Travel reviews by Mr M & friend from Italy

"At the Mfuwe airport we have been met by our guide, Andrew, who brought us directly to a night drive, where we started with sights of lions and leopards, of course after a sundowner close to impala, baboons, birds, etc.

Arrived for dinner at Kapani, also people there (Enoch) took care about the problem I had with my luggage (that did not arrive in Lusaka with me....), and that was very reassuring.

Even if I had in my hand luggage all what I needed, at least for a few days (underwear, shirt, trousers, socks, etc.), the opportunity to use the laundry service is very useful in these cases.

We spent the two nights in Kapani having a great time and great food, as it will be for the rest of the trip in all the camps, where the food was always fantastic."

"During the firts night drive, John, our guide, received via radio the information that my luggage was in my tent: even if that day was already fantastic, this news gave me an extra happiness!

In Mchenja, Charlotte and our guide John did a great job and we enjoyed very much this camp, where we met also other very nice guests, as also was the case in all the other camps.

John tried very hard to find a leopard, that we saw also during the transfer to Luwi. Night drives were really very interesting, with the opportunity to see the bush in complete different perspective: notturnal animals like civets, genets, porcupines, owls, but also the different behaviour of animals like impala, puku, etc.

Nice to hear, during the night, hippos "walking" around your tent, and other animals using the camp as their own territory: I think this is another feeling that can be met only in such places. Frogs in the camp liked to stay in the night in our bathroom and in our tent: but do not tell this to Lawrence........."

"Luwi has probably the most fascinating setting of all the camps, at least in my personal opinion: the landscape you have in front of your chalet and in front of the morning fire, where we had breakfast at the sunrise, is breathtaking.

We started immediately, after our first brunch in Luwi, with a short drive in the plain just in front of the camp to follow a dominant male lion who was chasing away the young male lion: a scene very emotional, also considering the behaviour of the lioness who was the mother of the young one.

We had very interesting walks with our guide Levy, and at the camp Mouse was very friendly. The first afternoon walk in Luwi ended in the hide overlooking the hippo lagoon where we had sundowner: wonderful setting!"

"The walking transfer between Luwi and Nsolo was exciting: with our guide Innocent, we tracked lions' paws till when we saw a lioness on the other side of the river: we crossed the river to get closer, but she was waiting for us and, at around 20-30 meters, she sent us very clear signals to stay away! We discovered she had two cubs, so she was just protecting them. One of the experiences you can only have with a walking safari with guides and scouts well prepared for their job.

In my opinion, Nsolo has probably the best chalets of all the camps: very spacious room and the veranda under a tree.

We had nice morning walks and night drives with Andrew (the same guide we had in Kapani) and also we found a pride of lions just around sunset of the second day in Nsolo. We were so excited that we almost missed a lioness with her two cubs: fortunately Kathrin, a member of our group in Nsolo, spotted her, so we were be able to enjoy also this family scene.

But probably the highlight of our stay in Nsolo was the dinner of the second night, that Priya organized on a sand bank in the river bed: wonderful setting and delicious food!"

"Kakuli was our last camp in South Luangwa. We arrived in Kakuli form Nsolo with a morning walk between the two camps: 3.5-4.0 hours are needed to do this, but it is really a nice experience to do.

In Kakuli, with Aubrey, our guide, we had a nice morning walk, where we tracked, hearing her roaring, a lioness, and also two very nice night drives, where we are able to spot leopards, lions, hyenas, giraffes, porcupines, civets and many other animals. But the best thing was the sundowner of our last night in South Luangwa: Glen organized this at a lagoon, where we arrived just for the sunset, a wonderful african sunset in a fantastic location, where we had drinks and popcorn prepared directly on the fire! Definitely the best way to end our safari! Thanks Glen and all the staff!

But the Valley had for us a last surprise on the way from Kakuli to the airport, where I spotted a leopard hanging on a branch of a tree just on the road: a nice way to say goodbye to South Luangwa!"