- Join Louis and Terri, the owners of African Safaris and Travel on an escorted safari to Zambia! The safari starts in Lusaka (Zambia), but we strongly suggest you join us by arriving in Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe) on 19 May, and enjoy two nights in Victoria Falls – After all, if you have not seen it on a previous trip to Africa, it is one of the 7 wonders of the world, and worth including in the trip.
- If you would like to include two nights in Vic Falls, staying at Ilala Lodge for two nights, add $280 per person to the overall trip costs, which will include transfers from Vic Falls Airport and two nights’ accommodation at Ilala Lodge on a bed / breakfast basis.
May 19, 2014 – Arrive Vic Falls (OPTIONAL PRE-SAFARI ARRANGEMENTS)
Upon your arrival at Vic Falls Airport (Zimbabwe), you will be met by a Wilderness Safaris representative, who will transfer you to Ilala Lodge – (the closest accommodation to the Falls), where you will spend the following two nights on a bed / breakfast basis.
A plethora of activities are available in Vic Falls, ranging from a tour of the falls, bunji jumping, canopy rides as well as Elephantback safaris. Yours to decide which to participate in.
On May 21 - We will transfer by light aircraft to Lusaka, where we will join up with the folks who did not do the 2 nights at Vic Falls…
May 21, 2014 (Arrive Lusaka – Continue to Chiawa Camp, Lower Zambezi National Park)
- Those folks who did not do the two nights at Ilala Lodge, Vic Falls, will arrange their flights to arrive in Lusaka – Zambia.
On arrival at Lusaka Airport and after clearing customs & immigration, we will all meet up you will be met by a Wilderness Safaris representative who will assist you with the arrangements connecting with your light aircraft transfer to Chiawa Camp in the Lower Zambezi National Park.
(Spend two nights at Chiawa Camp).
Accommodation at Chiawa Camp is in 6 superior tents, and your stay includes all light aircraft transfers, all safari activities – game walks, game drives, boating, local drinks (excluding imported brands like champagne and cognac and National Park Fees.
Set deep inside the Lower Zambezi National Park, Chiawa Camp enjoys the prime location in the Lower Zambezi. This area is still unspoilt as it is new to Tourism and is afforded a high level of protection from the Zambian Government and the local tour operators. It was only declared a National Park in 1983, and the Cummings Family, who own and operate Chiawa Camp, brought the first Tourists to the Park in 1990.
Resting peacefully on the river bank, in a grove of mahogany and acacia trees, the lodge is constructed essentially of natural materials, and is designed to ensure its idyllic setting can be fully appreciated. All tents are under thatch, have en-suite facilities with hot & cold running water, twin or double beds, insect screens and solar powered lighting. 16 guests can be accommodated in 8 well- appointed safari tents, each on a raised timber deck with private veranda. The spacious lounge and bar area has an observation platform built into its roof, providing one of the best views in the valley. Of course the dining area also looks out onto the river and the animals which regularly come to drink and feed at and near the lodge.
Game Viewing & Activities:
Chiawa Camp employs enough guides and maintains a sufficient infrastructure that ensures maximum efficiency and flexibility. This means that guests will enjoy levels of choice & convenience not found elsewhere. The guides at Chiawa Camp are experienced and qualified to help you get the most from your visit to the Lower Zambezi National Park. All boats and vehicles, canoe trips and walks carry first aid kits, and are linked to Chiawa Camp with our extensive VHF radio network.
Chiawa Camp communicates with the rest of the world via HF radio. Chiawa Camp is best experienced when a customized itinerary is made up of any combination of these activities. These itineraries are ideal for Corporate Team Building, Incentive and Group Travel. For groups of 4 or more a personal guide and vehicle is provided, although smaller groups may book this service in advance for an extra charge (contact us for details).
Game Drives:
This is the safest and most effective way to view big game. Drives are conducted in open 4wd Toyota Landcruisers that have been specially adapted for safari use. Usually departing in the early morning, drives can last anywhere from 2 to 4 hours depending on what's seen and the requirements of the guests. In the late afternoon drives set off for an hour or so before stopping at a scenic point for sundowners.
Once the sun has set and it is dark enough for the powerful spotlights to become effective, night drives commence. Zambia is one of the few countries that permit night drives, perhaps the most interesting of safari activities. This is an opportunity to see nocturnal creatures such as civet, porcupine, genet, and also to see some of the larger predators on the move. It is not uncommon to see a pride of lions on a kill or a leopard stalking through the bush. Again, these drives can last up to 4 hours depending on the action!
Bush Walks:
Pioneered in Zambia, bush walks are essentially a "micro-safari". An armed ranger will guide you through the wilderness on foot, interpreting spoor, identifying the various flora and fauna, and highlighting conservation issues. The pace is leisurely and the duration is determined by guests' requirements. Typically, a few hours are sufficient.
River Cruises:
One of the great aspects of a visit to Chiawa Camp are the activities offered by virtue of our presence on the Zambezi River. Chiawa Camp is one of the few lodges permitted to conduct waterborne safaris within the National Park, and our 8m motorized pontoon is ideal to take advantage of this. Enjoy midday cruises through numerous channels, viewing hippo, buffalo, elephant and prolific bird life. Also on offer are sunset cruises, or breakfast served on board, anchored in the middle of the Zambezi.
Fishing:
Expert guides are on hand to assist you in finding the notorious Tigerfish (camp record 8.75kg, average 2kg) and other species that abound in the Zambezi River. Chiawa Camp is currently the only lodge offering professionally guided sport fishing inside the Lower Zambezi National Park. These waters are free from netting and are hence your best bet for lots of big fish. Naturally we enforce a strict catch & release policy. Best months for Tigerfish are September - November.
Canoeing:
Although the Zambezi offer many activities, perhaps it is best known for canoeing. Nowhere else is there such a combination of breathtaking scenery, varied wildlife and such interesting channels to paddle through. Tranquil yet exciting, these trips through waters such as the Chifungulu Channel are an excellent way to best appreciate the Zambezi. Canadian canoes (6m long) are used and these trips may last anywhere from 1 hour to 1 day. Our most popular canoe safari is 90 minutes long where guests paddle (always downstream!) from the lodge to "Sunset Strip" for sundowners and then a night drive back to Chiawa Camp.
May 23, 2014 (Chiawa to Nkwali Camp, South Luangwa National Park)
Light aircraft transfer from Chiawa Lodge to Lusaka, and onwards to Nkwali Camp, South Luangwa National Park
May 23 – May 26, 2014 Nkwali Camp, South Luangwa National Park
Accommodation for 3 nights is in 6 standard rooms. Includes all meals, all game viewing activities, laundry, local drinks (excluding premium import brands) and transfers to/from Mfuwe Airport.
Nkwali is located on Robin Pope's private land, overlooking the South Luangwa National Park. The land is superb game viewing country, with a beautiful area of ebony woodland and open grasslands. Elephants regularly cross the Luangwa, seen from the bar, or come to the waterhole near the thatched dining room.
The camp enjoys a lovely setting overlooking a wide bend in the Luangwa River and has easy access to the game-rich Mfuwe Sector of the South Luangwa National Park, via bridge and pontoon. The Mfuwe Sector is South Luangwa's most easily accessible region, and Nkwali is open longer than most South Luangwa camps (April through December). The private land on which the camp is located is blessed with a lovely ebony woodland as well as open grass plains and wildlife around the camp is plentiful.
Mfuwe is the most famous sector of the South Luangwa National Park and it offers arguably the best opportunities within the Park of seeing leopard and South Luangwa Valley's endemic species of giraffe, the Thornicroft's Giraffe. General game-viewing in the Mfuwe sector is excellent, and is what earned the South Luangwa Valley its reputation as Zambia's premier safari destination.
Nkwali accommodates a maximum of twelve guests in six cool and spacious A-frame chalets, constructed of woven bamboo and thatch. Each chalet has its own enormous open-air en-suite bathroom constructed primarily of molded clay. Thick cotton towels and an assortment of Imperial Leather and Crabtree & Evelyn toiletries are a luxurious touch.
The common areas are also breezy and capacious. The bar is creatively built around an enormous ebony tree and the separate dining area overlooks a small lagoon which often attracts elephants and bushbuck to drink.
Activities at Nkwali Camp are very much focused on the Mfuwe Sector's abundance of wildlife, with game drives in open safari vehicles being the mainstay. Guests are taken out in the specially adapted four wheel drive vehicles by qualified and knowledgeable professional guides.
Guided night drives are also conducted, with the opportunity to see several of the nocturnal species that take over once the sun has set. South Luangwa game walks, considered by many to be the best in Southern Africa, are led by a qualified guide and accompanied by an armed game scout, offer an even more intimate bush experience.
May 26, 2014 - Transfer from Nkwali Camp to Tena Tena Camp, South Luangwa National Park)
Three nights at Tena Tena Camp. (May 26 – May 28)
Accommodation is in 6 luxury tents. Includes all meals, all game viewing activities, laundry, local drinks (excluding premium import brands)..
Tena Tena Camp is altogether beyond superlatives, and must be one of the best safari camps in the whole of Africa" The Times, London.
This remote and small camp lies within the National Park and enjoys a stunning location on a sweeping bend of the Luangwa River.
It was Robin's first camp and has remained a favorite of many safari lovers over the years. For its all-round strengths - secluded location, style, owner involvement, and game-viewing, Tena Tena is undoubtedly one of the best camps in Zambia.
The world renowned Robin Pope Safaris camp, Tena Tena has been redesigned and rebuilt. With the maximum number of guests decreasing from 12 to 8, the camp provides an even more personal and intimate safari for visiting guests.
Tena Tena has a reputation for being a 'temporary home' in the bush - and the atmosphere at this wonderful remote tented camp certainly contributes to this. The interiors are stylish and elegant, beautifully furnished in rich colors, and are reminiscent of Hemingway's Africa.
The Persian rugs, hand-dyed Indian cotton bed-spreads and Bedouin cushions create a homely and attractive environment. There are also heavy linen bathrobes in each en suite open-air bathroom, along with a complete array of quality toiletries.
The bathrooms are made from woven bamboo and join the tents under a large grass archway - Marsh-Arab style. Each tent has been carefully positioned to incorporated a stunning view of the Luangwa River or waterhole, where game is often seen coming down to drink. The front of the tent is designed to roll up completely allowing the guests to watch and admire from the privacy of their own veranda. A grove of mahogany trees shade the "suite" tents - a tent with a veranda, dressing room and large open bathroom.
The waterhole that runs in front of the tents is highly productive and the siestas can be spent watching and photographing from the bed. The main area is a large canvas marquee placed between two mahogany trees. The view from sitting area, down the Luangwa River, is 60 km to the hills. Dinner is served on the platform, under the stars, again with a view of both the river and the waterhole.
From the camps there is the daily option of a walk or a game drive. The drives include morning, afternoon and night drives. An all day drive, with a picnic lunch, is always available. The vehicles we use are Toyota Landcruisers, with two tier seats (we also have three tier seats for groups or families) and we give everyone a "window" seat (i.e. 2 on a row). There is no top on the vehicle so you have total 360 degree vision. We are very aware that you may spend up to 8 hours a day in the vehicle if an enthusiast and so our vehicles are of top quality (with 8 out of 18 being less than 18 months old). They are top of the range and not cheap imitation 4 x 4 vehicles. We even provide bean bags for your cameras - so you can capture the perfect shot.
There is the option to walk every day at the safari camps. The walks are led by our knowledgeable guides, and escorted by armed National Park scouts. We are very proud of the standard of our guiding. The guides will give you an insight into the bush at a level that will surprise you.
What animals passed by during the night, how the termites control the temperature in the huge mounds, where the woodpecker is nesting. And of course they explain the skills of reading the bush and knowing what is happening around you.
During the months of December to April (Emerald Season) the Luangwa River is rising and falling depending on the rainfall. January to March it is flowing bank to bank. At times it is near full and pouring into the adjacent lagoons.
Whatever the level, boating on the river during these months is simply magical. We have three specially designed boats that can take groups on wonderful boating days either exploring the lagoons or far up the river. From mid January to the end of March Nsefu opens and for dedicated boating safaris - River Journeys. Explore the water wilderness in the heart of the park, when road access is cut off by the tributaries.
May 29, 2014 – End of the Safari
After breakfast, transfer by light aircraft back to Lusaka, in time for your onward international departure flight.
1. Safari Cost without the Victoria Falls extension:- USD5,565 per person sharing
2. Optional:- Two nights at Ilala Lodge Vic Falls, including transfers:- $280 per person
(I strongly suggest you do include the two nights in Vic Falls as depicted in the itinerary. It is one of the 7 wonders of the world, and you are already in the neck of the woods, so not including Vic Falls will be a terrible waste!)
+++ This quotation is based in a minimum of 10 safari participants – should numbers change, the rates for the group will change accordingly.
GENERAL INCLUSIONS:
All accommodation on a shared basis;
Meals as specified;
Excursions and transfers as included in the quote;
Most safari camps/lodges include two game activities per day in their rate – one in the morning and the other in the afternoon. Private activities and guide may be booked, at an additional cost, for sole use or special interest activities. Please advise if you would like additional information on this service;
Services of the camp/lodge guides and staff;
Relevant park fees and entrance fees as specified in the quote;
Drinks as specified – drink inclusions may differ between camps/lodges;
Laundry can be done at most camps/lodges and hotels. In some cases this is included in the rate as quoted;
Air transfers as specified;
Accommodation taxes, the applicable Tourism Levies and all relevant Value Added Tax (VAT) or Government Sales Tax (GST).
GENERAL EXCLUSIONS:
Meals not specified in the quote such as lunch and dinner in city hotels;
Any drinks, park fees, entrance fees, porter-age, tours/excursions and transfers not specified in the quote;
Any scheduled commercial flights and related taxes;
Cancellation, baggage and medical insurance;
Staff gratuities;
Any new Government Taxes, levies, fuel or industry increases which are beyond our control;
Visa fees where relevant. Should a visa payment be required, this will need to be made in US$ cash. Change is often not provided and thus the exact amounts payable are essential. Travelers Cheques and credit cards are not accepted for this purpose;
International Airport Departure Taxes (applicable at manned airports only) which are to be paid in cash on departure, unless included in your air ticket cost;
Zambia Airport Departure Taxes (applicable at manned airports only): All taxes must be paid in Kwacha (KR), the local currency. The below are guidelines only so amounts will fluctuate depending on the rate of exchange on the day of the transaction. These taxes must be paid direct at the airport when guests depart from Livingstone Airport, Lusaka Airport or Mfuwe Airport. Travelers Cheques and credit cards are not accepted for this purpose. For passengers flying out of Zambia, an International Airport Departure Tax applies. This is included by most airlines in the cost of your air ticket. If there is an exception, such as departing on a light aircraft transfer across the border, then the equivalent in Kwacha, the local currency, must be paid by guests direct at the airport. There is also a Domestic Departure Tax payable direct when departing internally on a flight out of Kenneth Kaunda International Airport (Lusaka), Harry Mwaanga Nkumbula International Airport (Livingstone) and Mfuwe airports. In addition to Departure Taxes, Security and Airport Development Taxes are charged for at the airports. Currently, and subject to change, these taxes are: International Departure Tax – US$ 25.00 per person & International Security Tax: US$ 5.00 per person; Domestic Departure Tax – US$ 8.00 per person & Domestic Security Tax: US$ 3.00 per person. Airport Infrastructure and Development Tax – International at US$ 10.00 per person and Domestic at US$ 5.00 per person;
Any items of a personal nature.
January Festival (Fiestas de Enero), Chiapa de Corzo, Mexico. From 
Easter Pilgrimage, Tilcara, Argentina.Wednesday of Easter Week. Tilcara, tucked into Argentina's northwestern-most province close to the border with Bolivia, is known as an artists’ enclave. But on this day it turns into the site of one of South America's great pilgrimages. Thousands ofsikuris (pan flute wielding devotees of the Virgen of Copacabana) return from the Virgen's mountain sanctuary, carrying banners and playing their pan flutes.
Virgen del Carmen Celebration, Paucartambo, Peru. This Andean hamlet (population 5,000) July 15-17 becomes the staging ground for an atmospheric, energetic and heart-felt homage to the town's beloved Mamacha Carmen (the Virgen of Carmen). More than 15comparsas (dance troupes) decked out in fantastical masks and elaborate costumes portray the region's ethnic groups, professions and history, in turns majestic and humorous. Dazzling fireworks and daredevil dancers ignite the town's square on the festival's opening night, while the story of the Mamacha Carmen's victory over the demons and other forces of evil is re-enacted on the 16th. On the final day, a moving procession to visit dearly departed members of the various comparsas concludes the breathtaking annual event.
Day of the Dead Kite Festival, Sumpango, Guatemala. Annually on Nov. 1 residents here fly colorful kites inscribed with messages to their dearly departed. The focal point of the festivities is the town's cemetery where families gather to commune and celebrate with relatives past and present a giant kite competition adds an exclamation point to the annual fest, with dozens of super-sized, technicolor entrants -- some measuring more than 30 feet across -- competing for prizes and the cameras' eye.
