Zambia safaris, Giraffe itinerary

country:	Zambia
location:	South Luangwa
departures:	This trip can be arranged at any time to suit you (May – December) and adapted to your requirements. We'll be happy to send you a brochure containing more information
price:	From £2448 - £2692 (13 days) including flights from the UK. Price includes all meals, activities and park fees. This trip can also be booked without flights

Zambia holidays

the amazing things you'll be doing

This trip starts with a few nights at a small, family-run farm on the banks of the Kafue River. Its main focus is on the lush Luangwa Valley – one of the African continent's finest wildlife areas – where a unique cultural village allows you to spend time with the local Kunda community.

Enclosed by steep escarpment walls, the game in the graceful, mature woodlands surrounding the Luangwa River was recognised as remarkable by the first settlers. It was protected in 1904, and now the North and South Luangwa National Parks conserve most of the valley, complete with ox-bow lakes, abandoned watercourses, and dense woodland.

During this thirteen-day itinerary you will have the opportunity for fantastic game viewing and rich birdlife - around 350 species of birds have been recorded here including many species of eagles, kingfishers, herons, storks and bee-eaters, to name just a few. You will also have the opportunity to visit Kawaza Village, and overnight, spend time with the local villagers of the Kunda community, learning their daily ways of living, traditions and culture.

day-by-day itinerary

Day 1:	Depart from London on your scheduled flight from London Gatwick.
Day 2:	Lechwe Lodge. Upon arrival into Lusaka airport, you will be driven to Lechwe Lodge, a typical example of a small farm turning to eco-tourism to sustain their income. Here you’ll find six delightful rondavels dotted around well-kept lawns within the grounds of this converted farm. Lechwe’s food is fresh and plentiful – truly wholesome farm fare.
Day 3:	Lechwe's farm covers about 13km², which varies from brachystegia and acacia woodlands through a 'termitaria' zone to open floodplains and the river itself. The game includes giraffe, eland, Lichtenstein's hartebeest, Kafue lechwe, oribi and sitatunga, as well as the more common antelope of the region. None of the large predators are here (except for crocodiles in the river), though serval are plentiful. Boat trips along the river are possible most of the year, a super way to watch birds, and tackle is always available if you prefer to fish. Riding is possible, with the farm's own horses, though the lodge insists that only experienced riders should partake (you must be comfortable with a rising trot for 15–20 minutes at a time). A guide takes two visitors out for as long as they wish; hard hats are provided and must be worn. If you prefer to walk, with or without a guide, then that's easily arranged, as are short game drives for the less energetic. The four (6m high) viewing platforms overlooking the Kafue are always good spots at which to stop and just watch. Finally if you're interested in farming, then ask for a farm tour; it's fascinating. Pigsties are situated near to large ponds. Their manure promotes the growth of infusoria, which feed the small organisms on which fish feed. Thus the farm produces commercial quantities of pork and fish, in a very eco-friendly way. Lechwe is a very gentle, civilised and relaxing place, excellent value and open all year. It's just a shame that it is too far from Lusaka for one night.
Day 4:	Chikoko bushcamp. From Lechwe, you’ll fly to the South Luangwa to Chikoko bushcamp, in the remote wilderness area to the north of the park. This overlooks the seasonal Chikoko River - a particularly beautiful, winding channel lined by shady ebony trees (and home to a Pel’s fishing owl when last we visited!). With no roads in Chikoko’s area, the bushcamp will take only 6 people and concentrate on walking.Walking along the Chikoko, which is a river of sand for most of the year, you’ll find lush riverine vegetation dominated by giant red mahogany trees, Khaya nyasica and Adina microsephela.
Day 5:	Whilst walking amonst the big game, look out for some of the Luangwa’s ‘specialities’, like the beautiful, endemic Thornicroft’s giraffe. This rare subspecies differs from the much more common southern giraffe, found throughout Southern Africa, in having a more striking colouration.
Day 6:	Walking safaris like this are amazingly addictive; you never know what’s around the next bush! Another rarity to look for is Cookson’s wildebeest, which are also endemic to the valley and a subspecies of the blue wildebeest, which are found throughout the subcontinent. The third large mamal rarity is Crawshay’s Zebra, a subspecies of the more common Burchell’s Plains Zebra. Aside from these, most of the subcontinent’s more common species are found here, including the common waterbuck, bushbuck, eland and kudu. The delicate oribi occur occasionally in the grassland areas (especially Chifungwe Plain), while the small grysbok are often encountered on night drives. Reedbuck, roan antelope and Lichtenstein’s hartebeest also occur, whilst sable are occasionally seen.
Day 7:	Luangwa’s predators are also often seen on walks, and the sight of a pride of lion at 100m is always a stirring one. Fortunately the guides here are amongst the best in Africa and all walks are accompanied by armed game scouts. So despite the presence of large and dangerous game … the safety record of these walks is excellent. Who can forget walking through a herd of buffalo, or being surprised by the growl of a lion.
Day 8:	Kawaza Village. From Chikoko it’s a short drive to Kawaza Village, beside the South Luangwa National Park. This is a normal, working rural Zambian village, which has decided to invite visitors to stay. There is nothing contrived or artificial about it. A stay at Kawaza gives you the very rare opportunity to get an insight into Kunda culture. Activities range depending on how much you wish to get involved with your hosts and what is going on in the village at the time of your visit. You can tend crops, hunt for food with the men or help prepare the food, you may even have the opportunity to teach in one of the classes at the local school. In the evening, you can listen to the community elder's tell traditional stories or sing traditional songs around the campfire
Day 9:	Tafika. Another short drive takes you to Tafika, the home of John and Carol Coppinger. This is a small, first-class camp on the banks of the Luangwa near the beautiful Nsefu area. Tafika is an unpretentious camp, whose guides are probably the most experienced in the valley - helping to make it one of our favourite camps. It perhaps the smallest of the valley's main camps, with just five reed-and-thatch chalets - all have en-suite facilities – including a flush toilet, wash basin, and excellent shower that is open to the skies. Lighting is by solar-powered storm lanterns. John's years of experience in the valley are augmented by the experience of several other top guides here, making Tafika's guiding amongst the best in the valley. Game activities include day and night drives, as well as walking trips. Tafika's bar/dining area has some comfy chairs and a large, circular dining table, though dinner is a relaxed affair, often eaten together outside. Tafika is not luxurious, but the food is excellent, the atmosphere very friendly and unpretentious, and the guiding truly expert.
Day 10:	As an optional extra - John (who had a full commercial pilot’s licence at one stage) keeps a microlight aircraft nearby, which can take a passenger. If he’s in camp flights can be arranged for about US$60 per 20 minutes, so if you stay at Tafika then don’t miss seeing the park from an eagle’s point of view. Together with John you can pinpoint herds of game to investigate on the morning walks or game drives during your three night stay here.
Day 11:	South Luangwa has a reputation as an excellent park for leopard. This is largely because leopard hunt nocturnally, and South Luangwa is one of Africa’s few National Parks which allows operators to go on spotlit game drives at night. However, estimates made whilst filming a BBC documentary about leopards in the park suggest an average leopard density of one animal per 2.5km² (roughly twice the density recorded in South Africa’s Kruger National Park). So the reputation does seem to be justified – and certainly the nightly night-drives from Tafika are a highlight of the day there.Tafika’s experienced guides consistently yield excellent sightings of these elusive cats – at a frequency that is difficult to match elsewhere on the continent.
Day 12:	After a last morning game drive or walk, and another luscious lunch, you’ll be driven south back to Mfuwe airport for your return flight to Lusaka. That will connect with your flight back to London Gatwick.
Day 13:	Arrive at London Gatwick in the morning.

tailor made holiday

This trip can be tailormade to create a unique holiday for your individual requirements by travel experts with intimate knowledge of the destination. It is a more luxurious trip that will suit those who enjoy immersing themselves in new cultures and environments before relaxing in comfort in some of the best and most characterful local accommodation! Quality and value are the hallmark of these trips.

how this holiday makes a difference

Kawaza Village started inviting tourists into their lives to end their feeling of exclusion, as some of the communities around Mfuwe felt that overseas visitors came and went without any real social contact or cultural exchange. The scheme is now run and administered by a locally elected committee of villagers. The villagers main aim was to raise funds for their local school, and to support vulnerable members of their community through improved healthcare and water supply. In order to enable the local community to achieve those aims, Sunvil Discovery donates all of its booking commission (generated from trips to Zambia that include Kawaza) to the school fund at Kawaza Village.

Tafika is family-run, and John and Carol Coppinger are involved in the local community and financially assist a local school in a nearby village.

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