Reviews of Nkwali
Wildlife sightings and reviews
254 independent comments and wildlife information from our travellers who have visited Nkwali and kindly agreed to share their thoughts. They do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa
Wildlife sightings by our travellers
Starting in Apr-2018, 77 of our travellers have recorded their wildlife sightings at Nkwali.
Mrs & Mr L
Chicago
"Nkwali review"
2 nights Arrived 1 Aug 2022
"Nkwali was amazing!
Everything from the room, staff, food, and location were exceptional and we had a great experience.
We would absolutely stay here again." See all these reviews: 7n in Zambia
Everything from the room, staff, food, and location were exceptional and we had a great experience.
We would absolutely stay here again." See all these reviews: 7n in Zambia
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Sightings Report
Mrs M
Appledore
"Nkwali review"
1 night Arrived 12 Jul 2022
"Reaching Nkwali is like coming home. Everything as remembered from previous visits.
Thrilled to be woken at 3.00 by a heavy breathing elephant outside my room which went on to vandalise a nearby tree. And the loud harrumphs of hippos. So good to be back." See all these reviews: 10n in Zambia
Thrilled to be woken at 3.00 by a heavy breathing elephant outside my room which went on to vandalise a nearby tree. And the loud harrumphs of hippos. So good to be back." See all these reviews: 10n in Zambia
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Sightings Report
Ian
Hightown
"Nkwali review"
3 nights Arrived 10 Jul 2022
"My second visit to Nkwali and it lived up to all expectations.
The camp staff were extremely helpful and friendly and the facilities were excellent." See all these reviews: 13n in Zambia
The camp staff were extremely helpful and friendly and the facilities were excellent." See all these reviews: 13n in Zambia
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Sightings Report
Mr J
Edinburgh
"Nkwali review"
2 nights Arrived 23 Jun 2022
"This was my first ever Safari experience and I was utterly blown away from start to finish.
The cabin was v comfortable and on arrival I was delighted to be able to see monkeys, and a bush buck rights outside my door. It was very close to the river so you are able to hear the sound of hippos all day long. I hadn't realised just how abundant and diverse the wildlife would be - I had hoped that it would be a trip of a lifetime and it was.
All the staff are incredibly friendly and helpful. They made it all feel relaxed but it's clear that a huge amount of work was going on to ensure that I had the best holiday experience. The food is excellent, the guides are incredibly knowledgable and wildlife - the stars of the show was beyond what I could have hoped for. Seeing two lioness up close is an experience that I'll never forget - utterly amazing." See all these reviews: 10n in Zambia
The cabin was v comfortable and on arrival I was delighted to be able to see monkeys, and a bush buck rights outside my door. It was very close to the river so you are able to hear the sound of hippos all day long. I hadn't realised just how abundant and diverse the wildlife would be - I had hoped that it would be a trip of a lifetime and it was.
All the staff are incredibly friendly and helpful. They made it all feel relaxed but it's clear that a huge amount of work was going on to ensure that I had the best holiday experience. The food is excellent, the guides are incredibly knowledgable and wildlife - the stars of the show was beyond what I could have hoped for. Seeing two lioness up close is an experience that I'll never forget - utterly amazing." See all these reviews: 10n in Zambia
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Sightings Report
Mr Logan
Singapore
"Nkwali review"
3 nights Arrived 18 Jun 2022
"Excellent guiding and great location, easy access to the park."
See all these reviews: 10n in Zambia
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Sightings Report
Globetrotters
Belgium
"Nkwali review"
3 nights Arrived 29 May 2022
"Our guide Perry did a great job. Even though we had seen all animals in Nsefu we were again treated to seeing them all again.
The Nkwali facility is much roomier than Nsefu although the lighting in the bathrooms could use reviewing. It was still pretty cold there.
As usual the Robin Pope cooks are top chefs. A bonus was meeting Emily who writes the weekly "Its Monday"." See all these reviews: 10n in Zambia
The Nkwali facility is much roomier than Nsefu although the lighting in the bathrooms could use reviewing. It was still pretty cold there.
As usual the Robin Pope cooks are top chefs. A bonus was meeting Emily who writes the weekly "Its Monday"." See all these reviews: 10n in Zambia
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Sightings Report
Ms S.
Missouri
"Nkwali review"
4 nights Arrived 17 May 2022
"Just about a perfect experience at Nkwali. Robin Pope exceeds expectations when it comes to personal service of all the staff, such a warm and friendly place….wonderful meals, fantastic game drives, creativity of experiences with some sort of little surprise nearly every day. Also really loved the smaller size of the camp, made it feel very exclusive.
My only complaint is that the rooms are open air, which allows the baboons to wreck pure havoc on your personal belongings. Really wish there had been an option for a screened partition to keep the baboons out of the rooms. I realize the open air shower area also provides access to the baboons with the tree branches overhead. It is indeed a difficult situation to remedy.
It’s a lovely camp, my first impression of the open air concept was very positive, until I learned about the habits of the baboons in camp. In future I will definitely inquire whether there is some way to prevent larger animals from entering the rooms/tents. I do not mean this to be disparaging in any way against Nkwali camp.
It’s a unique experience and the South Luangwa NP is stunning and exciting to visit. Just be aware of the situation and make an informed decision." See all these reviews: 7n in Zambia; 5n in Namibia; 3n in Botswana
My only complaint is that the rooms are open air, which allows the baboons to wreck pure havoc on your personal belongings. Really wish there had been an option for a screened partition to keep the baboons out of the rooms. I realize the open air shower area also provides access to the baboons with the tree branches overhead. It is indeed a difficult situation to remedy.
It’s a lovely camp, my first impression of the open air concept was very positive, until I learned about the habits of the baboons in camp. In future I will definitely inquire whether there is some way to prevent larger animals from entering the rooms/tents. I do not mean this to be disparaging in any way against Nkwali camp.
It’s a unique experience and the South Luangwa NP is stunning and exciting to visit. Just be aware of the situation and make an informed decision." See all these reviews: 7n in Zambia; 5n in Namibia; 3n in Botswana
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Mr N.
London
"Nkwali review"
4 nights Arrived 21 Apr 2022
"The rooms feel slightly tired but fundamentally, one comes for the game drives and those were top notch.
Excellent guides and the camp is in a very good area for game.
Regularly saw leopards and wild dogs in the area." See all these reviews: 8n in Zambia
Excellent guides and the camp is in a very good area for game.
Regularly saw leopards and wild dogs in the area." See all these reviews: 8n in Zambia
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Sightings Report
Miss P
London
"Nkwali review"
7 nights Arrived 10 Apr 2022
"I've slightly lost track of the number of times I've visited Nkwali, and it definitely feels like home now.
It's always such a friendly and welcoming camp. At this time of year, it's lovely to see a mixture of faces from all the RPS camps and even the mobiles. The location on the river can't be beaten, and the rooms really make the best of the views and bring the outdoors in. I also love the amount of wildlife around the camp, from the cheeky vervets bounding between the rafters in the room, to the elephants visiting the lagoon during lunch time, to the beautiful bushbuck in front of my chalet during siesta time.
This is traditionally thought of as a weaker time of the year for game viewing, and certainly the big cats are not as prolific as in dry season, but the wild dog sightings were exceptional (as they were last time I visited at this time of year) and the birding is great too, so personally I think it's much under-rated. We saw a big pack of 20 dogs almost every day, including a sighting of a full hunt and kill of a puku from start to finish. The park is also really stunning at this time of year. We had only one leopard sighting but it was a really excellent one, with the leopard trying to hunt a rock monitor and then being chased off by zebras. Other guests who made more of an effort to find leopards saw several more, but I was quite happy to spend time with the dogs.
This is my second trip to South Luangwa during green season, and if Luangwa River Camp had been open I would have split my time between the two camps. However, the Nkwali location is very central for accessing all of the area that is possible to drive in at this time of year, by using the boat crossing to enter the park directly and occasionally driving up to the main gate. The dogs were mainly up in the area around the main gate which is a bit further from Nkwali but the guides were always happy to adjust game drive times to leave earlier in the afternoons. I had Obi as my guide, and he was excellent.
Finding options for walking can be tricky as many areas are boggy and those that aren't are used for driving, but we did manage to do a nice morning walk by taking a boat up to the area where the pontoon usually enters the park.
Overall, a superb stay." See all these reviews: 8n in Zambia
It's always such a friendly and welcoming camp. At this time of year, it's lovely to see a mixture of faces from all the RPS camps and even the mobiles. The location on the river can't be beaten, and the rooms really make the best of the views and bring the outdoors in. I also love the amount of wildlife around the camp, from the cheeky vervets bounding between the rafters in the room, to the elephants visiting the lagoon during lunch time, to the beautiful bushbuck in front of my chalet during siesta time.
This is traditionally thought of as a weaker time of the year for game viewing, and certainly the big cats are not as prolific as in dry season, but the wild dog sightings were exceptional (as they were last time I visited at this time of year) and the birding is great too, so personally I think it's much under-rated. We saw a big pack of 20 dogs almost every day, including a sighting of a full hunt and kill of a puku from start to finish. The park is also really stunning at this time of year. We had only one leopard sighting but it was a really excellent one, with the leopard trying to hunt a rock monitor and then being chased off by zebras. Other guests who made more of an effort to find leopards saw several more, but I was quite happy to spend time with the dogs.
This is my second trip to South Luangwa during green season, and if Luangwa River Camp had been open I would have split my time between the two camps. However, the Nkwali location is very central for accessing all of the area that is possible to drive in at this time of year, by using the boat crossing to enter the park directly and occasionally driving up to the main gate. The dogs were mainly up in the area around the main gate which is a bit further from Nkwali but the guides were always happy to adjust game drive times to leave earlier in the afternoons. I had Obi as my guide, and he was excellent.
Finding options for walking can be tricky as many areas are boggy and those that aren't are used for driving, but we did manage to do a nice morning walk by taking a boat up to the area where the pontoon usually enters the park.
Overall, a superb stay." See all these reviews: 8n in Zambia
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Sightings Report
Ms T.
Ness Ziona
"Great place to stay"
3 nights Arrived 27 Jul 2021
"Great camp, loved the option of staying as a family together ( 2 adults and 2 teenage kids).
Amazing food and very attentive staff.
Had the pleasure of being guided by Kiki with whom we loved sharing stories and laughs as well as great sightings.
This sectors has blessed us with amazing sightings, of hyenas, leopards, lions and of course plenty of hippos, elephants, kudu, puku and impalas.
Night drives were great, finding owls, genets, and mongroose- among the rest." See all these reviews: 8n in Zambia
Amazing food and very attentive staff.
Had the pleasure of being guided by Kiki with whom we loved sharing stories and laughs as well as great sightings.
This sectors has blessed us with amazing sightings, of hyenas, leopards, lions and of course plenty of hippos, elephants, kudu, puku and impalas.
Night drives were great, finding owls, genets, and mongroose- among the rest." See all these reviews: 8n in Zambia
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Sightings Report
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