South Luangwa safari in Zambia, Hippo itinerary
| country: | Zambia |
| location: | South Luangwa |
| trip type: | Walking safari |
| departures: | This trip can be arranged at any time to suit you and adapted to your requirements between 22nd May & 31st October. We'll be happy to send you a brochure containing more information |
| price: | From £2524 - £3247 (9 days) including flights from the UK |
| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
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introduction to South Luangwa safari in Zambia, Hippo itinerary
South Luangwa wildlife safari in Zambia.
Zambia remains the preserve of few visitors. It is still wild, full of big game, and has probably the best guides in Africa. Walking safaris were pioneered here in the South Luangwa, and now all the guides now have to pass stringent exams before they lead visitors. This is the best country in Africa for walking safaris. If you have only seen animals from a vehicle and longed to get out, then come to Zambia - walking is exhilarating to the point of addiction. Zambia's lush Luangwa Valley is one of the continent's finest wildlife areas. This valley is littered with old ox-bow lakes and abandoned watercourses, surrounded by graceful, mature woodlands.
Its game includes huge herds of elephant and buffalo. Of particular interest are two subspecies unique to the Luangwa Valley: the beautiful Thornicroft's giraffe, with its dark patterned skin, and Cookson's wildebeest. The Valley's main predators are lion, leopard, and spotted hyena. During the day, lion seldom hide and are often seen, whereas leopards hunt by night. Fortunately, Zambia is one of the few countries which allows spotlit game drives in its national parks. This itinerary can be adapted to include a night sleeping at Kawaza Village, and a whole day with the villagers.
Zambia remains the preserve of few visitors. It is still wild, full of big game, and has probably the best guides in Africa. Walking safaris were pioneered here in the South Luangwa, and now all the guides now have to pass stringent exams before they lead visitors. This is the best country in Africa for walking safaris. If you have only seen animals from a vehicle and longed to get out, then come to Zambia - walking is exhilarating to the point of addiction. Zambia's lush Luangwa Valley is one of the continent's finest wildlife areas. This valley is littered with old ox-bow lakes and abandoned watercourses, surrounded by graceful, mature woodlands.
Its game includes huge herds of elephant and buffalo. Of particular interest are two subspecies unique to the Luangwa Valley: the beautiful Thornicroft's giraffe, with its dark patterned skin, and Cookson's wildebeest. The Valley's main predators are lion, leopard, and spotted hyena. During the day, lion seldom hide and are often seen, whereas leopards hunt by night. Fortunately, Zambia is one of the few countries which allows spotlit game drives in its national parks. This itinerary can be adapted to include a night sleeping at Kawaza Village, and a whole day with the villagers.
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Lusaka. Starting from London Heathrow, your scheduled British Airways overnight flight will take you directly to Lusaka. |
| Day 2: | Nkwali camp. Arriving in Lusaka in the morning, you connect with a 60-minute flight to Mfuwe Airport, right on the edge of South Luangwa National Park. There you meet your guide who will drive you through the bustling villages of Mfuwe to your first camp, Nkwali. You’ll arrive in time for an excellent lunch. Nkwali Camp will be your base for two nights of exploring the park in open 4X4 vehicles. |
| Day 3: | Luangwa River. Built on the banks of the Luangwa River, Nkwali Camp sits under the shade of tall mahogany, ebony and sausage trees. The camp is well situated a relatively short drive from Mfuwe Airport and overlooking South Luangwa National Park. Nkwali Camp has six chalets, each overlooking the Luangwa River and the park beyond. The chalets are open-fronted allowing guests to lie back on their comfortable beds whilst watching animals visit the river to drink. Nkwali's 4WD game safaris operate in the heart of South Luangwa, where the game is at its most relaxed. We have a private pontoon over the river which enables vehicles to swiftly enter the park, south of the main gate at Mfuwe Bridge. |
| Day 4: | Nsefu camp. After your morning activity and brunch at Nkwali, you’ll drive over to the historic Nsefu camp, which has been beautifully rebuilt. It has six brick-and-stone rondavels furnished with understated elegance, in harmony with the surrounding bush. Nsefu's central area, beside a huge termite mound, commands a spectacular view of a wide bend in the river and a lush lagoon – it's a great spot to just sit and watch wildlife coming down to the river. Here you’ll stay for a further 2 nights. Nsefu is close to the great salt pans, and the Luangwa’s largest stork colony, so there’s plenty to explore on foot or in a 4x4. |
| Day 5: | Walking safaris. Nsefu offers a choice of short walking safaris and game drives. Typically there are two activities per day, each lasting around 3-4 hours and led by an expert guide, and for each you'll have a choice of a safari in a 4x4 or on foot. All walking safaris are accompanied by an armed game ranger, as well as a fully-qualified RPS guide. If you stay at Nsefu, then it's also possible to opt in advance to venture out onto an RPS Bush-camp trip. |
| Day 6: | Tena Tena camp. After a good brunch, you’ll be driven a few hours north, to the romantic, tented camp of Tena Tena, which will be your base for a further 3 nights. Tena Tena has five very large tents. In each a 'dressing room' separates the tent from the en-suite shower and toilet, which are open to the stars. One side of these comfortable tents can be rolled up during the day to watch a busy waterhole. The camp has a dining area, an open bar and a small library of books. You’ll have the choice of walking or driving – so it’s up to you how to explore here. |
| Day 7: | Safaris and night drives. Being tented, perhaps that helps it to retain a feel of being very close to nature, and being hidden in the bush is very appealing. Tena Tena offers a choice of walking safaris, 4WD game safaris and night drives. Typically there are two activities per day, each lasting around 3-4 hours and led by an expert guide, and for each you'll have a choice of what you do. All walking safaris are accompanied by an armed game ranger, as well as a fully-qualified RPS guide. |
| Day 8: | Pioneer camp. You’ll leave Tena Tena Camp in the morning, drive back to Mfuwe and catch a light aircraft to Lusaka, where you will be collected at the airport and taken to Pioneer camp, about twenty minutes drive from the airport. This comfortable guest camp has a friendly central bar and an outside seating area in 20 acres of lawn and woodland. The T-bone steaks are famous! |
| Day 9: | Return home. This morning, after a good early breakfast, you’ll be driven to the airport to take your scheduled British Airways day flight back to London Heathrow, arriving in the evening. |
traveller reviews for South Luangwa safari in Zambia, Hippo itinerary
I had the opportunity to see many animals in their natural habitat and I had the opportunity to interact with many wonderful people. (more)
walking safaris
We also run some very popular mobile walking safari trips. If you thought of walking safaris as route marches where strength, speed and endurance were prerequisites, then think again. All your luggage will be transported ahead of you, so you need only carry your camera and binoculars. A morning's walk could be anything from 3km to 10km: it'll be more like a nature ramble than a strenuous hike. The guide might lead you to follow fresh tracks, or to sit under a tree to watch elephants bathing - deciding with you at the time what looks most promising. As groups are small (maximum seven people), these walks are always flexible.
Read an article about this trip Justin Francis from responsibletravel.com sets out to discover if it's possible to both help reduce poverty and enjoy one of the most luxury bush camp safaris in Africa. More...
how this holiday makes a difference
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The company who runs the three lodges used in this trip has exceptionally close links with the local community. Their close relationship with the Kawaza village tourism project has won an award from the British Guild of Travel Writers, and World Travel Market Awards for responsible tourism.
The income the village derives from tourism, in addition to the employment provided for people from the village, contributes to community projects including the Kawaza village School Fund, the healthcare programme, and in providing clean water for the village. Booking fees for visits to Kawaza village are donated to the School fund. We believe that sensitive and sustainable tourism is an invaluable help to developing the communities and preserving the environments of sub-Saharan Africa. So we encourage more people to visit Africa; promoting the positives through enjoyable and informative trips – whilst maximising the benefits these generate for the local economies, environments and host communities in Africa.
We aim to be a very fair company – to our travellers, to those who work for us and with us, and to the areas and communities which host our travellers. We actively support areas where our traveller’s visits will help to conserve habitats and develop local communities. We aim to work with suppliers who provide local employment and training and who offer good quality, environmentally and culturally sensitive activities. We encourage local community participation in tourism projects and over the years we have supported a number of successful, small-scale conservation, community and educational projects in Africa. Responsible tourism is at the heart of what we do and as part of our trips we also encourage our travellers to do their bit with informative suggestions on how to best support the local economy, minimise their footprint on the environment and to be culturally sensitive of the area they are visiting. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |
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