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Lion Camp
Lion Camp
Lion Camp
Lion Camp
Lion Camp
Lion Camp
Lion Camp
Lion Camp
Lion Camp
Lion Camp
Lion Camp
Lion Camp
Lion Camp
Lion Camp
Lion Camp
Lion Camp
Lion Camp
Lion Camp
Lion Camp
Lion Camp
Lion Camp
Lion Camp

Reviews of Lion Camp

Wildlife sightings and reviews

30 independent comments and wildlife information from our travellers who have visited Lion Camp and kindly agreed to share their thoughts. They do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa

Wildlife sightings by our travellers
Starting in Jul-2018, 16 of our travellers have recorded their wildlife sightings at Lion Camp.
Lion

100% success

Leopard

94% success

Wild dog

40% success

Buffalo

100% success

Elephant

100% success

Giraffe

100% success

Hippo

100% success

Spotted Hyena

100% success

Zebra

100% success

Wildebeest

93% success

Eland

27% success

Roan antelope

7% success

Sable antelope

7% success

Aardvark

0% success

Pangolin

0% success

Showing 21-30 of 30
Duration
Arrival date
Miss P
London

"Awesome photography guide"

3 nights Arrived 31 Jul 2016
"This is a return visit (from 2010) and my, how the camp has grown in popularity. It it still an amazing location for game viewing, still serves some of the best food I've ever had on safari, and it seems people are catching on. I was pleased to see they have new vehicles, and a new team of very experienced guides. Our guide Meyam was a superb photography guide who had his own DSLR and understood positioning and light, and in particular understood that the best photography position is not necessarily right on top of the animal but to give it space to behave naturally.

He also caught on we were interested in birds, and spent plenty of time on bird identification. In general at Lion Camp I was also impressed with their prompt early starts in the mornings - great for photography. We had some wonderful sightings of lions and leopards, but also spent time with elephants and buffalo, and even caught a couple of honey badgers in daylight..

The only downside to Lion Camp has always been its more built up style compared to Zambia's more rustic bush camps, so I was very excited to hear about their plans for a bush camp which, if they get it right, should provide a perfect counterbalance to the style of the main camp. And come October I bet even the most hardcore bush enthusiast will secretly appreciate the guilty pleasures of an electric fan and a dip in a swimming pool............." See all these reviews: 14n in Zambia
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Mr & Mrs P
Wiltshire

"Return to Lion Camp"

3 nights Arrived 31 Jul 2016
"Mesmerising views from our verandah. Great game viewing with our very knowledgeable guide, Meyam.

Very few other vehicles on the tracks. As we visited Lion Camp 5 years previously, we had great expectations and were not disappointed.

Food excellent. Breakfast is taken round the fire in the centre of the lodge and well organised." See all these reviews: 11n in Zambia
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Mr J
Thailand

"Big Bang for your Buck!"

4 nights Arrived 20 Jul 2016
"Lion Camp is, in my opinion, an excellent choice of camps in the South Luangwa. There are a couple of camps I liked better (Kaingo and Mwamba), but Lion Camp is extremely well-run and offers exceptional value for the money.

Location: It doesn't get any better than this! Lion Camp is located in the quiet, game-rich northern sector of the park, close to the aptly-named Lion Plain. The biggest variety and highest densities of game in the park are found here, along with very few other vehicles as it is quite remote -- what's not to love about that? The only small issue is that Lion Camp is not located on the river itself.

The rooms at Lion Camp are fine, and certainly comfortable, but not exceptional. They are small wood-and-canvas cabins built on stilts, and don't really bring Africa to mind. They feature balconies that overlook the camp waterhole and the plain beyond, so it is possible to view a wide variety of game directly from your room. One issue: The large, oversized chairs in psychadelic shades of lime green, orange and blue are absolutely hideous eyesores and should go....

Service at Lion Camp was friendly, efficient and impeccable.

The food at Lion Camp was outstanding! The buffet lunches featured a great variety of fresh, innovative offerings to satisfy all tastes, and the plated dinners were well above average. Excellent selection of beverages on offer, as well.

Once again, I stuck with game drives for all of my activities. There were four of us in the vehicle for the first couple of days, then three. Our guide, Andrew, was excellent. In addition to being extremely knowledgeable, he is a kind man with an infectious, happy personality and a good sense of humor.

The facilities feature almost everything one could want in a lodge. I would suggest, though, that if you are going to advertise wifi service to your guests (and I think that camps should, where it is possible), it be of better quality than Lion Camp offers.

Finally, my only caveat about Lion Camp: It is a relatively large camp (9 rooms) for this part of the South Luangwa park. When full, it is a bit busier than I would prefer. So one must weigh the value of a smaller, more intimate camp versus the low price that Lion Camp offers." See all these reviews: 16n in Zambia
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Miss D & Mr P
USA

"Great Safari at Lion Camp"

3 nights Arrived 8 Sep 2015
"Absolutely loved our stay at Lion Camp. Would highly recommend it to anyone considering visiting." See all these reviews: 5n in Zambia
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Good
Facilities:
Excellent
Mr & Mrs M
Malaysia

"Wonderful big game at Lion Camp"

4 nights Arrived 7 Sep 2015
"It was a wonderful camp & we managed to see two separate lion prides in our 4 nights at the Camp. We also saw plenty of buffaloes, elephants & especially leopards among other game.

The staff did everything to make our stay enjoyable & comfortable & the meals were excellent. However, we found that having both lunch & dinner communally was a little bit too regimented. We felt that having just one meal together would have been fine.

The Guides were some of the best that we have had in all our Southern African trips. The Walking & Night Safaris were simply superb & the best that we have experienced." See all these reviews: 8n in Zambia; 5n in South Africa
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Ms N
San Francisco

"The place to go for lions"

2 nights Arrived 24 Aug 2014
"This was my 3rd and final lodge in Zambia.

The lodge is beautifully designed with a combination of wood and brightly colored fabrics.
The setting is magnificent with plenty of puku, bush backs, impala, baboons, kudu and elephants wandering about in the landscape just outside the main dining area/room verandas. I even heard a lion during the morning hours last night.
I was put in the honeymoon suite which offers a nice corner view. However, it was probably the smallest of my three lodges and couldn't compete with the Puku Ridge view.

Our guide, Hendrix, knows the area and is eager to please you with your first lion sighting.
No better place for lions. In my first 24 hours, I saw two large prides of lions (more than 10 lions each) and 4 adult males. I also saw a herd of maybe 500 buffalo which offered the opportunity to witness both a pretty intense fight between two of them and a number of lions stalking them in an unsuccessful attempt at a kill. Of course, all the other animals are here as well although much of the focus is on the lions. It seems like there may be somewhat fewer elephants, giraffes and zebra here than further south.

The lodge has a communal orientation with all guests eating together with the hosts and guides at a large dining table in the main veranda and once a week all the guests meet at a common spot on the river for their sundowner. A drum calls guests to meals and tea time, which is a delightful component of "lodge life." The communal feel is different than at Nkwali, however. Nkwali is a bit more relaxed with greater camaraderie across the staff and between the guests. Here, people put on dress shirts for dinner and cross group conversation was more forced.

Why stay: groups of lions doing their thing! Fits image of what a high-end African safari lodge experience would be like

Dislike: Across my entire safari, Most lodges employed white foreigners to serve as host or Camp Manager. Given my orientations, I would have preferred local people to be in senior staff positions. Lion Camp, in particular, felt a bit colonial. There wasn't much camaraderie between the foreign managers and the local staff and, while it is difficult to explain, it felt like the staff held more of a secondary status. This made me a bit uncomfortable." See all these reviews: 7n in Zambia; 5n in Botswana
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Good
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Good
Facilities:
Excellent
Erna
Netherlands

"Beautiful camp hidden in quiet part of SL"

3 nights Arrived 18 Jun 2014
"Lion Camp is a great place hidden in the northern part of the South Luangwa Park. The camp has a fine ambiance, nice and friendly staff and is beautifully decorated. The rooms are quiet, lovely designed and have a great view on the lagoon filled with water. This means that you will see wildlife every moment of the day. Elephants, hippo’s (and others) can even wander through the camp. And if you are lucky a kill is made on the plains in front of the camp. Food is amazing also for vegetarians as myself, not only diversity but also the use of spices and fresh ingredients.
Dining together of visitors, guides and staff makes a nice mix of people and stories from all over the world.

Being on safari here you will meet no people from other camps which means you are completely alone in the bush, at least I was. Guiding is done with expertise and very pleasant. You can choose between walking and driving, also night drives are made and they are very special.
I saw lions and leopards with cubs, elephants, giraffes, lot of birds and all kind of antelopes.

The team of Expert Africa is not too keen on this camp as I read in their own review, I think it is time for a new perspective and hope they pay the camp another visit. I am happy to have been here and would like to visit again if possible. Thanks Lion Camp for the pleasant stay.

Erna" See all these reviews: 6n in Zambia
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Mr & Ms S
Wimbledon

"Wonderful Safari at Lion Camp"

3 nights Arrived 11 Oct 2013
"The location of Lion Camp is wonderful. It overlooks a watercourse that was visited throughout the day (this was October when the water in the Luangwa River was low and occupied only a small portion of the riverbed) by wildlife and there was a constant stream of animals arriving and departing in the middle of the day between our game drives (except a pair of hippos who spent our first 48 hours almost motionless in the water directly in front of our chalet) including lions and elephants with their calves. We even had lions wandering through the camp for most of one night - the chalets are elevatd on stilts and linked by a walkway to the main facilities.

The game drives and the guides were excellent.They matched or exceeded our safari experience in several other countries but with far fewer vehicles than say the Masai Mara. At most there were 4 vehicles, 3 from Lion Camp and one other at sightings, due to the camp being further from the entrance to the park than most camps. We frequently saw a large pride of lions with their cubs, resting or chewing on the remains of buffalo, on two consecutive nights we saw a leopard and on our last morning we saw one in a tree and then jumping down. Also a pack of hyenas and lots of hippos in the river.

The chalets are fine, comfortable beds, well furnished, a deck overlooking the watercourse, loo with a door and washing facilities and shower tucked away reasonably private - we were father and daughter.

The staff were welcoming and friendly and the atmosphere was great. You soon get to know the other guests at mealtimes and over a few drinks which are readily available in the all-included price. The food is of a high standard.

Through Expert Africa we had arranged for the the camp to send a taxi to collect us from Chipata, some 3 hours to reach Mfuwe near the entrance to the park. I confirmed the collection arrangements the day before and all went well.This was an interesting journey through the countryside and many villages, and then the camp collected us from Mfuwe for the longish journey to the camp. Even from the road through the park we saw elephants, giraffes and a pride of 15 lions resting by the roadside after a buffalo kill the previous evening." See all these reviews: 8n in Zambia
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Good
Dr G
Christchurch, NZ

"The Best!"

5 nights Arrived 4 Jun 2013
"This was our best experience. We liked the design that brought everyone together in a central core, the offer of drinks upon our return from a drive, that all guests ate together at a common table, and that the guides ate with us. All these factors contributed to a most enjoyable experience

I don't know the degree to which the long serving manager had contributed to this, I presume a great deal, but she was only peripherally present for us during our stay. A great deal of the present success I suspect must be attributed to the Australian Operations manager who was always there and worked very hard." See all these reviews: 13n in Zambia
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Mrs G
Christchurch

"Lion Camp review"

5 nights Arrived 4 Jun 2013
"Great location, liked the raised walkways. Taking the meals together at one big table worked most of the time but not when we were swamped by an American religious group.

The walking safari was rather boring." See all these reviews: 13n in Zambia
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Good
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Good
Facilities:
Good
Showing 21-30 of 30
95%
30 reviews of Lion Camp by travellers since August 2007
Overall rating by our travellers
25
3
2
0
0
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