Reviews of Nkwali
Wildlife sightings and reviews
256 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

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"Nkwali review"
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

Buffalo
3 sightings

Elephant
10 sightings

Giraffe
10 sightings

Hippo
10 sightings

Leopard
1 sighting

Lion
1 sighting

Spotted Hyena
10 sightings

Wild dog
10 sightings

Wildebeest
2 sightings

Zebra
10 sightings
"Great place to stay"
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

Buffalo
Multiple sightings

Elephant
Multiple sightings

Giraffe
Multiple sightings

Hippo
Multiple sightings

Leopard
Multiple sightings

Lion
Multiple sightings

Spotted Hyena
Multiple sightings

Wildebeest
Multiple sightings

Zebra
Multiple sightings
"Nkwali review"
Not only was Kiki a great guide, but he was also a very humorous and interesting conversationalist. Over dinner he told us about the matrilineal tradition of his people, the Kunda, and some funny stories of his girls growing up with their cousins. We exchanged travel stories – us with other trips in Africa, and he with trips to the US. The first place he visited in the US was Minneapolis in February! Believe it or not, he also spent time in Menlo Park California, which happens to be where I grew up. What a small world!
We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at Nkwali. Our room was beautiful and comfortable, with a view of the river and hippo chorus serenading us every night. Food was fresh and delicious. The camp has a very convenient boat that can cross the river into the park without having to drive to the main gate bridge. South Luangwa park in June was stunningly beautiful – lush and green with plenty of wetlands, beautiful birds and butterflies, and teeming with wildlife. What a great start to our trip!" See all these reviews: 10n in Zambia

Buffalo
10 sightings

Elephant
10 sightings

Giraffe
10 sightings

Hippo
10 sightings

Leopard
2 sightings

Spotted Hyena
Multiple sightings

Zebra
10 sightings
"Nkwali review"
The wildlife in the Mfuwe area was during our stay slightly less active than at Nsefu, but maybe it only felt like it after being on safari for already quite a while. We also felt that compared to Nsfeu the area might attract a little bit more traffic due to the higher number of lodges and self-drivers. But of course now due to Covid, it was not busy at all. Amongst the usual *stuff”, we spotted 4 leopards, a very photogenic porcupine and as the highlight of our stay even an aardvark – still can’t believe it ! Now only an aardwolf and a pangolin is left on our list of rare sightings." See all these reviews: 11n in Zambia

Aardvark
1 sighting

Buffalo
Multiple sightings

Elephant
Multiple sightings

Giraffe
Multiple sightings

Hippo
Multiple sightings

Leopard
4 sightings

Lion
2 sightings

Spotted Hyena
1 sighting

Wildebeest
1 sighting

Zebra
Multiple sightings
"Good safari at Nkwali "
We had a shared car for these last days which was ok but curtailed the photography somewhat. Service in camp improved because the camp host was called away to look after luangwa house so Kiki stepped in. He was excellent in sorting out the changed arrangements for getting home and printed off the new flight details for us, which was a god send in the bedlam at Johannesburg.
The only problem was the room. We were in room 5 and the mattress was infested with bugs so we were bitten to death each night. If we had stayed we would have asked to move back to 6, but the holiday was, sadly, ended prematurely because of covid19." See all these reviews: 10n in Zambia

Elephant
6 sightings

Giraffe
4 sightings

Hippo
10 sightings

Leopard
4 sightings

Spotted Hyena
4 sightings

Wild dog
1 sighting

Zebra
10 sightings
"Unextected long stay at Nkwali "
Best room/house during our entire stay in Zambia
Food very well presented - mostly also very tasty
Guiding excellent (Nyambi) both walking and by road
Total 7 nights too many, seen the same roads and game too many times (not intended though due to Malawi cancelling)
Excellent support with rebooking trip
Night guard not always present (walked in the camp during evenings alone)" See all these reviews: 12n in Zambia

Buffalo
3 sightings

Elephant
10 sightings

Giraffe
10 sightings

Hippo
10 sightings

Leopard
4 sightings

Lion
9 sightings

Spotted Hyena
6 sightings

Wild dog
4 sightings

Wildebeest
1 sighting

Zebra
10 sightings
"Great safari at Nkwali "
We were incredibly fortunate to have Braston as our guide. He was a great birder and also good at positioning the car for photography. We saw lions, with cubs, one of the wild dog packs, and loads of elephants, hippos, hyenas etc. The birding was terrific. We chose to visit at this time of year to enjoy the green season. The river was still high, although it had gone down from the peak of the floods. We enjoyed setting off on our twice daily safaris by boat and it was interesting to explore this different part of the park.
The only niggle was that the photography bean bag that we had requested before leaving the uk was not available and the camp host seemed unable (and rather unwilling) to get one. We felt the request was brushed off. In the end we asked Braston and he turned two up immediately, so it was not clear why the camp host had prevaricated." See all these reviews: 10n in Zambia

Buffalo
1 sighting

Elephant
10 sightings

Giraffe
5 sightings

Hippo
10 sightings

Lion
7 sightings

Spotted Hyena
1 sighting

Wild dog
1 sighting

Zebra
10 sightings
"A great return to Nkwali"
This trip we were given a huge room with an enormous sofa so we had plenty of room for the tree frogs that shared the bathroom with us. The steps down to the river have been upgraded to concrete which makes it much easier to get to and from the boat. The pool was a welcome respite from the heat and it was lovely watching Humphrey the hippo enjoying the waterhole. This trip the elephants weren't coming to the waterhole as often, but we had many close encounters with them in the park.
Pias was our guide for our short stay. During the transfer to Tena Tena, we were fortunate enough to encounter a pack of 11 wild dogs. One of the dogs had found a discarded plastic bottle (slapped wrist for whoever was so thoughtless) and refused to share with the others. Unlike watching lions during the day when you are waiting for one of them to even roll over, the dogs are so much more active. We loved watching them and actually got to see a second pack that evening - fortunate indeed! If the number of sighting of giraffes we had are anything to go by, the population in the park is healthy.
Kiki was a marvellous host for our all too short stay. Despite the brevity of our stay, we still saw 56 different species of animals which is pretty amazing." See all these reviews: 9n in Zambia; 5n in Malawi

Buffalo
3 sightings

Elephant
7 sightings

Giraffe
4 sightings

Hippo
9 sightings

Leopard
1 sighting

Lion
1 sighting

Wild dog
1 sighting

Zebra
4 sightings
"Nkwali Camp - Unbelievable start to safari"
Small pool overlooking the lagoon was perfect. Rooms are beautiful with an open air feel to the bathroom area, which was well stocked with amenities, insect repellent and bug spray. Breakfast served overlooking a bend in the Luangwa River where hippos lounge in the water and elephants can be seen crossing over.
My first game drive greatly exceeded my expectations - lion pride resting under tree after kill, hyenas and vultures at the kill, pack of wild dogs resting after their kill, plus large herd of water buffalo crossing the road, elephants, giraffes, zebras, warthogs, impalas, puku, crocodiles, hippos. Spectacular!" See all these reviews: 12n in Zambia

Buffalo
2 sightings

Elephant
6 sightings

Giraffe
3 sightings

Hippo
6 sightings

Lion
3 sightings

Spotted Hyena
2 sightings

Wild dog
1 sighting

Zebra
3 sightings
"Nkwali Review"
We particularly liked our palatial room at the camp and the river views. It was well worth spending time in the afternoons by the lagoon and watching Humphrey the hippo and all the other visiting animals, retiles and birds.
Thanks to everyone on the staff for making this such an enjoyable stay." See all these reviews: 13n in Zambia

Buffalo
Multiple sightings

Elephant
Multiple sightings

Giraffe
Multiple sightings

Hippo
Multiple sightings

Leopard
Multiple sightings

Lion
Multiple sightings

Spotted Hyena
Multiple sightings

Wild dog
Multiple sightings

Zebra
Multiple sightings
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