Travel reviews by Mr & Mrs H from BC, Canada

"We arrived in Lusaka in a sleepy state following an overnight flight from London. (Having the direct BA flight from London to Lusaka was great and we were disappointed to hear that BA was cancelling this service.) We were met by Lawrence who helped us navigate the airport and obtain visas before proceeding to the flight to Mfuwe. A great service after an over night flight.

Once in Mfuwe we were met by Abraham and driven in a safari vehicle to Kapani Lodge. Along the way he pointed out villages, birds and trees all very new to us. At Kapani we were greeted by friendly faces and taken to our room and advised when lunch was ready and where it was served. It was wonderful not to be wondering what do we do next.

At 4pm after 'tea and cake' (this seems to be an African tradition!) we met John who was our guide for all the game drives during our stay at Kapani Lodge. His knowledge of the game, birds, trees and flora was excellent and he imparted his knowledge to us in a very pleasant and cheerful manner. On our first game drive we saw an amazing number of animals including a leopard. In fact we saw 4 leopards in 2 days! Our stay at Kapani was the perfect introduction to safari life. Not too big and impersonal. Very comfortable with helpful and cheerful staff.

One disappointment was trying to buy a Norman Carr safari golf shirt. My size was not available and I was told that it could be made available but it never arrived. While this is a very minor item, it was a disappointment.

The pool was appreciated and I expect that it would be used more when the weather became hotter."

"Kakuli bushcamp was a lovely surprise. Small with 4 tents but this wasn't camping! They were well appointed with very comfortable beds. The food was again of a very high standard and lots of it. Fresh bread daily and the most amazing cakes all in the African bush!! There were only 3 other guests initially and then we were four.

We really enjoyed the walking safaris. Our guide Aubrey was superb. His knowledge of everything in the park was quite amazing. He taught us about safety around the game, tracking, traditional medicines made from plants and various aspects of Zambian village culture. He had many tales all told with great humor and as well poured a mean G and T for our sundowner while watching the elephants cross the river. We both appreciated his immense knowledge and obvious love for South Luangwa National Park as well as his humor.

The camp staff were also cheerful, friendly and efficient. It was lovely to return from a walk to be greeted by Sam with a cold towel and offer of a cold drink. They were very conscious of our safety and comfort in camp which was very reassuring.

When it came time to leave Kakuli Aubrey drove us to the airport stopping on the way at his village where we met his wife and 4 of his children. We also visited Tribal Textiles where the local people make beautiful bedding, purses and wall hangings plus many other items. All the materials are hand painted and sewn on site. Well worth a visit for anyone going to or from the airport at Mfuwe.

I was pleased to see the use of solar power and hope that the capital investment is proving worthwhile. I suggest that glass bottles not be used in the shower and that the sling back chairs be replaced with something more upright for those with bad backs - or that a choice of chairs be offered.

Moses, the ZAWA guide, was good and it seemed like Aubry and he made a good team.

One highlight was meeting Adrian and Katherine Carr on the road back to Mfuwe. I suggest that the approach established by Norman Carr is very compatible with the writings of Aldo Leopold (US forester and game manager) and further suggest that the video ' Green Fire' would be of interest to your staff.

We would definitely return to Kakuli, Aubry and Sam.

I think that the vehicles we experienced at Norman Carr were superior to the ones at Chongwe"

"In between our 2 safaris we stayed with some friends in Lusaka. This gave us the opportunity to see how Zambians live in the city.

We saw lots in the city, as well as visiting an elephant orphanage and Lilayi Lodge outside the city. Having a break between the 2 five day safaris was welcome. No 5:30 am mornings! Our impresion of Lusaka is that of a city that is still growing in a rather unplanned manner.

I was a bit disappointed at the watering regime at Lilayi Lodge in that watering grounds in the middle of the day is wasteful of water - due to evaporation."

"We stayed at Chongwe River camp for 5 nights. Each day the activities were different. This is a bigger camp with 9 tents and when full 18 guests. During our time there most people stayed for 2-3 nights so we met a variety of very interesting and fun folks.

We were always only 4 and just once 5 guest in a vehicle which made for a comfortable ride even though the vehicles are older. The activities we experienced were game drives, boating and fishing for tiger fish which was exciting and became quite a competion between the guys and gals as to who would catch the biggest fish. Gals won!

Our guides were again very knowledgable and went out of their way to make the safaris interesting and to find game that we had yet to see. One of our game drives left very early before breakfast and our guides Patrick and Givern cooked breakfast over a camp fire deep in the National Park with all the trimmings! The tents were very comfortable and the meals and service very good.

The management group appeared to work together as a cohesive team and were very anxious for feed back on any aspect of the camp that we thought warrented improvement. In fact we received an e-mail from them with information that they were installing solar pannels for power something we had suggested. All the camp staff were very helpful and very cheerful.

I used the pool and found it a bit stark but do understand that there are issues with the umbrellas and the baboons. One late night discussion concerned whether some sort of exercise equipment should be bought for the camp. While I do not know the demand, I suggest that any such installation be at or close to the pool. This will make it available to all and I suspect that many people will use the pool after a workout.

I was pleased that the water is treated and thus reduces the need for plastic water bottles.

Another highlight was visiting the Conservation Lower Zambezi facilities."

"Again a great family experience."

"The Zambezi Sun is a very large hotel catering to many groups of people from all over the world. After spending time in the National parks with lots of individual attention it seemed very commercialized and impersonal. We did enjoy a morning walking safari in Mosi-o-Tunya National Park and saw 8 rhinoserous which was quite amazing and meant we had seen all the animals we had hoped to see while in Zambia.

I found the constantly running toilet both annoying and a waste of water. ALso, the stopper in the sink did not work.

I suggest that the person booking the activities be more specific about the trip to Livingstone Island and the Devil's pool. Specifically, that some sort of shoes for walking on the rocks could be useful and that most cameras are left with your stuff some distance from the pool. While I was able to obtain pictures from a fellow traveller, it could have been a disappointment at the end.

Also, it should be made clear about asking to see the rhinos as they are/were only on one side of the road and we initially started on the other side."

"Lovely visit with more friends."