Travel reviews by Globetrotters from Belgium

"The Chiawa Camp is like a 5 star hotel.

The service is impeccable and the food is great. Everyone is so kind and caring.

We were a bit surprised to be so cold there at this time of the year. The morning trips were freezing cold.

There are not so many animals around like in the South Luangwa Park but it is a very relaxing camp and the canoeing trip was so restful."

"Again the time of year was disappointing. We had visited it before in August and September and even though it was then rather dry and bare, the animal sightings were much more spectacular.

The river was still so high that no elephants could cross. I missed that as it was always such a joy to see. But with persistance we did find all the other animals.

Wild dogs, lions, leopards, zebra, giraffe and lots of little creatures at night. I went on the canyon walk with Willie and that was very nice too.

The Emerald season is very green but it was also quite cold. Blankets were necessary in the jeeps."

"Our guide Perry did a great job. Even though we had seen all animals in Nsefu we were again treated to seeing them all again.

The Nkwali facility is much roomier than Nsefu although the lighting in the bathrooms could use reviewing. It was still pretty cold there.

As usual the Robin Pope cooks are top chefs. A bonus was meeting Emily who writes the weekly "Its Monday"."

"We were picked up at the airport and brought to River Camp for the night. We had a nice dinner and breakfast and left then for Tena Tena. We came back to River Camp after our stay at Nsefu. The camp is very nice. The food very good and the staff helpful and polite."

"We arrived at Tena Tena after a game viewing drive from River Camp. We were shown to our lovely tent and had lunch. The food is excellent in every way and the staff well trained, polite and helpful. In the afternoon we went on the night drives. Our guide was Chilumba, who is extremely knowledgeable and kind. The service here is impeccable as we later found out is the standard with Robin Pope Safaris. We saw every kind of wildlife imaginable except the aardvark and the wild dogs. Many baboons in the camp and the hippos sing all night, but wonderful. Elephants also come into the camp at night."

"If our safari only had been these 3 days in Nsefu camp then I would have been as happy as possible. This camp is the ultimate experience. Location is excellent and the wildlife around it is so abundant that it is hard to count. The leopard sighting of the female leopard Ulimbe was spectacular. We had the wild dogs almost in the camp every day. The elephants came into the camp to scoop up leaves during the siesta time. The birds and especially the carmine bee eaters are abundant. The guide, Breston as also exceptional. The food fabulous. The surprise Mongolian BBQ at night was a treat. Sundowners always perfect.
We had walked with Chilumbe from Tena Tena to Nsefu. It was interesting to learn about the area, but you do not see any big wildlife when walking. It was a good experience. I shed tears when leaving Nsefu. The camp manager and host, Marco had also been exceptionally kind. His family was visiting him at the same time we were there. If I were to go back to Zambia, I think I would only go to Tena Tena and Nsefu. The central area is fine too, but a bit more cars are around so you do not get that remote feeling as you to in Nsefu."

"On the drive to River Camp we encountered a snared lion. Luckily it had been reported and the help was on the way. We learned later that it had been darted and the snare removed and on its way to recovery. River Camp is very relaxed and a dip in the pool was welcome. Again, here the food and service in unreproachable. The setting is very nice and you have ellies regularly in the camp or near to it. The wildlife in the area is abundant, although you are nearer to the main gate section where there are more cars. The guide was Jona and Daudi, who is also the manager of the camp. Especially Jona is a very good guide. We saw the usual animals and many birds. Each guide tries his best to show you a maximum of animals and they always position the jeeps so that you can get good photos. Very professional people."

"The camp is beautiful and very remote. The only thing that slightly spoiled our stay were the bothersome tse tse flies. They are very painful and abundant in this area. And there is not way to keep them from biting. Otherwise the camp is very pretty and the elephants come daily to drink at the camp waterhole. The hippos are close and at night wander through camp. The star beds are a real experience. The quality of the food and service is a notch lower than Robin Pope. Some of the drinks that were standard at Robin Pope were on the supplement list with Kafunta. The food was good, but not at all as good as Robin Pope.
The guides and staff are probably also pretty new at their jobs and are doing their best and learning. I think if they can handle the fly problem this camp will become much better in the future."

"Kafunta Lodge is a wonderful place to end the trip. It has a wonderful swimming pool and hairdryers in the rooms. This way you can get yourself back into a civilized shape for the trip home. The first day we relaxed and went on the safari drives the second day. Again here the food was good, but not at all comparable to Robin Pope standards. The bar is nicely set up and the general look of the place is very nice. The rooms are very good and the ceiling fan just what you need. The plain and waterholes in front of the camp is a wonderful for just looking at to see wildlife come and go for a drink or grazing. The last evening drive offered us 2 different sightings of leopards! The wildlife in the area is very good and we saw Ginger and Garlic lions twice. We saw a Scops Owl and many other birds. Again, in this area there are more cars, but it is not a hinder.

I have written unsure about the number of sightings per animal, as usually it was many times a day. In average I think it would be around 2-3 times a day for the lions and leopards, elephants at least 10 times a day. Giraffe 2-3 times a day. The antilope we mainly saw were, Bush Buck, Water Buck, Impala, Puku and Kudu

We saw a herd of baboons chasing a leopard during our transfer from Nsefu to River Camp. That was amazing but it went so fast we could not film or photograph it. The leopard did escape!"