Reviews of Sausage Tree Camp

"Sausage Tree Camp was absolutely gorgeous - the setting on the Zambezi was beautiful. The views, particularly sunset, are amazing and it is very luxurious. We saw lots of great wildlife and took fun and beautiful boat tours. They took us on a great surprise lunch on an island - very fancy! The people were great and the food was excellent. They are running a sustainable operation and are very concerned with the environment.. we actually met and talked with the CEO which was very interesting. The weakest point of Sausage Tree Camp was the guide we had, he wasn't as knowledgeable as many. I wish we stayed more days here. They had a nice gym and a lap pool although it was cold." See all these reviews: 7n in Zimbabwe; 4n in Botswana; 3n in Rwanda; 2n in Kenya; 2n in Zambia

"Everything was exceptional! The accommodations were luxurious, the food was amazing, and Ali and Lazurous were amazing guides. The staff took care of every need and there were some special surprises." See all these reviews: 9n in Zambia

"The accommodation at Sausage Tree Camp was fabulous, with a deck overlooking the Zambezi from which we could see hippos, elephants and lots of interesting birds. One afternoon while we were sat there a mother elephant and her calf walked right past our suite and into the river – an amazing sighting.

Although safari drives were the main activity, it was really good to have the canoeing and boating options as well, providing different perspectives of the wildlife viewed from the water. One small criticism of the canoeing is that if the main guide is in the front canoe and you happen to be towards the back of the flotilla with someone who is more of a paddler than a guide (still very important for dodging hippos!), then some sightings were missed as it was not always easy to hear what the guide at the front was saying, but on the whole it was still a great experience. We also did a walk with our guide N., which was different from those we had done in South Luangwa due to the different terrain and habitat, but just as enjoyable.

Other great experiences were the surprise dining locations, with a bush dinner one night on the way back from the evening game drive, and lunch on an island in the river. Being away from the main camp kitchen did not seem to be any reason for a drop in the quality of the catering, and like all the food, these meals were excellent, with the extra thrill of being out in the wild.

We had two particularly memorable wildlife sightings on our drives: one was a group of 4 male lions devouring a waterbuck, just outside the camp; the other was a pack of wild dogs, with 8 puppies. Otherwise we saw what would normally be expected. After dark one evening we had good clear views of both a genet and a civet, which was particularly pleasing as sightings on previous occasions had been obscured by bushes.

We stayed at Sausage Tree Camp as the result of a surprise upgrade and really appreciated the all-round excellence in the management of this camp.

Overall, we loved the Lower Zambezi!" See all these reviews: 12n in Zambia

"Marvelous camp!

Nikki, Martin and the whole team make you feel "at home" - Smiles all around and the attention to details is perfect..

The location is gorgeous, with lots of elephants crossing on your door step. The tents are spacious and very well appointed, Arnold was a lovely butler.

Absolutely excellent guiding by George for all activities: I did a lot of fishing (massive vundus and decent tiger fish), but also canoeing (amazing sighting of a mother elephant with twin babies!), some walking and a couple of game drives..

The "water lunch" was an exquisite surprise.

I will definitely return!" See all these reviews: 13n in Zambia

"Since it has been my 4th time to visit Sausage Tree, expectations were high and again exceeded! And all the familiar faces were still there. My great guide Henry, muchinda Chris, bartenders Brian and Mike. Good to see Collins and Faith again as well.

We made full use of all activities: bush walks, canoe trip, sunset cruise, game drives, day trip (rewarding the wild dogs), swimming in the infinity pool.

The meals got even better, awesome meal choices every day. Best croissants in the bush! The camp also surprised us several times, but no spoiler here.

Wildlife was great, in particular: 3 leopards in one tree, a honey badger couple, a bush pig and lots of genets and civets." See all these reviews: 13n in Zambia

"This was our second visit to Sausage Tree (first in 2019) and found the camp as delightful as before.

The location on the banks of the Zambezi is ideal and probably the best place to watch an abundance of Hippos. The accommodations were excellent and this year they assigned a 'butler' to each couple to insure all your needs and interests were met. It was probably the most genuinely friendly camp of the five we visited. Their 'bush diner' and their lunch in the river on a sandbar in a couple feet of water under a marquee were delightful and unique experiences.

The terrain of the Lower Zambezi NP is more interesting than most of the Botswana camps. The plentiful rains this year meant the grass was exceptionally high. For this reason and because our guide had a trainee in tow which kept him from concentrating on tracking much of the time, we saw less game than at any of the other camps and less than three years ago (yet we know there is a good balance and number of animals in the area). It is still one of our favourite camps/location." See all these reviews: 9n in Botswana; 6n in Zambia

"This was my 3rd visit to Sausage Tree Camp after 2017 and 2019. I was once again amazed that I was meeting the same friends for the 3rd time, Henry, Chris and Mike! That's absolutely awesome. And they are only getting better and better each time.

The private game drives are a main attraction. With the superb guide Henry, I had a private session with a rock python devouring a mongoose for a good one hour. What a start! The Zambezi carried unusually high water so the canoe tour turned into an absolute thriller with elephants and hippos.

During siesta time I enjoyed my favorite infinity pool, watching elephants wandering through camp or hippos grazing on land opposite the pool. The pool is definitely welcoming during the October heat. You can even have your lunch at the pool which is a regular thing for me.

I enjoyed Chris' impeccable butler service. He always knows what I want before I even know it.

Meals were amazing, they must be serving the best croissants in the country. The surprises organized by the camp are awesome. But won't spoil the surprise here.

I had little time to spend time in my massive bungalow. Slept well, appreciated the morning coffee brought to my door and the occasional plunge into the veranda pool.

Wished I stayed a few nights longer but now I have a good reason to come back again." See all these reviews: 13n in Zambia

"Covid: Sanitation station at entrance to dining area. Some staff vaccinated but no evidence of a covid program. Adherence to social distancing varied – some days place settings shoulder to shoulder; other days separated.

Structurally Sausage Tree is stunning. The tents are new, spacious and sit on the river with hippos, elephants and monitor lizards at your door literally. Each tent has all of the amenities of a modern hotel room from wet bar to multiple shower heads and plunge pool. Wifi requires that you walk to the admin office, sit outside and access a hot spot.

Chris, our butler, has been with the company for 15 years and was a wealth of knowledge as well as caring for our every need – from morning wake up coffee delivery to getting wifi connected and arranging special meals. Chris was an accomplished decorator and each day we had new decorations comprised of towel sculpture (including a monitor lizard) and native vegetation. The arrangement and décor that he prepared for our anniversary celebration was outstanding.

Most of the staff that we dealt with were caring people dedicated to providing excellent service.

Our guide Nevers grew up on the river before becoming a guide. In addition to his bush knowledge, he is a self-taught student of Zambian history and politics. It was a highly educational and enjoyable experience learning from him a lot about not only wildlife but the Zambian people. Nevers worked alone – doing his own spotting on night drives which had to be a bit stressful when trying to drive in the dark, light animals and avoid aggressive elephants. We had the impression that a spotter had been used in the past and are not certain why this was not the case while we were there.

We enjoyed seeing the area by both land and water and just sitting on the deck watching the parade of hippos and elephants that frequent the river and adjoining wetlands." See all these reviews: 13n in Zambia

"Larger accommodations and more activities than the other camps. My granddaughter and I took advantage of fishing, and I managed to catch a 12 lb. catfish. Nina had to help reel it in Canoeing with the hippos was great and seeing crocodiles and elephants up close was amazing. Had no idea of the training the guides had to go through. Our guide Alex rattled off names of species, phylum of animals and trees etc. He spotted animals day and night we hadn't even seen yet. We were indulged and even were able to pick the time we wanted our safaris to begin each morning. Due to Covid the camp was almost empty. One lunch on an island in the Zambezi River and dinner one evening in the bush with torches all around was pure luxury. We saw hundreds of hippos here. They sang to us all night. A few giraffes, One zebra mixed in with many impala plus many baboons. And a very special sighting of 23 wild dogs and a glimpse of a baby. Solitary elephants and groups of 3 or 4. Mongoose, civets, white tailed mongoose, and genet sightings at night. Not an accurate count but game sightings were not as plentiful here as they were in Nsefu and Robin's House in Nkwali. The bird watching was more plentiful here. Beautiful birds and different kinds of geese, cranes, and storks. Especially liked small green love birds that would fly out of thickets in mass and several fish eagles. Forgot to mention the wonderful guinea fowl. Food is excellent here and at each camp we stayed." See all these reviews: 16n in Zambia

"In my opinion, Sausage Tree is in the top 5 lodges out of all the lodges that I have stayed in during my twelve years of visiting Southern Africa. Rooms were excellent. They were clean, airy, had a fan, which was necessary when the temperatures were in the 40's and had all of the facilities necessary.

Jason and the staff were so friendly and helpful and Arnold also had the knack of making the perfect cup of tea. The food was wonderful, although probably a bit too much for me to manage.

Game viewing was good, with 4 different Leopards seen, along with lions, hyena and wild dogs plus loads of elephants to keep my wife happy. Really enjoyed the interaction with our guide Patrick who as well as spotting game, was a dab hand with his machette when thorn trees overhung the roadway.

3 events worth mentioning. One evening driving back in the dark we saw lights in the bush which I knew wasn't our lodge. They had arranged for our dinner to be served in the bush which was great, we didn't have musical background but the sound of hyenas.

Next morning, I was told not to wear my shoes but to wear flip flops or sandals. We went out on a boat and then saw gazebo's set up on a sandbank in the middle of the mighty Zambezi where we had breakfast. Luckily the crocs didn't like our breakfast and stayed away.

My other passion in life is fishing and I had never caught, or even fished for Tiger Fish, so we went out fishing one afternoon, and this is the only negative aspect of my report. My wife hates fishing and just came along for the boat ride but had a rod stuck into her hand. Yes, you've guessed it, she not only caught more than I did, she also caught the biggest.

What a wonderful time, thanks to everyone. We don't usually ever go back to the same place twice but should we go back to Zambia, Sausage Tree will definitely be on our list." See all these reviews: 20n in Zambia