Wildlife Camp — Hotel in Eastern Province

I was first recommended to stay here in the last Century but it did not happen so I made a decision to correct that this visit. I know the valley well but had not been for 10 years.||Booking via eMail was straightforward and easy and payments made by Transfer.||We were met at Mfuwe airport by Ivan who was doubling his job as Chef with transfer drives.||The drive from the airport to camp was like a trip down memory lane after my absence and our eagerness increased as we drove the last 6km on the track towards the camp where we would spend the next 8 nights over the Christmas holidays.||The welcome was very warm and friendly. It was like I had been before. the briefing was straightforward and we were shown t our chalets. These were set away from the main area in a quiet section of the grounds and linked by a footpath which must NOT be used after dark when a car will be sent.||We had been allocated two cottages for our party, one a standard double and the other having two bedrooms which was ideal for the two single males.||Our cottage was the usual layout with a small porch with chairs and table outside leading to the main room with double bed and storage racks and writing desk. the rear was a nice clean Bathroom with shower, vanitory unit and wash basin and flush WC. The hot water was the best of the three week tour. Valuables can be stored in an electronic Safe The view outside was over the floodplain of the Laungwa river where many animals could be seen. Do NOT feed the wildlife and don't keep fresh fruit in your chalet or tent.||||Back at the main building was the restaurant and bar area for socialising and food.||Meals were excellent. ||Elsewhere were a WiFi hotspot for those that need such things. David Livingstone managed without so why not us? At the adjacent camping ground was swimming pool.||The daily routine was to rise at 05.00 and take a car to the restaurant where light breakfast of cereals and toast was served, prior to the start of the game drive into the National Park with the Gate some 10 km away.||Return to camp was around 10.30 when a hot single course brunch, often pasta based, was served before siesta time or other small tasks. ||At around 15.30 tea and biscuits/cake were served prior to embarking again for the Park where a sundowner was served as authorised cars can remain until 20.00 and total dark so that we can observe nocturnal wildlife seldom seen as well as leopards for which South Luangwa is justly famous. We also saw 4 species of Owl.||Then back to camp for a wash before being seated for an excellent 3 course dinner, if you could make room for them all.||If there was a down side to the National Park it was the bad and rude behaviour of some driver/guides at wildlife sightings and this was particularly bad at night with leopards. On one occasion a leopard narrowly escaped being run over by an aggressive driver, from an upmarket lodge, whom should have known better. This saddened us and we soon left such sightings to seek our own in peace and quiet.||We found it much more enjoyable to have a cat or dog to ourselves for a time than engage in a circus. We did not suffer and our count of leopard sightings for the 7 nights was well into double figures with four excellent encounters on Christmas Day alone. The pack of Wild dogs were frequently encountered in daylight hours which was a good plus. Lots of Elephant too as the herd sizes have recovered from the poaching of the earlier years.||A good tip is to bring a Trail Camera for use in camp so you can continue seeking wildlife while while sleeping in bed. In this way I got film of a mother Porcupine and tiny 'cub' or is it piglet? ||All to soon our time was up and we had to leave but we will be back.||Too invidious to name all the friendly staff so thank you Herman and all the team for a...

I was first recommended to stay here in the last Century but it did not happen so I made a decision to correct that this visit. I know the valley well but had not been for 10 years.||Booking via eMail was straightforward and easy and payments made by Transfer.||We were met at Mfuwe airport by Ivan who was doubling his job as Chef with transfer drives.||The drive from the airport to camp was like a trip down memory lane after my absence and our eagerness increased as we drove the last 6km on the track towards the camp where we would spend the next 8 nights over the Christmas holidays.||The welcome was very warm and friendly. It was like I had been before. the briefing was straightforward and we were shown t our chalets. These were set away from the main area in a quiet section of the grounds and linked by a footpath which must NOT be used after dark when a car will be sent.||We had been allocated two cottages for our party, one a standard double and the other having two bedrooms which was ideal for the two single males.||Our cottage was the usual layout with a small porch with chairs and table outside leading to the main room with double bed and storage racks and writing desk. the rear was a nice clean Bathroom with shower, vanitory unit and wash basin and flush WC. The hot water was the best of the three week tour. Valuables can be stored in an electronic Safe The view outside was over the floodplain of the Laungwa river where many animals could be seen. Do NOT feed the wildlife and don't keep fresh fruit in your chalet or tent.||||Back at the main building was the restaurant and bar area for socialising and food.||Meals were excellent. ||Elsewhere were a WiFi hotspot for those that need such things. David Livingstone managed without so why not us? At the adjacent camping ground was swimming pool.||The daily routine was to rise at 05.00 and take a car to the restaurant where light breakfast of cereals and toast was served, prior to the start of the game drive into the National Park with the Gate some 10 km away.||Return to camp was around 10.30 when a hot single course brunch, often pasta based, was served before siesta time or other small tasks. ||At around 15.30 tea and biscuits/cake were served prior to embarking again for the Park where a sundowner was served as authorised cars can remain until 20.00 and total dark so that we can observe nocturnal wildlife seldom seen as well as leopards for which South Luangwa is justly famous. We also saw 4 species of Owl.||Then back to camp for a wash before being seated for an excellent 3 course dinner, if you could make room for them all.||If there was a down side to the National Park it was the bad and rude behaviour of some driver/guides at wildlife sightings and this was particularly bad at night with leopards. On one occasion a leopard narrowly escaped being run over by an aggressive driver, from an upmarket lodge, whom should have known better. This saddened us and we soon left such sightings to seek our own in peace and quiet.||We found it much more enjoyable to have a cat or dog to ourselves for a time than engage in a circus. We did not suffer and our count of leopard sightings for the 7 nights was well into double figures with four excellent encounters on Christmas Day alone. The pack of Wild dogs were frequently encountered in daylight hours which was a good plus. Lots of Elephant too as the herd sizes have recovered from the poaching of the earlier years.||A good tip is to bring a Trail Camera for use in camp so you can continue seeking wildlife while while sleeping in bed. In this way I got film of a mother Porcupine and tiny 'cub' or is it piglet? ||All to soon our time was up and we had to leave but we will be back.||Too invidious to name all the friendly staff so thank you Herman and all the team for a...

The campsite provides a level dirt pitch, with a covered picnic bench and power. There was only a fire pit and no proper bbq area.

We booked this well in advance but sadly despite our 5 night stay we were given the worst campsite number 4, sandwiched between various groups coming and going. There were quite a few tour buses with many people - at one point we had 15 people next to us. It felt very squashed. We did ask if we could move should a riverside campsite become available even just for one night and were told none were free (there were and lots of people just seemed to move around once a site became empty.) So my advice would be to ask in advance to have campsites 6,7,8 or 9. These are all riverside campsites and you get the benefit of watching the river, views, sunsets and various wildlife go by. The ablution block was clean and had hot water. There's a vegetable man that comes by on his bicycle to sell, be wary of his prices and haggle. There's a small pool, and bar (they only take cash) and you can walk to the main restaurant along the riverfront (at your own risk). There are two hides, one by the restaurant and one by the campsite. The latter provides a water level view which was great for wildlife photography. It's quite a distance to the South Luangwa NP Gate but there is wildlife on the road to the park/camp. At the end of our stay we also had a problem with regards to payment. We were quoted via email one price, but were told another. When we argued showing evidence on their website, they seemed surprised and even asked us where we found it! We were approached by a manager who was unfriendly and quite unhelpful. He never even asked us how our stay was or anything you'd think someone in hospitality would do! He was completely unapologetic and laughed when we were disputing the price saying it was pretty cheap already! We were told the prices were incorrect on the website so we had to pay even though we had an email confirming how much it would be. When we couldn't pay cash as we didn't have enough, we tried by card which they then had issues with signal. After an hour I gave up and did a bank transfer (I still had to pay for the credit card fees despite not using a credit card!). A pretty disappointing ending! I would recommend this for a night or two, but not...