At the start of June, I had my first Fam Trip of 2024 and visited Lower Zambezi National Park for 4 nights. African Bush Camps invited me to stay at Lolebezi on a 2 night stay to experience their new Villa and I combined this with 2 nights at Classic Zambia at the start.
My first stop was a night at Chula Camp. I really loved the camp, the aesthetics, simplicity and a different experience in terms of accommodation setup. I enjoyed the logistics getting into camp which included crossing over the Discovery channel which has such a beautiful scenery. My activity that first afternoon was a peaceful boat cruise on the Zambezi with a few usual suspects sightings such as elephants, crocodiles, hippos and birds.
The next morning we went on a morning game drive where we saw a mating pair of lions (and a third wheel male lion waiting his turn). After the game drive I checked out of Chula and was transferred to Kutali Camp. This took approximately 45 minutes and I arrived just in time for a beautiful spread of brunch.
Kutali Camp is located in a really beautiful shaded area surrounded by winterthorn trees which is very welcome in the heat of the day. Even though I visited in June, it was unusually hot and I was in need a shady spot to rest and have a siesta. That afternoon we went on game drive but did not see much - just a few elephants with tiny babies just playing around. We had a lovely sundowner and then headed back to camp.
The following morning I had a morning game drive and we saw a very relaxed leopard (I love all animals but leopards are my favourite), we stayed watching it for a while then decided to cover more ground as far as or as close to the escarpment as we could get. Enroute we saw a lot of different landscape and changes in terrain and habitat which I enjoyed and then for the first time saw the historical Kenneth Kaunda site. I love history so this was a highlight for me and nice to learn something different and not just about wildlife. We stopped for a tea break and headed back to camp for my checkout and I then proceeded to Lolebezi Camp.
I must say, I was looking forward to some luxury after staying at classic authentic camps, and Lolebezi did not disappoint. When we arrived at the Lolebezi Camp harbour we were met by the singing team who welcomed us and gave us a hand massage before orientation. Upon checking into our room, I walked into a beautiful spread and set up for my birthday with bubbles, chocolate and a beautiful note. It was very special.
Tendai and myself stayed at Lolebezi when they they opened, so this was my second visit and I was still amazed by the attention to detail throughout the camp and the consistency in how they did things must not go unmentioned. Everything is thought of, from sun screen lotions, binoculars and well thought out amenities in the room.
We headed out for a beautiful lunch Food Safari which was beautifully done. In the afternoon, as if they did not feed us enough we had another beautiful spread for High Tea before heading out for an afternoon game drive. The drive started off very quiet until we heard baboons alarming and decided to rush and see what was really going on. At first we did not see anything but our Guide was not backing down and we stayed in the area and stopped for a sundowner which did not last long because we had to go back to the area where the baboons were going manic and low and behold we saw the leopard causing the whole drama. We stayed with the leopard for a while was in its hunting mode. Whilst this was happening, we heard another leopard calling and the guide told us this was a mating pair they had seen around but male leopard completely ignored the lady and was laser focused on the impalas who were so oblivious to what was going on. It got really dark and we decided to leave him to hunt for the night. The next morning we heard he had a successful kill but we did not see it.
The next morning we went the opposite direction because there was a rumour that someone spotted hunting wild dogs near the Jeki Airstrip. Sadly we were too late to spot them but saw the mating lions with the third wheel brother still trying his luck. On arrival back in camp we had a delicious lunch yet again and would HIGHLY recommend the "Build your own pizza" if you ever stay at Lolebezi - I went crazy on the toppings! That afternoon we went on a boat cruise with a beautiful sunset and later that evening back in camp we had a nice bona dinner then retired to bed.
The day we checked out we had a very relaxing morning and lay in before our flight back to Lusaka and reality.
And that is all for my first Fam trip of 2024!
Sorry, we can’t seem to find any matches.
