Reviews of Mwamba Bushcamp
Wildlife sightings and reviews
161 independent comments and wildlife information from our travellers who have visited Mwamba Bushcamp and kindly agreed to share their thoughts. They do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa
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"My best ever Safari experience"
The hide is a good place to spend a couple of hours at almost any time of day. The waterhole is frequented by much of the local wild life from Elephants and buffalo to Impala , kudu , bushbuck and other antelope. A great many birds , often in swarms visit it in the dry season. These include lovebirds, starling species, and several colourful finches.
I had an excellent guide in Andrew who was extremely knowledgable and an excellent spotter of everything from Leopards in trees to Chameleons in the dark. We became firm friends and he taught me a lot about the animals and people of the area. He took me on an extended morning walk which proved a good contrast to the drives.
I took my tally of Leopard sightings in the South Luangwa to 14 at Mwamba including a male and female together at night and a big old male who had stolen a kill from a younger male ( watching nearby ) Night drives were also productive with views of Civet, Genet, honey badger and owls of various kinds, as well as leopards.
On one evening we came across a Giraffe that had just given birth and the baby was still very wobbly on its legs . They were taking cover in a grove of trees until the baby Giraffe could walk properly. We had good sightings of large buffalo herds coming down to drink at the shrinking waterholes, and elephants coming down for their morning mud baths. One of the star viewings was at length ( albeit a little obscured in the bush ) of a pack of wild dogs with cubs shortly after a successful hunt in the early morning.
The food at Mwamba was if it is possible , even better , which is truly remarkable considering the remote location and limited kitchen facilities.
The managers are a young couple Craig and LIndy, who were highly professional, experienced ( particularly Craig ) and very friendly. The group evening meals were especially entertaining and informative, set out completely in the open. I was privileged to witness the end of the capture of Peter the 12 foot python who had been living near the hide , and although completely harmless it was thought best to relocate to a an area away from the camp.
In short Mwamba would be a tough act to follow for any camp." See all these reviews: 7n in Zambia; 6n in Malawi
"Mwamba - A true bushcamp with great hosts"
Craig and Lindy felt like old friends by the time we left as Craig had been to many of the places we had been and they planned to go to others. Lindy was was exceptionally kind and proactive when she managed to get me some appropriate antibiotics when I had a recurrence of an old illness. The guiding was good and it was interesting learning about the Mwamba-Kaigo, Mwamba-Kapanda and Hollywood prides (made famous on recent TV Programme.)
Mwamba and Kaingo are run by the same family and it is great to know that the fantastic food includes vegetables from their own plot in Mfuwe run by local people" See all these reviews: 15n in Zambia
"Great camp in South Luangwa"
Andrew and Alex were definitely the A team as far as tracking and finding game and we were lucky in seeing the wild dogs with puppies plus several leopards and a lot of different prides of lions. We were very impressed with Andrew who not only was very knowledgeable and informative but was also clearly dedicated to his work and the business of conservation and also passionate about his country and its people which made for some interesting discussions - he also had a great sense of humour.
The hides by the water hole were a pleasant way to spend a few hours in the middle of the day and to get some great close up photo's.
There was so much to see I wish we had had another night or two!" See all these reviews: 15n in Zambia
"Mwamba Bushcamp review"
The reed and thatch chalets are very comfortable and come with beautiful outdoor bathrooms. The beds would be turned down at night with the netting set in place. We did not have any issues with mosquitos. A pail of hot water would be raised each morning for a shower or you could order the hot water at any other time of the day. The nearby hide was a great place to go and observe the resident hippo and bee eater birds on down time.
The game drives and walking safaris are different from those of Kaingo so it's not more of the same. The family and I got up close and personal with the Mwamba Kaingo pride of lions, this was definitely a highlight of the Mwamba leg of our safari. Of course, we were still with our guide Patrick from Kaingo and he brought along the same tremendous enthusiasm that he had at Kaingo. I highly recommend Mwamba for a more off the beaten path kind of safari." See all these reviews: 9n in Zambia; 1n in South Africa
"Mwamba Bushcamp review"
The rooms were fairly basic and the absence of matting in the washing area meant it was necessary to put on shoes when going to the toilet at night.
That said, we came to love it and the game drives were superb with excellent guides. Catering was outstanding and we wouldn't hesitate to return there." See all these reviews: 11n in Zambia; 2n in Zimbabwe
"An experience of a lifetime"
"Heaven"
The food was excellent, too, with fresh, tasty offerings including plenty of salads and fruit (perfect for hot October days). Although lion prides were somewhat quiet, I had exceptional leopard sightings every single day. One killed an impala at the watering hole and we were able to watch him on consecutive days, feeding in a tree and later dragging his prize off.
At this time of the year, the high concentration of elephants and giraffes was notable as well. In short, when I go back to South Luangwa, it'll be straight back to heaven." See all these reviews: 9n in Zambia
"Mwamba was brilliant - just want to go back"
We started with a bush walk between the two camps which was really good.
Mwamba has everything that is good about Kaingo but also benefits from the proximity of the hide where there was always something going on and the fact that rather than being in the trees, it is more open so you are always aware of animals and birds moving to/from the hide.
We could have done with more time here - two nights wasn't really enough we could quite happily have done 4." See all these reviews: 6n in Zambia; 6n in Malawi
"Mwamba really is a slice of heaven"
We kept Andrew our guide for our stay in Mwamba too. That is a very good touch as we really got to know each other over the 6 days we were together and therefore he got to know what we liked, where we had already been and where we had already had sundowners - very important not to go to the same place twice! Again too much food for the evening meal, but other than that couldn't fault it.
Have rated everything excellent taking into consideration the remote location - you'd never know it!" See all these reviews: 11n in Zambia
"Wonderful Wilderness Experience at Mwamba"
We saw an extraordinary number and range of animals on our game drives and night drives. And we had a great guide - deeply familiar and knowledgable about the area and the animals and very lively in sharing it all with us and a very good companion.
One of the most spectacular animal experiences we've ever had was in the hide - sitting 3 feet from animals one is otherwise never able to get (and stay!) near and watching them for long periods in perfectly natural behaviour: elephants, various antelope, baboons, wart hogs, flocks of birds. I" See all these reviews: 7n in Zambia
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