's open plains, mopane woodland and jesse thickets make it ideal for grazing animals. North Luangwa has some of Zambia's largest herds of buffalo and wildebeest, and that means lots of lion. 

This is prime country for walking, and the activities from camp are dedicated to two-footed safaris although we regularly have guests who'd prefer a sedentary choice by vehicle.

The camp's five-star walk is the trek to Chipopoma Falls, where the Mwaleshi hurls itself through a series of granite pools as it steps down from the escarpment that make perfect swimming pools, followed by a barbecue on the banks and a languid siesta in the shade.  

There is some availability in October 2007 - speak to us for dates, minimum stay 3 nights

Camp closes 31st October

Rates: (2007)
US$440.00 (£220.00) per person per night all inclusive
US$400.00 (£200.00) per person per night 5 night stay or longer
Flight transfers US$400.00 (£200.00) return from Mfuwe airport

 

Getting the best out of the green season

Get the best out of the Green Season; the perfect escape from the northern winter (north America or Europe!).

Why the Green Season?

  1. It's hugely underrated!
  2. Excellent photography - less dust, dramatic skies, spectacular clouds and light
  3. Great birding with the arrival of migrant birds and breeding plumage
  4. Simultaneous births and nursery herds of young
  5. Bush is green, beautiful and lush
  6. Few people around!
  7. Excellent rates

When is the Green Season?
Southern Africa - Nov to Apr
East Africa - short rains Nov, long rains March, April

South Luangwa, Zambia
• Open all year
• Green season is wild dog season
• Pontoon transfer directly from Nkwali Camp into the Park with Robin Pope Safaris 
• Sundowner boating and all day boat rides with a picnic
• The gameviewing continues to be excellent in the rains

Green Season Packages 2007
7 night Rivers & Rainbows, US$2,340 per person, fully inclusive (excluding domestic flights, US$200 each way Lusaka to Mfuwe)
7 night Dash to the Bush, or 10 nights including Lower Zambezi, from US$2,667 per person (including domestic flights)

Namibia
• Desert landscapes benefit from any rains with spectacular display of flowers
• Gameviewing less affected than neighbouring countries
• Experience fewer visitors at the popular spots - have Sossusvlei dunes all to yourself
• February to May - Wonderful climate, gentle temperatures
• Plus lots of baby animals, abundant and active bird life 

South Africa
• Green season runs through May, June and December
• May -  less rain and greater visibility
• Huge herds of buffalo can be seen converging at the Sand River
• Great interaction with lion prides
• December  -  Great time to see young animals and to enjoy later sunsets
• Rate: US$575 pppn (1 Apr 07 - 31 Mar 08)

South East Botswana
• Much less rain than the Okavango Delta, therefore a great green season gameviewing option
• Green season runs from January to April
• Rain comes in late afternoon storms, which move over quickly
• Greater chance of getting space on the adventure activities (Ivory, Predator & Archaeology drives, walking safaris, visit to Mmamagwe ruins)
• Fewer guests means a more intimate and exclusive experience
• Rate: US$325 pppn (1 Apr 07 - 31 Mar 08)

 Botswana
• Gameviewing at Duma Tau, Zibalianja & Selinda in the Linyanti is renowned for year round excellence - especially good for predators due to access to floodplains & improved visibility
• Jao in the Okavango Delta is considered by many to be at its best in the green season; the Jao scenery is transformed from shallow flood plains to green open grasslands
• Abundance of young means a plentiful supply for predators such as wild dog, cheetah and leopard

 

Working the summer in a safari camp

Some notes for Corrie Berry who's having some summer fun in the Luangwa....

"Heathrow: the sky is grey, the terminal crowded. At the x-ray machines, security steals my toothpaste. Some last minute shopping in shops well-stocked with everything from chocolate to diamonds. I get on the plane satisfied. I spend a happy ten hours reading, sleeping, and watching in-flight entertainment. I catch glimpses of dawn breaking through a window, and we land in Lusaka.... 

Stepping onto the tarmac, I am hit by the smell of woDad's girl - Corrie-Pot!odfires. I stand in a queue for an hour, waiting to get my passport stamped, then sit in a departure lounge for another hour.

Yet another hour later, I land at Mfuwe in the Luangwa, and am greeted by a group of smiling men in khaki uniforms. Claimed by one, the transfer to the lodge is mostly uneventful.

We pass pedestrians carrying huge containers of water on their heads, schools where children wave enthusiastically as we pass, and cars and bikes overloaded with luggage and passengers. Entering the park gates, two elephant stand in the road and impala and puku stare as we rattle past kicking up dust.

The  lodge is a green oasis amidst the brown. A puku grazes peacefully on the grass, not three metres from where I stand on a decking overlooking the lagoon. A few waterbuck chew contentedly on reeds near a crocodile lying stationary in the dust, soaking up the sun with jaws open wide.

I am more fortunate than most: for six weeks I will fall asleep listening to nightly hippo choir practices, and will listen to baboons fighting over who gets to sleep on the highest branch. I will get chased by an elephant on my eighteenth birthday, and spend an hour in the presence of wild dog. I'll eat mountains of exquisite food, and perhaps best of all, be greeted by a beautiful dawn every cloudless morning.

Welcome to Zambia!!

(Corrie is spending 6 weeks in Zambia, joined by Roi Worsley from NZ and later by big brother Ashton before the gang start varsity in October...Mom and Dad have taken a quick gap to East Africa...news follows in August.....)

 

IN THIS UPDATE:

Last minute availability
Getting the best out of the green season
Working the summer in a safari camp

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African Specialist Offices in:
Luangwa Valley - Zambia
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info@zambezi.com
http://www.zambezi.com/

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