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Zambia/Malawi safari vendor recommendations?

Zambia/Malawi safari vendor recommendations?

Old Nov 20, 2013, 9:50 am
  #1  
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Zambia/Malawi safari vendor recommendations?

My fiance and I are really starting to learn toward Zambia and Malawi for our honeymoon during either June, July or August of 2014. I like the idea because I have already been to SA, Zim, Kenya and Tanzania when I was much younger and haven't been to Zam or Malawi. Also, based on the research I've done it looks like you can see many of the same animals in Zam and Malawi as the other countries I've visited, and they appear to have a "rustic Africa" quality with less people which we really like.

In addition, it looks as though the price of the safari is typically a little bit cheaper than South Africa and Botswana and potentially a bit safer than Zimbabwe.

I've looked at a few vendors thus far, including Robin Pope who seems to run a great safari (that company was recommended to me by someone else who had used them previously), however, I've also found other vendors which seem to be less expensive.

Does anyone here have any recommendations for vendors in these areas? Or can anyone give me some insight on "must do's" or "overrateds"? It seems that South Luangwa is very popular as is Majete and then ultimately Lake Malawi for some relaxation (although we're also thinking that if it isn't that difficult to do, we might consider just flying out to Zanzibar instead of Lake Malawi).

I'm interested in booking something relatively soon as my frequent flyer miles may be compromised relatively soon with an airline merger. Any thoughts/ideas/tips would be greatly appreciated. I'm very open minded about it.
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Old Nov 21, 2013, 2:59 pm
  #2  
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Just to add to my original post; it's kind of crazy how much of a discrepancy I've seen in pricing.

I've seen several itineraries which appear to be extremely similar but differ in price quite dramatically. I'm seeing 10 day safaris from $4k to $12k per person which really don't look any different to me.

I realize that some accommodations might be a bit more money and some itineraries might have one extra destination, but still; the lower priced ones I'm looking at seem to have very upscale accommodations and a lot of activities.
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Old Nov 21, 2013, 5:38 pm
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My husband and I went to Zambia this past April. We chose the South Luangwa, ultimately deciding on Flatdogs Camp in Mfuwe.

I can't recommend it highly enough....rarely a day goes by when we don't mention it in some way. I loved the country, loved the people, especially loved that it seemed so remote. Incredible animal sightings including elephants foraging around your tent during the day, hippos grazing at night. Gorgeous scenery, and the stars are not to be believed.

Jess (the proprietress) became my new BFF, we adored her. Everyone here is lovely, and we can't wait to go back. And, their rates are absolutely affordable. Oh.....and stay in one of the luxury tents. You won't be disappointed!
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Old Nov 22, 2013, 8:01 am
  #4  
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Originally Posted by wcrhkd
My husband and I went to Zambia this past April. We chose the South Luangwa, ultimately deciding on Flatdogs Camp in Mfuwe.

I can't recommend it highly enough....rarely a day goes by when we don't mention it in some way. I loved the country, loved the people, especially loved that it seemed so remote. Incredible animal sightings including elephants foraging around your tent during the day, hippos grazing at night. Gorgeous scenery, and the stars are not to be believed.

Jess (the proprietress) became my new BFF, we adored her. Everyone here is lovely, and we can't wait to go back. And, their rates are absolutely affordable. Oh.....and stay in one of the luxury tents. You won't be disappointed!
Thanks very much and glad to hear about your new BFF. I'll look for them online (any links you can provide?). Was this the only camp you stayed at or were they any others?
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Old Nov 22, 2013, 9:51 am
  #5  
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wcrhkd,

I just took a look online and the camp looks great, prices look better than any place I've seen and the reviews are consistently very good. I think at this point I have a new contender.

One question for you and for anyone else watching this thread would be, how easy is it to do a few days with one company and a few days with another? The reason I ask is because while Flatdogs looks great, I don't know that I'd want to have my entire 10 or so days in the one camp. I think I'd want to at least go to Lower Zambezi National Park to check that out as well.

If I wanted to go through Flat dogs for say 3 or 4 nights, and then to another company for 6 or 7 nights, how would that work?
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Old Nov 22, 2013, 10:45 pm
  #6  
 
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I recommend Zambezi Tours for Zambia or Zimbabwe: http://www.zambezi.com/
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Old Nov 24, 2013, 2:32 pm
  #7  
 
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So sorry about the delay in responding.

We stayed at Flatdogs for 6 nights, and we would have easily spent another 6 if we'd have had the time. If you wanted to change camps, I don't see where there would be any difficulty, they're rather close (although you may see the vehicles, you really don't see the camps except for Mfuwe Lodge just inside the main gate. Incidentally, the Bushcamp Company (Mfuwe Lodge) is owned by Paul Allen, the Microsoft co-founder.

Back to our trip......we'd spent the two weeks prior to Zambia in as many different camps in South Africa. I certainly wasn't tired of safari-ing, but eventually, the pen does run out of ink, if you know what I mean. We flew from Mfuwe on Pro-Flight Zambia to Lusaka and on to Victoria Falls for the final 3 days of our vacation. On intention was to unwind and sleep before the long way home, but instead our days were filled with the Falls, a cruise down the Zambezi, the markets, and exploring the area. It was a great stop and the perfect ending to our month in Africa. We stayed at Bushbuck River House, a fabulous recommendation from my BFF, Jess at Flatdogs.

And by all means, check out "Pack for a Purpose". All you do is fill in the name of the lodge where you're staying and it will tell you specific needs in the area. It's terribly easy to throw a pack of pencils into your suitcase or whatever is needed and it's delivered. Also take a look at Project Luangwa, the local charity established by the lodges to benefit the community. Terrific organization.

If I can answer any other questions, ask away!
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Old Jun 23, 2014, 7:34 pm
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We just got back from Zambia this past weekend, and figured I might add to this for any future reference. We split the trip between South Luangwa and Lower Zambezi, and picked Zambia for some of the same reasons noted by other folks above, mainly it is less crowded, and seemed to provide more of an opportunity to "drive at your own pace" so to speak. We were not disappointed, and in fact, the trip exceeded expectations in every aspect.

In Luangwa we stayed at Lion Camp, which is about 90 minutes away from Flatdogs and into the park's inner area. Lion Camp has 10 tents/rooms, so on the smaller side, and typically has about 15 guests at a given time. The units are all built on a platform as the local elephant population tends to hit the watering hole and munch on the trees in the camp and an occasional hippo or two wanders through at night. The guided rides were split into 3 vehicles so we usually had 4 or 5 people in a vehicle and mostly had an area to ourselves unless we ran across the local lion pride or a leopard, in which case the guides would radio their colleagues so everyone got a chance to see the sights.

The staff at Lion Camp was absolutely amazing - guides are extremely professional, patient, and will work out routes based on what you have a preference for on a given day. The camp was renovated in 2010 and a new team was brought in at about the same time - each of the three guides has gone through a full certification program of 3 years, their English is outstanding, and the camp staff is great as well. The typical day is a quick breakfast followed by a 6 AM day ride (or combo ride / walk), back for lunch and a siesta, 3:30 Tea, and an afternoon / night ride between 4 - 7:30 or so depending on the local action. Dinner at 8 - you can see that the greatest risk here is gaining weight.

From Luangwa we headed to Sausage Tree on the Lower Zambezi. At this point I do want to note that this trip was a 25th anniversary celebration, so Sausage Tree was our splurge. The lodge is on the river, with only 6 units, (with very cool outdoor bathroom / showers with concrete floor and privacy walls but no roof at all) and every couple gets their own guide and vehicle. The daily schedule was not much different from Lion Tree, and you get an additional choice of a canoe guide on the river or a motorized boat guide, but the service includes room delivery for your morning coffee, a menu selection for dinner, and each guest gets lunch once during their stay in the river itself on a sandbar with the water about 12 - 18 inches high. Being on the river, getting to the lodge included a flight from Lusaka to Jeki, a ride to the river, and a boat transfer to the camp. As a side note, the Jeki airport includes a dirt runway and a guy with a piece of paper writing arrival names on a piece of paper. Sausage Tree has a sister lodge within a quarter mile, Potato Bush Camp, which is more of a typical lodge.

The guides here were good, but I would say that they were not as good as the team at Lion Camp in terms of knowledge and ability to spot game. To some degree that may be partially a result of the Zambezi area having a higher concentration of thicker brush, so there are more hiding spots.

In both spots you see more or less the same game (no rhinos in Zambia for those who are planning a trip, and no giraffes in Zambezi but plenty in Luangwa). Zambia is blessed with diversity of wildlife so you will see everything but there are no large quantities of any given animal traveling in a group. If your preference is to see hundreds or thousands of animals in a migration pattern, this is not the spot. What you do get is a chance to see a cross section of large animals (4 of the big 5), dozens of bird types ranging from eagles to 4 inch miniature white owls and baobab trees with trunks in the 30 foot range before they split into large branch sections. As it's less crowded, you get a lot of flexibility - for example one evening in Zambezi we caught the cubs and 2 - 3 year old lions trying to hunt. The guides (there were 2 vehicles from the camp together) basically parked the cars in the middle of the pack and turned off the lights. You could hear the impala hooves and the warning sounds they made as well as the lions running after them. No impalas made the menu that night, but they did get a warthog.

To close, I would highly recommend Zambia for anyone heading out for a safari, and for those who want an experience with fewer people and vehicles around, would absolutely recommend Lion Camp in South Luangwa.
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Old Jun 24, 2014, 1:09 pm
  #9  
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Great review. I had actually forgotten all about this thread - but coincidentally enough I thought I'd check on some of my old threads since we're leaving for Zambia in 6 weeks!

We decided to go with Norman Carr Safaris!
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Old Jun 24, 2014, 4:28 pm
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Originally Posted by runningshoes
We just got back from Zambia this past weekend, and figured I might add to this for any future reference. We split the trip between South Luangwa and Lower Zambezi .....

Thanks very much runningshoes for the information and reviews. They are very helpful.
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Old Jul 2, 2014, 2:46 pm
  #11  
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Originally Posted by runningshoes
We just got back from Zambia this past weekend, and figured I might add to this for any future reference. We split the trip between South Luangwa and Lower Zambezi, and picked Zambia for some of the same reasons noted by other folks above, mainly it is less crowded, and seemed to provide more of an opportunity to "drive at your own pace" so to speak. We were not disappointed, and in fact, the trip exceeded expectations in every aspect.

In Luangwa we stayed at Lion Camp, which is about 90 minutes away from Flatdogs and into the park's inner area. Lion Camp has 10 tents/rooms, so on the smaller side, and typically has about 15 guests at a given time. The units are all built on a platform as the local elephant population tends to hit the watering hole and munch on the trees in the camp and an occasional hippo or two wanders through at night. The guided rides were split into 3 vehicles so we usually had 4 or 5 people in a vehicle and mostly had an area to ourselves unless we ran across the local lion pride or a leopard, in which case the guides would radio their colleagues so everyone got a chance to see the sights.

The staff at Lion Camp was absolutely amazing - guides are extremely professional, patient, and will work out routes based on what you have a preference for on a given day. The camp was renovated in 2010 and a new team was brought in at about the same time - each of the three guides has gone through a full certification program of 3 years, their English is outstanding, and the camp staff is great as well. The typical day is a quick breakfast followed by a 6 AM day ride (or combo ride / walk), back for lunch and a siesta, 3:30 Tea, and an afternoon / night ride between 4 - 7:30 or so depending on the local action. Dinner at 8 - you can see that the greatest risk here is gaining weight.

From Luangwa we headed to Sausage Tree on the Lower Zambezi. At this point I do want to note that this trip was a 25th anniversary celebration, so Sausage Tree was our splurge. The lodge is on the river, with only 6 units, (with very cool outdoor bathroom / showers with concrete floor and privacy walls but no roof at all) and every couple gets their own guide and vehicle. The daily schedule was not much different from Lion Tree, and you get an additional choice of a canoe guide on the river or a motorized boat guide, but the service includes room delivery for your morning coffee, a menu selection for dinner, and each guest gets lunch once during their stay in the river itself on a sandbar with the water about 12 - 18 inches high. Being on the river, getting to the lodge included a flight from Lusaka to Jeki, a ride to the river, and a boat transfer to the camp. As a side note, the Jeki airport includes a dirt runway and a guy with a piece of paper writing arrival names on a piece of paper. Sausage Tree has a sister lodge within a quarter mile, Potato Bush Camp, which is more of a typical lodge.

The guides here were good, but I would say that they were not as good as the team at Lion Camp in terms of knowledge and ability to spot game. To some degree that may be partially a result of the Zambezi area having a higher concentration of thicker brush, so there are more hiding spots.

In both spots you see more or less the same game (no rhinos in Zambia for those who are planning a trip, and no giraffes in Zambezi but plenty in Luangwa). Zambia is blessed with diversity of wildlife so you will see everything but there are no large quantities of any given animal traveling in a group. If your preference is to see hundreds or thousands of animals in a migration pattern, this is not the spot. What you do get is a chance to see a cross section of large animals (4 of the big 5), dozens of bird types ranging from eagles to 4 inch miniature white owls and baobab trees with trunks in the 30 foot range before they split into large branch sections. As it's less crowded, you get a lot of flexibility - for example one evening in Zambezi we caught the cubs and 2 - 3 year old lions trying to hunt. The guides (there were 2 vehicles from the camp together) basically parked the cars in the middle of the pack and turned off the lights. You could hear the impala hooves and the warning sounds they made as well as the lions running after them. No impalas made the menu that night, but they did get a warthog.

To close, I would highly recommend Zambia for anyone heading out for a safari, and for those who want an experience with fewer people and vehicles around, would absolutely recommend Lion Camp in South Luangwa.

I completely agree on how great Zambia is, particularly South Luangwa. We used a different company, The Bushcamp Company, in that park and it was fantastic. It is a great park that at least when we were there isn't very crowded. We even did a lot of walking which gave a very different perspective.
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