Accommodation - 8-Day Zambia Highlights Safari - Standard

Flatdogs Camp | South Luangwa National Park

Jackalberry Treehouse living and dining room

Classic safari tent on waterhole position

On the border of the South Luangwa National Park. You're as close to the Mfuwe entrance gate as possible and that much closer to discovering 9,050 sq km of pure, wild African bush. Did we mention it's wild?

A flat dog is known as any large reptile of family crocodile. For its location, the name Flatdogs Camp seems apt since it’s perched right there on the banks of the Luangwa River, literally teeming with thousands of these gnarly snouted fellows. Your new neighbours. Well that is, the crocodiles, hippos, the 200 mammal species and 450 bird species found in this area. It’s a wildlife festival. Great news since that's what you came here for.

Offering four different types of accommodation, Flatdogs Camp is ideal for any traveller with a heart for that prolific wildlife encounter. From spacious chalets and safari tents to a unique treehouse getaway or the private tented house for ultimate exclusivity. No matter your preference of room type, the wildlife experience - one in the same.

The dining experience too. The Restaurant is flexible with no set meals or given meal times. It’s up to you. No matter when or where you dine, under the thatched lapa, in the courtyard or garden - all with a view onto the river, the meals are simple but done well.

Lounge around reading a book. Cool off in the pool. Head out on another exciting game drive or walking safari.

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Your Stay

3 Nights

Fully Inclusive - Bed, All Meals, Fees and Activities

Fast Facts

4 Star

Lodge

Spoken Languages: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish

No. Rooms: 20

Special Interests: Adventure, Big 5, Birding, Flora, Gourmet, Hiking, History & Culture, Indigenous Culture / Art, Nature, Relaxation, Star Gazing, Wildlife

CROCODILE (CROC'S) NEST – 1 tented house with 2 bedrooms

The Croc Nest has been set on a deck looking onto the banks of the Luangwa River, so has lovely river views. This huge tented structure has been split into two en-suite tented bedrooms at either end of the house, both with either one king or two twin beds, with space for a third bed inside each bedroom if required. The two bedrooms both have semi-open air bathrooms with hot showers, flush toilets and basin. The bedrooms both lead into the living room/dining area in the middle of the house, which has sofas, soft chairs and a dining table as guests in the tented house will be welcome to eat privately at the house if they prefer. If a group or family of six wish to take the house then the extra beds can also be set up in this large living area rather than in each bedroom, depending on their preference. The living room and both bedrooms open onto an outside deck and sitting area, with views onto the Luangwa River. There is a private swimming pool built into the deck too, just for the house guests, which also looks onto the river. The house is on mains electricity so easy for charging camera batteries and other items as well as having electric fans and a fridge for cold drinks. Guests staying in the tented house will also have a private guide and their own safari vehicle so they can plan their activities depending on their particular interests.

JACKALBERRY TREEHOUSE - Open fronted treehouse with 2 bedrooms

Set in a private spot away from the rest of camp, the Jackalberry Tree House is a special treat indeed. The “house” is made up by three joined platforms built around three mature Mchenja trees (African Ebony or Jackalberry tree). There are two en-suite bedrooms with an open sitting/dining deck in-between them.

The bedroom platforms have romantic and rustic four poster beds (one queen and one king which can be split into two twin beds), open front walls and uninterrupted views of Africa. Each bedroom has an open air bathroom platform with hot shower, flush toilets and basin. A large sofa, armchairs and throw cushions are spread out on the middle deck for relaxing during the heat of the day and watching the game which wanders past the house, oblivious to your presence. There is also a dining table and chairs should guests prefer to dine at the house. A fridge and bar are provided in the Treehouse as well as tea and coffee-making facilities. A hand-held radio is provided, so that guests can call for a vehicle to bring them to the restaurant or bar, or in case there is a problem of any kind. Their safari guide will otherwise plan with them when they would like collecting from the house and their preferred activities.

The Tree-house is on mains electricity and has UK style 3-pin rectangular plug sockets for re-charging cameras or laptops. Giraffe, bushbuck, puku and elephant are commonly found all around the Treehouse and it is wonderful to wake to the sounds of elephant feeding below you or having a mud bath from the waterhole in front of the house.

The six regular chalet rooms are found in three separate buildings. Each chalet building has a downstairs double room with ensuite bathroom and an upstairs twin or triple room with their own private bathroom just downstairs. There are four main chalet buildings, each of which has two separate guest bedrooms; the downstairs room is a double room with ensuite and a verandah, the upstairs room is a twin or triple room with bathroom and verandah downstairs from the bedroom but entirely private. In between the 2 bedrooms is the small "kitchenette" where there is a fridge, kettle and tea/coffee making things. This works as an inter-connecting door for families so that kids can walk through to their parents room without having to go outside.

Furthest from the main area, is the larger family chalet which has three bedrooms in total but just two ensuite bathrooms - the two downstairs bedrooms are both ensuite - one room has a king bed and a single bed, the other has a king and a single or three single beds. There is also a kitchen area between the two bedrooms. There is a spiral staircase from the kitchen leading up to the "loft room", sitting area and upstairs viewing deck. The viewing deck looks out towards the Luangwa river, the perfect place to relax and watch the sun set... The loft room has two more single beds but has no ensuite bathroom, guests sleeping here need to share the bathrooms downstairs. Outside this chalet is also an open sala sitting area with sofa and chairs.

There are seven Luxury ensuite safari tents, six of which are pitched permanently on the banks of the Luangwa. These made-to-order tents have a thatched roof for extra shade, ensuite facilities (hot shower, flush toilet and basin) with a canvas half roof over the bathroom, full-sized beds with sprung mattresses, large mosquito nets and all bedding and towels provided. The tents have electric lights, a fan and charging points for camera batteries. There is also a room safe and tea & coffee making facilities. Six of the luxury tents including the family tent look straight out onto the river, one tent (tent 11, the honeymoon tent) has plenty of privacy and looks out onto a pretty lagoon, which attracts plenty of birdlife as well as elephant for their daily mud baths and giraffe and bushbuck when they are thirsty.

The Family Tent (a luxury tent) is a little different to the others, this is a specially designed tent which has space for a double bed and two single beds, both with large mosquito nets and with a large bathroom at the back of the tent, shared between the family. The family tent is now to be found on the river bank, closer to the main area than it was, with lovely views of the river.

The bedroom platforms have romantic and rustic four poster beds (one queen and one king which can be split into two twin beds), open front walls and uninterrupted views of Africa. Each bedroom has an open air bathroom platform down a short flight of steps with hot shower, flush toilets and basin. A large sofa, armchairs and throw cushions are spread out on the middle deck for relaxing during the heat of the day and watching the game which wanders past the house, oblivious to your presence. There is also a dining table should guests prefer to dine at the house. A fridge and bar are provided in the treehouse as well as tea and coffee-making facilities. A hand-held radio is provided, so that guests can call for a vehicle to bring them to the pool, restaurant or bar, or in case there is a problem of any kind. Their safari guide will otherwise plan with them when they would like collecting from the house and their preferred activities.

The tree-house is on mains electricity, ideal for re-charging cameras or laptops. Giraffe, bushbuck, puku and elephant are commonly found all around the Treehouse and it is wonderful to wake to the sounds of elephant feeding below you or having a mud bath from the waterhole in front of the house.

FLATDOGS CROCOCDILE (CROC) NEST – 1 tented house with 2 bedrooms

Unlike most of these "Traditional Village" projects, Kawaza Village is really a living working African village where the local residents have agreed amongst themselves to invite visitors into their lives with no tourism hype at all. They then use the money raised by visitors & donations to pay for orphans’ education, teachers’ salaries at the school and other village projects. The project has won the Silver Otter Award as the best rural tourism project worldwide, deservedly so. During the visit, for example, guests can see and help villagers preparing maize for meals, drying sorghum, making “hooch”, hoeing the fields, building houses and also visit their local herbalist/medicine lady as well as the Kawaza school, meeting the teachers and pupils. The day trip including a local style lunch costs $40 per person. Transfers to the village cost US$130 per vehicle for day trips. Overnight stays at Kawaza 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 $115 per vehicle each way. It is also possible to organize a taxi to the village in the dry season. If the village visit is chosen to be done instead of either a morning or an afternoon game drive, then there is no charge for the transfers for groups or four or more.

Flatdogs a la carte restaurant

Guests at Flatdogs camp are treated to an a la carte menu for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Jess & Ade love their food and source the best local ingredients to make delicious fresh & seasonal dishes with the 10 Flatdogs chefs. From free range eggs & organic chickens to dry aged beef and locally grown vegetables, they use the best of what's available in the Province for the daily specials board. There are full vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free menus available as well.

Chongwe Camp | Lower Zambezi

In the Lower Zambezi National Park, for reasons of survival, things need to blend in to the landscape. Chongwe River Camp is no exception.

If Chongwe tried to outdo its dramatic setting between the Zambezi and Chongwe Rivers, it would have been a short-lived contest. Towered over by a thicket of acacias, lithe trunks dancing upwards to the their picturesque umbrella-shaped canopies, Chongwe River Camp is understated safari elegance on the shores of an African river giant.

The suites, just eight of them, are built from local hardwood with tented sides, glass fronts and thatched roofs. The en suite bathrooms look out to the bush and up to the sky and your private veranda looks out over the river confluence.

Dining is a fairly expansive occasion with fresh ingredients, fine wine and a sensational setting joining forces for a wickedly romantic evening. A little way off, in a private nook, the Chongwe Albida Suite is an African villa with the luxury and seclusion of an A-lister's me-my-friends-and-I play pad.

The Lower Zambezi National Park is big game country. Barricaded in by the heavily wooded Zambezi escarpment and fed by a vast drainage basin, life in the Zambezi Valley tends to appear larger than elsewhere. Elephant, lion, buffalo, giraffe, hippo, kudu, zebra, waterbuck, impala... even the elusive and enchanting sable and roan antelopes dwell in this land of giants.

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