10 Days of Zambian Thrills

We leave camp at 0600 after a light early breakfast of toast, cereal, yoghurt, tea and coffee from 0530. We do our safaris in open game viewers so that guests have an all round view of the birds, trees, wildlife and beauty of the Park.

Midway through the drive there is a tea/cold drink stop so guests can stretch their legs before carrying on, looking for new sightings, or following alarm calls to a predator or a kill.

Morning game drives usually return to camp at around 1000 depending on the season.

We leave camp at 3.30pm for our afternoon safaris, after tea in the courtyard. The safaris head out again after the heat of the day, when animals and birds start to get active again after the midday stupor! Your safari guide will aim to stop at a scenic spot just before sundown, so you can enjoy an infamous African Sundowner! Once the sun has set, you will continue on with a spotlight, operated by your spotter, who looks for interesting nocturnal creatures that you are unlikely to see during daylight hours. There is a chance to see nocturnal birds like night-jars, owls and bathawks as well as nocturnal mammals such as honeybadgers, civet, genet, porcupine, leopard and hyaena.

Afternoon drives return to camp at around 7.30pm depending on what you are seeing but the National Park's gate closes at 8pm.

Credit: Dana Allan

Credit: Paul Tiller

Credit: Paul Tiller

Credit: Paul Tiller

Credit: Paul Tiller

Credit: Paul Tiller

Sundowner Credit: Stevie Mann

Family game drive Credit: Rubin family

Game drive Credit: Valentin Lavis

Game drive elephant crossing Credit: Stevie Mann

Game drive with leopard Credit: Valentin Lavis

Kennedy explaining bones Credit: Valentin Lavis

Tea & Coffee break on morning drive Credit: Stevie Mann

Morning game drive Credit: Stevie Mann

The South Luangwa is renowned as the "home of walking safaris", this is where Norman Carr first offered the idea of visitors exploring the Park on foot rather than by vehicle, escaping the noise of the engine and experiencing the thrill and excitement of being at one with the wildlife and habitat at a slower pace. Our safari guides will explain the smaller details of the bush which you can see, hear and smell when on foot, from bird calls to alarm calls to trees and plants which have medicinal uses and tracks of the wild, so you can interpret what you are seeing and hearing with more clarity. Walking is usually enjoyed in the mornings when the temperatures are cooler, but can be enjoyed through the year for longer periods during cooler months. Each walk is usually 3-4 hours long at a gentle pace.

Walking with bull Credit: Dana Allen

Walking safari with giraffe Credit: Dana Allen

Walking safari with elephant Credit: Dana Allen

Unlike many "Traditional Village" projects, Chundu Village is really a living working African village where the local residents have agreed amongst themselves to invite visitors to show them their lives. They then use the money raised by visitors & donations to help the disadvantaged and for their co-operative farming programmes. During the visit, guests can see and help villagers preparing maize for meals, collecting water and visiting their nearby school if lessons are not in progress. The day trip including a local style lunch costs $40 per person. Transfers to the village cost US$75 per vehicle for day trips. Overnight stays at Chundu village are also possible, for a more in-depth experience, meeting the villagers and spending the night in a traditional local hut. Overnight stays cost $80 per person per night including all meals (entirely authentic local dishes – you eat what the villagers eat). Transfers for an overnight stay cost $75 per vehicle each way. If the village visit is chosen to be done instead of either a morning or an afternoon game drive, then there is no extra charge for the transfers for groups or four or more.

A trypical Chundu visit Credit: Kerry McFarlane

Can you do this? Credit: Kerry McFarlane

Traditional huts Credit: Kerry McFarlane

One of the guest huts at Chundu village Credit: Kerry McFarlane

Kids in the village Credit: Kerry McFarlane

Ladies at the well Credit: Kerry McFarlane

A planting we go! Credit: Kerry McFarlane

A microlight flight over the Victoria Falls is a must for everyone. Flight options include a 15 minute

introductory flight over the Victoria Falls and Zambezi River - with genuine bird’s eye view of this

awesome spectacle. The 30 minute trip includes a flight over the Victoria Falls, then upstream over

Long Island, Palm Island, Kakunka and Kandahar Islands and finally onto the Mosi-oa-Tunya National

Park, where you’ll achieve a unique perspective of our famous park.

The most awesome perspective to see the Victoria Falls from the bottom of the gorge. Swimming in the rock pools below the Falls, surrounded by the massive black basaltic rock towering up above you and the water cascading down, seemingly out of the sky, is certainly one of the most breathtaking experiences you will ever have. This activity is a perfect combination with white water rafting: swim under the Victoria Falls before you hop in the raft and experience the thrill of ‘rafting at its best’.

The Zambezi River below the Victoria Falls is widely considered to be the very best rafting river in the world. A deep channelled, high volume river, the Zambezi has class 3-5 rapids interspersed with tranquil pools. This enables you to marvel at the magnificent beauty of the Batoka Gorge between some of the most exciting and challenging rapids rafted anywhere on the planet. Highly

professional guides ensure your safety and enjoyment of this amazing adventure.

The ultimate safari experience is a day-trip to Chobe National Park in Botswana, which boasts the world’s largest elephant population. The game cruise on the Chobe River brings you close to brilliant bird life, pods of watering hippos, primeval crocodiles and elephants, breathtaking in their sheer number. The afternoon’s land-based safari heads deeper into the Park to spot the elusive big cats that make Chobe their home.

A daring highlight of visiting Zambia is swimming in Devil’s Pool. This uniquely located plunge pool resides right on the edge of Victoria Falls, where the waterfall’s thundering cascade plummets 350-feet down, providing a pulse-racing dip. The pool is also special in that it can only be visited between mid-August and mid-January, before the summer rains swell the Zambezi River. Afterwards, the pool remains hidden under the river’s pounding flow.

The Zambezi - river of dreams and romance, evoking images of the

great era of adventure and exploration. Wild and captivating, the Zambezi beats to a rhythm and a time that is fast disappearing. The clear waters of the river and the game reserves that surround

it, attract herds of elephant, buffalo, several species of antelope,

giraffe, zebra, lion and leopard. You will negotiate small but exciting rapids, canoe through narrow channels and drift down open stretches. No previous canoeing experience necessary.

The African Queen and the African Princess are berthed just upstream of The Victoria Falls. Fully inclusive morning, lunch and sunset cruises are offered daily, treating passengers to sophisticated

views of the Zambezi River and the surrounding game reserves.

The Royal Livingstone Express ‘time travels’ back in history using beautiful steam locomotives and carriages lovingly restored by Bushtracks Africa and Rovos Rail. In this magnificent, romantic, steam-powered train we offer ‘The Dinner Excursion’ which includes a run along the “Cape to Cairo” mainline, which will then go on to the Victoria Falls Bridge in time for sunset. Don’t miss this unique chance of experiencing the sights and sounds of Zambia

Enjoy a once in a lifetime helicopter ride and watch from above as the mighty Zambezi River carves its way through the steep cliffs of the Batoka Gorge and transforms from a gentle and serene river into the rampant Victoria Falls that descend 120metres to the floor of the valley.