Michele - Zambia & Botswana Safari

Opened in 2015, Amanzi lies on the banks of the Ngwenya Channel, looking across to the main Zambezi River in Zambia’s Lower Zambezi National Park. As the easternmost camp in the park, it feels very remote, set in a quiet area between mopane forest and a winterthorn grove. The camp is small and luxurious, yet with a rustic feel, and offers a range of activities.

The smaller sister camp of Anabezi, Amanzi is for the most part set on a low ridge above the Ntwenya Channel, looking out to the main river and several of its islands.

With just four tented rooms, it’s a peaceful and intimate camp. The tents are spacious, their canvas roofs topping substantial structures of wood and canvas, with reed walls at the back and huge gauze windows in front. Each is raised on a wooden deck along the ridge, with views across the river.

Inside, the tents are furnished with either a king-size bed or two doubles, all within a large walk-in mosquito net. Mattresses are comfortable and extra blankets are provided for the cooler winter months. Dark wood complements the cream furnishings, and African textiles add a dash of earthen colour to the room.

At the furthest end of the tent is a large indoor bathroom, in cool cream concrete, with similar dark wood and cream furnishing elements. Separate shower and toilet cubicles are set behind a sink and vanity unit, with a variety of toiletries supplied. Wooden units house hanging and shelving space, kitted out with dressing gowns and slippers, and a small safe.

To the other end of the tent is a sitting area with comfortable armchairs, which overlook the surrounding countryside through the mesh sides of the tent. You’ll also find a minibar, a tea and coffee station plus kettle, and a desk with a multi-socket (UK and US) charging point. An outside deck has sturdy rattan chairs and a small table, we particularly liked the cushioned hammock chairs that face the river.

Two of the tented rooms are set up individually, while the other two are connected at the back by a short walkway. Once the connecting doors are unlocked, these two tents can form a two-bedroom unit for families or small groups.

The tents are connected to the main area by a raised walkway which is lit at night, offering a bit more security to walk around (though you will be escorted to and from your tent at night by a member of staff).

The open-sided main area, incorporating a bar, dining area, and large deck, also overlooks the river. Along with rustic furniture and comfortable sofas, there is a tea and coffee station, complete with coffee machine and a jar of home-made rusks.

Steps from the main area lead down to river level, where you’ll find Amanzi’s infinity pool, along with an area of lawn (with relevant warnings about the resident hippos and crocodiles!) and a firepit with surrounding chairs.

The range of safari activities at Amanzi includes walking safaris, boat trips, fishing, canoeing and birding. Day and night drives are offered, too, and Amanzi does its best to have no more than four guests in one vehicle. There is also the opportunity to do a day trip through the Mpata Gorge. Viewing in the area is very productive, especially later into the dry season.

Amanzi is a stylish, yet rustic, comfortable camp in a game-rich area of the park. For those wanting a more intimate camp with great food, service and guiding, yet in a remote location, Amanzi is an excellent choice.

Rates include safari activities, meals, drinks, laundry and airstrip transfers.

Home to the Coppinger family, Tafika is a small and outwardly rustic camp on the banks of the Luangwa River. Its location, on the northern side of the beautiful Nsefu Sector within in Zambia's South Luangwa National Park, makes Tafika – along with its two satellite bushcamps on the other side of the river – the most northerly of South Luangwa's safari camps. This allows most activities to be carried out in quiet areas of the park, where you’ll invariably have wildlife sightings to yourself

The camp has gradually evolved and been refined over time but it's heart and character has never really changed. And that is exactly why we love it!

Tafika has six chalets made to a high standard from locally sourced poles, reed and thatch. These include four doubles or twins, a honeymoon suite and a larger chalet sleeping up to four guests.

• The four double/twin chalets are almost identical in layout, each with two very comfortable queen-size beds made up with quality cotton bedding and colourful local textiles under their own large walk-in mosquito nets. As with everything else here, the rooms are spacious and comfortable, but not ostentatious – and very much in keeping with the feel of the bush. The floors are polished stone, scattered with locally made reed mats; there’s simple, polished wooden furniture and large decorative clay pots. The room is lit by efficient, solar-powered lights and boats a solar-powered fan for the warmer months, as well as a bank of USB port chargers for phones (there’s a solar camera charging station (220V) in the main area too).
  
  A small veranda to the front of each chalet has a couple of chairs overlooking the Luangwa River. And a door at the back of the chalet leads to a private and enclosed bathroom that's completely open to the sky. Here, there's a large shower, with piping hot water at the turn of a tap, twin washbasins and, inside a small thatch-roofed hut – a very normal flushing toilet!
• Tafika's honeymoon suite is very similar to the other chalets, but has a double his-and-hers shower and a king-size bed, plus a desk and some extra comfy chairs.
• Tafika's sixth chalet, which we often call the family chalet is very different. Its reed-and-thatch construction is the same as the other chalets, but it’s super-sized, with two large, adjacent bedrooms, separated by a central hallway, and a shared bathroom area: albeit with two separate toilet areas and two outdoor showers. It’s ideal for a family or two couples travelling together, and comfortable to share some communal areas. Each bedroom has a large, walk-in mosquito net covering either a king-size bed or two doubles, simple furnishings and lovely linens. The thatch is high and the rooms are comfortable, shady retreats. The back of the chalet opens out to the open-sir bathroom, with a shared double sink area and two, mirror-image toilet and shower areas, one of the latter being cleverly built around the trunk of a massive Kigelia africana or sausage tree, to give a little more privacy.

Tafika's main area is a large open-sided structure with a high, thatched roof that incorporates a comfortable lounge area, a small but well-stocked bar (which is always open and with a smiling staff member to assist you) and a dining area. Meals, eaten together at social circular tables, are deliciously fresh and imaginative, with produce grown in Tafika’s superb fruit and vegetable garden – itself worth a visit! It’s a terrific opportunity to chat about wildlife sightings and hear tales from the bush from the knowledgeable team. When they're in camp, which is usually all season, John and Carol Coppinger, or their daughter Jennifer and her husband Nick, as well as long-standing members of the team and guides, will join everyone for lunch – and occasionally also for dinner.

The standard of cuisine is consistently impressive, served politely and without fuss. If you’re interested, one of the staff will be more than happy to take you on a 'back-of-house' tour where you'll see that, despite being largely open, the kitchen is a hive of professional activity. It’s well worth having a look.

Tafika's plentiful fruit and vegetable garden, which is an extensive area surrounded by an electric fence, primarily to keep the elephants out, is a delight. A labour of love to plant and maintain, it's a major undertaking, professionally run, and ensuring that much of the camp’s produce is home-grown and exceedingly fresh. From papayas to aubergines and fragrant herbs, much of what you’ll eat here was picked the morning it’s eaten.

And much though it’s idyllic in camp, and good company is always on hand, there’s a great array of activities on offer to explore the park. Guests may choose what they'd like to do daily and it would be very unusual for the team not to be able to arrange your request.

As with many camps in the South Luangwa, activities focus on game drives (day and night) and walking safaris. The drives are generally conducted in purpose-built, open-sided and open-topped 4WD vehicles, which have just two rows of comfortable bench seats. There are no more than four guests per vehicle, a real feature of the activities at Tafika.  The guides have always been exceptional, on occasion getting you as close as safely possible to some of the herds of buffalo, and always pointing out a plethora of insects, plants and spoor along the way.

Custom-built hides near to the camp provide ideal opportunities to view and photograph animals at the waterhole and, in season, the nesting carmine bee-eaters (September – October). 

You can also head out on a mountain-bike safari with John, a passionate cyclist who often leads these trips. It’s a great opportunity to get active. Starting with a gentle afternoon ride through the game management area and village of Mkasanga, home to most of the staff, where Tafika has helped support education and healthcare. You'll be guaranteed a warm welcome before cycling on into the park and meeting up with a 4WD safari in time for drinks at sunset and a night drive back to camp. There are no other Luangwa camps offering this activity and it’s a great 1.5hr ride.

It's also possible to have a proper visit to Mkasanga, where you are invited to visit the school, wander around the village and enjoy the church choir. Although they don't boast about it, Tafika is very much in touch with its local community, supporting its development through the Tafika Fund and providing considerable training and employment to the people who live there.

What distinguishes Tafika further is that it's virtually the same team of guides every year, including John Coppinger, Bryan Jackson and Isaac Zulu and Alex Phiri. The least experienced of these has been guiding for more than 20 years – guaranteeing the exceedingly high level of knowledge and experience that draws many travellers back to Tafika on a regular basis.

A stay at Tafika combines very naturally into a longer trip including its sister walking camps, Big Lagoon Camp and Chikoko Tree Camp, both of which are situated across the Luangwa River, in a section of the national park set aside exclusively for walking safaris.

If you want to venture further, then Tafika and its bushcamps combine well into a ten-night (or longer!), fly-in trip that includes their more distant sister camps, Mwaleshi Bushcamp and Takwela Camp located in the remote North Luangwa National Park, famed for its burgeoning rhino population.

Rates are fully inclusive of safari activities, meals and drinks, laundry and airstrip transfers.

Set in a seriously remote part of Zambia’s North Luangwa National Park, the seasonal Mwaleshi Camp stands beside the crystal-clear Mwaleshi River, 10km from its confluence with the Luangwa. It’s a small, rustic and unpretentious walking camp in a remote and peaceful wilderness area.

Mwaleshi Camp opens only in the dry season, between June and October, and is constructed afresh each year from reed and thatch. Facing the river are just four light and airy chalets, with “windows" to the front (expect open spaces rather than glass!), and open eaves too, letting a cool breeze through.

The chalets are furnished simply, but very comfortably. Canvas directors' chairs sit by the windows – and one of the chalets boasts a hammock under the trees. Twin or double beds with stone headboards and walk-in mosquito nets face the window too, and on the bedside tables are mosquito spray and a flask of drinking water. A solar light hangs next to each bed, with a small solar lamp to take with you to dinner as a torch if necessary. There’s hanging space (with a couple of kikois for you to use during your stay) and two large shelves cater for even the sturdiest luggage.

The en-suite bathrooms are largely open air, albeit mostly shaded by trees, their soft sand floors covered with rattan mats. A separate flush toilet is the only part of the bathroom to have a “roof'” Each morning, a jug of hot water is passed through a “hatch” behind the basin, while hot water for the shower is supplied on request.

Set up on the riverbank, Mwaleshi's main area is understated: a thatched open-sided “chitenje” that overlooks the river. Pull up a bar stool to the polished wooden bar, relax with a wildlife book or magazine in a comfortable armchair or sofa covered in local fabrics, or perhaps in one of the directors’ chairs outside.

Steps cut into the riverbank lead to a firepit right by the river’s edge, where two well-placed sunloungers under a thatched shelter are lapped by the shallow water. The river is usually shallow enough (often just a few inches deep!) to be a safe and very refreshing place to cool off. But lions roaring close by leave no doubt that this really is the wild African bush.

Mwaleshi focuses solely on walking safaris; the camp doesn't offer game drives, although a vehicle is often used to drive guests to more remote walking areas. Walks from the camp normally last about three–four hours, and are fairly relaxed – so only a modest level of fitness is required.
The aim is to track and see some of the area's great wildlife, not to provide an endurance test or route march. There's usually a stop for refreshments, such as mid-morning tea, cake and, refreshingly, fresh fruit. The terrain in North Luangwa National Park is fairly flat but is occasionally uneven underfoot – so do bring sturdy shoes. A hat should be key on your packing list, as it can get extremely hot in the park, especially in the later months of the season.

The wildlife around Mwaleshi is abundant, with a particularly good population of lion and buffalo – as well as large herds of the endemic Cookson's wildebeest, which are rare in the more oft-visited South Luangwa National Park.

Mwaleshi is run by the team of top-notch guides from Remote Africa Safaris’ led by John Coppinger, they are some of the most experienced walking guides in Africa. Typically, one of the guides comes to the North Luangwa with a small team of staff to build the camp in mid-May, and then stays for much of the season – occasionally swapping with one of Tafika's permanent guides. All walks are also accompanied by an armed scout, whose presence came into its own when we chanced upon an injured hippo that was resting in a thicket. The situation was swiftly dealt with by him and our guide, who turned the group around efficiently and safely out of potential harm’s way.

Mwaleshi lies near the area where black rhino have been re-introduced during the past few years. The project is protected by a certain amount of secrecy, to aid anti-poaching efforts, but the camp estimates that there is now a healthy population of rhino in the park. That said, don’t come here expecting to see them, you have a roughly 10% chance of that happening. The interest here is the conservation story behind the relocation, and the incredible efforts by the team involved to reintroduce these endangered animals into the park.

Takwela is Mwaleshi's sister camp in the North Luangwa and offers both walks as well as game drives, so if you don't want to focus as much on walks this is a great option.

Mwaleshi combines very naturally into a longer Zambia trip by including its sister camps in the South Luangwa National Park: Big Lagoon Camp, Chikoko Tree Camp and the base for the group, Tafika. Big Lagoon Camp and Chikoko Tree Camp are small walking camps, very much like Mwaleshi, whereas Tafika also offers 4WD safaris and night drives. Keen walkers will often arrange for a week in South Luangwa, walking between the three camps there, followed by three–five nights at Mwaleshi to experience the “North Park”.

Rates are fully inclusive of safari activities, meals and drinks, laundry and airstrip transfers.

Waterberry’s scenic position on the banks of the Zambezi, with excellent accommodation and outstanding service, makes it the perfect base for a visit to Victoria Falls while escaping the busy town.

Guests can choose between three different accommodation options – bright, individual rooms in the 7-room lodge, a private safari house or a luxury tented woodland site.

Waterberry Lodge on the Zambezi riverbank has spacious sun and dining terraces, a lounge to enjoy the panoramic views, and magnificent gardens with individual cottages dotted around the lawns and along the river. An inviting swimming pool is surrounded by rockery gardens.

The River Farmhouse is a private riverside safari house sleeping up to 10, with magnificent views across the infinity pool to the Zambezi and the national park opposite.

The Woodlands Forest Tents set in the shady woods of the conservation area are perfect for birdwatching and relaxing in the peaceful wild.

An international Zambian, German and British team run this independently owned lodge and Waterberry is a proud community partner. Guests are able to witness rural Zambian life first hand, and see how tourism is genuinely giving back with schools, a farming cooperative and adult skills centre.

Enjoy a classic Botswana safari at Mma Dinare Camp. Operated in collaboration with the Sankuyo Community Trust in the Dinare Private Reserve (allowing off-road and nighttime game drives), this traditional safari stay has a positive impact.

Keep your camera handy! Mma Dinare (meaning ‘Mother Buffalo’ in Setswana) is designed to embrace the natural surroundings. Thatched and open, the central area is a great place to relax and watch the wildlife drawn to the Gomoti River. There are nine canvas tents and one family tent, each with an elevated deck, en suite bathrooms and outdoor showers. The main area comprises a bar, swimming pool and safari shop. The dining and lounge area is raised on stilts and decked, with an attractive fire pit area adjoining it.

Seasonal mokoro rides thread through the Okavango Delta waters. The Sankuyo community directly benefits from every visit. Over 60 employees at the Dinare camps are from the Sankuyo village, and further proceeds support local development. Citizens of Sankuyo fund crucial projects via this trust, such as installing household water connections that minimise human contact with dangerous animals and a high-tech, eco-friendly solar system.

Situated on the banks of the Thamalakane River in Maun, The Maun Studios are set under a riverine tree canopy in a secure, private garden teeming with birdlife. Inspired by the surrounding landscape and garden, the suites are designed to ensure a unique, comfortable, and tranquil experience. Accommodation consists of two bespoke studios, the king-sized River Studio and the twin-sized Garden Studio, both of which are charming in design and equipped with Wi-Fi, air-conditioning and a self-catering kitchenette. During their stay, guests can enjoy a delicious breakfast each morning before embarking on scenic outdoor adventures.