Reviews of Musekese Camp

"Musekese Camp lies pretty much off the beaten path and requires a pretty high dose of patience and perseverance to reach. it's certainly a long road trip away from Lusaka, and flying there from Livingstone can be a budget-breaker. However, I'm so very glad I made the effort, as I met some extraordinary people at Musekese and learned an immense amount about anti-poaching efforts in Kafue National Park.

Perhaps because Kafue is not yet as heavily trafficked as the South Luangwa and Lower Zambezi regions of Zambia, most guests there tend to be extremely well-travelled and serious, experienced safari-goers. Often they are "repeat" visitors who already know the ropes and one or both of Musekese Camp's owners, Phil Jeffery and Tyrone McKeith. I met Phil, an exceptionally warm and welcoming guy with a ready smile and unbounded enthusiasm for the new anti-poaching project with which he and Tyrone are involved. In fact, one of the high points of my stay at Musekese was a tour of the construction site of a new camp that will host a specially trained anti-poaching team.

My guide at Musekese was Ephy, who is the epitome of enthusiasm and a very hard worker. We spent a lot of time on the Kafue River looking for (and locating) particular birds including the African Finfoot. On land I was treated to two lengthy visits with members of the Musekese Lion pride, among them two 11-month-old cubs. No Leopards or Wild Dogs, but I did encounter my first ever Defassa Waterbuck, some Lichtenstein Hartebeests and an incredible number of Pukus.

It was fun inhabiting my rustic little tent (Acacia/No. 2) with its traditional bucket shower and solar lamps, and the only drawbacks were a shortage of storage space and, early in the morning, of light. On the other hand, my bed was very comfortable and I loved being situated at the edge of a vast gathering/drinking/feeding place for wildlife of all kinds. My favorite guest outside my tent each day at lunchtime was an inquisitive and truly engaging female Bushbuck.

Two final notes: Hats off to Musekese Camp’s effervescent manager Kolo, who does her best to make every guest – no matter how “needy” or demanding he or she may be – feel at home. And lastly, Tsetse flies do exist." See all these reviews: 11n in Zimbabwe; 10n in Zambia; 7n in Malawi

"Despite several trips to Zambia over the years, this was my first visit to Kafue: I'd been wary of rumours of tsetse flies, and besides, what could best the Luangwa valley? I wish I hadn't waited for so long: Kafue is glorious, with a diversity of landscapes, animals and birds that make it an ideal complement to South Luangwa; as for tsetse flies, these were well controlled with traps and actually less of a problem than in the South park, which had an unusually bad outbreak this year.

Musekese, in combination with her sister bush camp Ntemwa, was the perfect base to explore what Kafue has to offer. Highlights included an early morning walk, during which a herd of elephants fed just metres away from us, and stunning evening boat trips on the Kafue river. The camp itself is gorgeous, right on a lagoon that attracts abundant wildlife, and chalets are spacious and well-appointed.

The food was always excellent - the best of my trip, and standards were high everywhere. Musekese perfectly reflects its impressive young owners, Phil and Tyrone, whose passion for Kafue and focus on conservation deserves strong support.

Kafue vastly exceeded my expectations and I have no doubt I will return." See all these reviews: 13n in Zambia

"The camp was in a lovely location. Ephy our guide was competent. We would have preferred the safari vehicles to have a top to protect from the sun. The boat trip was very good. James led us on a guided walk which was very informative but intense.

The accommodation had a good view however it was too hot to sit out on the verandah in the afternoon as the shading was poor allowing a lot of sun to come through and also making the room very hot. The chalet itself was fine.

We were very disappointed with the food. The breakfast choice was very limited and quality was poor. For example toast was often cold and burnt, and only fruit was small pieces of browned apple with the occasional slice of banana in a small bowl with barely enough for all the guests. Lunch was provided as a buffet and of average quality. The portions of food provided at dinner should have been larger for an adult male.

the staff were friendly. The quality of service from the camp staff was inconsistent for example staff not always at bar to serve cold drinks on returning to camp after a drive, offering to serve a beer and then finding it had not been chilled, not having bucket shower ready when it had been requested." See all these reviews: 10n in Zambia

"We were so pleased to have included Kafue and paticularly Musekese on our trip and could have stayed longer.

There was a true bush camp feel and together with great boat trips on the river it was wonderfully relaxing. Of course the game was not so prolific as in S Luangwa but it felt very remote and the birds were terrific.

James was one of the best walking guides we have had with seemingly infinite knowledge and great stories. We would really like to go back for longer next time.

The road transfer was long but expertly driven. Would recommend a night in Latitude 15 afterwards to avoid worrying about connections." See all these reviews: 15n in Zambia

"This camp is very small and ideally located in a big loop in the Kafue river. The rooms are well positioned, with views over the Dambo, providing wildlife sightings at all times.

Full consideration was given to the extra needs of one of us, and very good service was provided thoughtfully and cheerfully throughout our stay.

Food was varied and beautifully cooked, served in locations to maximise the views over the dambo and of the wildlife.

The camp is a true "bush camp", being fully open to animals, so not for the faint-hearted. For 36 hours, a lion pride of lion, lioness and 3 cubs was roaming to and fro very close to the camp, providing excellent sightings and photo-opportunities. Elephants were also frequent visitors through the camp, requiring care at all times and sometimes escorting from tent to Sitenje.

The tree house hide provides excellent views all round and is a perfect place for afternoon siesta. However, it was only possible to use it on one afternoon of our 3 days there as on the first day, lions were resting beneath it and on the third, elephants were eating the tree!

Neither Phil nor Tyrone were in camp during our stay, though this was not a problem as James was an excellent guide and Colo managed the camp superbly.

The area around the camp had suffered a fire shortly before our visit, so zebras and some other herbivores were totally absent. Elephants, lions, hippos, crocodiles and birds were all plentiful. Of the latter, birds of prey, many species of kingfisher, African finfoot and African skimmers were particular highlights.

The new rooms are not all sited under tress so became very hot in the afternoon, with the verandas unusable. Otherwise, the rooms were comfortable and provided all we wanted. Bucket showers are provided when needed and water was plentiful." See all these reviews: 11n in Zambia

"My husband's favourite camp. That said our one and only reservation was the limited lighting in the chalet. A bit of a challenge at night especially on the day of arrival.

Apart from that, the location was excellent as it afforded boat safaris, walking safaris and drives. Unfortunately a recent bushfire had caused some animals to be not as prolific but even so we saw a lot of animals here and no other tourists. Again the night drives were an absolute highlight.

Staff were great including Phil (one of the owners), Kolo (the manager) and James our guide. James was knowledgeable, thorough, and good company.

We saw a number of creatures here that we had not seen before: an enormous python, a terrapin, sable and both a lion and leopard immediately following kills. Also with the lion kill we were fortunate to see the behavior of other members of the pride in fighting over the dead puku. The birdlife here is beautiful." See all these reviews: 16n in Zambia; 5n in Rwanda

"Please see previous comment." See all these reviews: 8n in Zambia

"I had a superb time here. The setting is beautiful. Every day I saw animals and birds spending peaceful time in front of my room.

Elephants are regular visitors to the camp. I was fortunate to have been guided by Tyrone, James, and Ephy. Guinding was excellent. I missed wild dogs but I saw lions, leopards, many antelopes, and many kind of birds.

Camp manager Kolo and all of the staff are super friendly. Food was very tasty and my food preference was well catered for.
I apreciate their family hospitality.

Thank you Tyrone and Musekese team for wonderfu holiday. I will definately go back." See all these reviews: 8n in Zambia

"Musekese is a very interesting bush camp and is only three years old. The setting close to the Kafue River is very beautiful. The owners Tyrone McKeith and Phil Jeffrey are passionate about the Kafue National Park and freely share their very detailed knowledge of this stunning area.

We enjoyed boating on the river, plus walking and drives. Being early in the season the game was very dispersed but if you want to get more detailed information about the flora and fauna of the African bush, alongside hearing about some of the conservation and land management challenges; then this is a good place to come to.

The other staff were all very friendly and helpful, and the accommodation was good and very comfortable. Kolo the camp manager worked hard to ensure that our stay was very comfortable.

The negatives we experienced were two fold:

One was the challenge of being in a high Tsetse fly area, which we did not appreciate before our visit. This may not be a problem for some but unfortunately one of us suffered an allergic reaction to the many bites. We understand that the incidence of Tsetse's should lessen as the season progresses given the trapping in process, our visit was very early in May and the rains were continuing which may account for the high incidence.

The second challenge was the duration of the road transfer which in reality is a 7 hour transfer not 5. The length of the transfer relates to the manic traffic in Lusaka and the fact that the latter portion of the drive is on a very rough bush road. The roughness of the road may have been compounded by the on-going late rains and could therefore be better later in the season. If it were possible to fly to the airstrip near to the camp this would certainly be our recommendation. We felt that this arduous road transfer meant that in essence we lost two full days out of our holiday time." See all these reviews: 13n in Zambia

"PLEASE SEE PREVIOUS FEEDBACK [Ed: See below]" See all these reviews: 10n in Zambia