This is the fourth or fifth time we have visited the valley and every time we have seen Southern Africa at its best - in terms of wildlife and guest care.
We stayed at a lodge and five bush camps this year and the trip was designed to maximise our time out in the bush.
After an overnight flight to Jo'burg, connection back up to Lusaka and small plane to Mfewe airport we arrived at our first stop for a night at Flatdogs camp.
Previously a low budget backpacker camp it has really changed and is now up there with the other up market camps just outside the reserve boundary and way better than the alternative, a night in Lusaka and morning flight to Mfewe.
After a good night's sleep we were able to take on a morning game drive to get ourselves totally immersed in Africa before we set off to drive down to our first bush camp, Kuyenda.
Kuyenda Bush Camp is a gem of serenity in the African bush run by one of the legends of the area - Phil Berry, a renowned expert on giraffe. After three nights at Kuyenda, during which time we had the entire camp to ourselves sharing it with phil and our guide Sousio, we headed off up to our second base of operations in the park, Mwamba Camp run by Shenton Safaris for four nights.
This small camp sits way out in the bush offering just the right mix of comfort and rustic charm. Here our guide was the incredibly talented Patrick, whose knowledge about everything seemed almost as boundless as his enthusiasm. Mwamba is run by two young brits, Matt and Charlie who made sure we felt welcomed from the moment we arrived.
After three wonderful days exploring the area around Mwamba we walked the seven Kms to Shenton Safaris main camp up on the edge of the Luangwa river itself, Kaingo. What this camp lacked in the rustic feel we love so much (the guest rooms are permanent structures here as opposed to the seasonal thatch roundels at Mwamba) was more than made up for by the constant chorus of hippo noise from the river and the fact that our guide, Patrick, stayed with us to take our game drives and walks.
After three nights at Kaingo it was time to cross the river which had been a constant feature of our game drives every morning and evening to go to Tena Tena, a Robin Pope Safaris camp. If anywhere could be the epitome of "glamping" it has to be Tena tena. Guest accommodation is in the form of tents, but not just any tent - these would make most homes look shabby, not just in terms of furnishing and finish, but also for the views - straight out over a sandbank onto the River Luangwa itself.
Once again our experience was enhanced by another fantastic guide, Julius, another example of the incredibly high standard of guiding in the South Luangwa valley.
Sadly our four nights at Tena tena were our last of this trip, but like all the camps we stayed at it's given us some more special memories of one of the most wonderful places we have ever been to.
I hope you will enjoy the pictures we took. They only come close to an approximation of what this wonderful area is like, but I hope they give a bit of a flavour of the holiday.
No comments:
Post a Comment