Itinerary

This honeymoon option combines the best two National Parks in Zambia with the magnificent Victoria Falls. You will be pampered at every opportunity, moonlit dinners floating on a private barge in the Zambezi, sundowners overlooking the Luangwa River and of course flowers everywhere and champagne on tap.

Please note that all of our safaris are tailor-made; this itinerary is just a suggestion and can be amended to better fit your requirements.

6 nights Norman Carr Safaris – combination of Bush Camps and Kapani Lodge

3 nights Chongwe River Camp - Lower Zambezi

2 nights Sindabezi Island – Livingstone

Itinerary

Days 1-2 : SOUTH LUANGWA NATIONAL PARK -Kapani Lodge - We suggest the LAGOON SUITE!

On arrival in Zambia you will be met at Lusaka Airport and will connect to your flight to Mfuwe. This flight will take an hour and will transport you into the country’s best gameviewing area. You will be met at Mfuwe by staff from Kapani Lodge and driven to camp where the honeymoon suite will have been prepared and you will have time to settle in before brunch.

That evening your guide will introduce you to one of Africa’s finest National Parks, renowned for its variety of wildlife the Luangwa never fails to impress. After dark you will search for predators on the prowl and the myriad of smaller nocturnal animals that make these night drives so interesting.

Dinner is served in different locations each night. You will have the choice of eating with other camp guests or in secluded privacy perhaps on the verandah of your room or on the deck overlooking the lagoon.

Days 2-6 : WALKING SAFARI – Accommodation in selected Bushcamps

The South Luangwa is regarded as the home of the walking safari and it was Norman Carr himself who first took tourists through the bush on foot back in the 1940s. Although Norman passed away in 1996 the company he left behind still sets the standard for walking safaris that other operators strive to meet.

From Kapani Lodge you will be driven deep into the National Park to Luwi Bush Camp, a wonderfully rustic camp set in the deep shade of large trees and close to a permanent lagoon. Your room at Luwi is built around a mahogany tree with grass walls and a thatched roof. The bathroom is open to the trees and stars above.

Bush Dinner That afternoon your professional guide and armed escort scout will accompany you on your first real walking safari. Your guide will take time to point out the tracks and signs that he uses to interpret the bush. This first excursion will be a taster for what is to come.

Your first night in the bushcamp is likely to interrupted by the noises of the animals around camp, you will lie awake eager for dawn to come. When it finally does your guide will interpret the calls that kept you awake and you may head out together to pick up the fresh tracks of a pride of lion, or to investigate the alarm calls of the local troop of baboon. This is no nature trail, this is the real thing, you are tracking big game through the African bush, on foot!

From Luwi you move down river to Nsolo, the second of your bush camps. After a few hours walk you wander into the new camp, a cool drink is ready for you, brunch is on the table and the bags are in your room. Your home for tonight will be a raised deck with grass walls on three sides and a tall, cool thatched roof. Once more your bathroom is open to the sky above.

The next morning will see another move, this time further down the Luwi River to its confluence with the main Luangwa and your home for the next two nights, Kakuli Bush Camp. This camp is tented and has stunning views along a stretch of the Luangwa that is home to over 500 hippo. Most of the gameviewing is still on foot although there are a few roads in this area so it is possible to use vehicles and with a dense population of leopards in the area the night drives are usually most rewarding.

Days 6 – 9 : LOWER ZAMBEZI NATIONAL PAK – CHONGWE RIVER CAMP

Your flight from Mfuwe is via Lusaka and will drop you at Royal airstrip, inside the Lower Zambezi National Park. A short drive from there brings you to Chongwe River Camp, idyllically set on the confluence of the Chongwe and Zambezi Rivers.

The spacious, open-fronted suites offer private views across the Zambezi. This is a most romantic destination, the gameviewing in the area is surpassed only by the beauty of the views. With the steep escarpment behind you and the Zambezi in front few can fail to be moved by what surrounds you at this camp.

Activities are varied and with three days here one should try to experience as much as possible. Morning and afternoon drives or walks are always offered but it is essential to spend at least some of your time on the water itself. You may choose a sunset jaunt, drifting downstream watching buffalo and elephant playing in the waters as the sun turns them pink, or for the more adventurous, a paddle in canoes along one of the many channels frequented by hippo, elephant and buck. The Lower Zambezi is a special Park for all its visitors but the romance of Chongwe River Camp will ensure that the memories of this honeymoon live on and on.

Days 9 -12 : SINDABEZI ISLAND – Livingstone

The flight from Royal transits Lusaka again on its way to Livingstone where you are met and driven to Tongabezi Camp before being boated to Sindabezi Island. Set on a wide bend in the Zambezi River this camp has been described as one of the most romantic in Africa. Apart from the four standard chalets there is also a honeymoon suite with a private dining ‘beach’ directly in front. You are raised above the river and whether in bed, in the bath or just lounging around the room your views of the Zambezi are breathtaking.

Two nights spent in the Livingstone area is hardly enough as there is so much to do, an up-close view of the Falls is a must, perhaps take drinks on Livingstone’s Island which overhangs the Falls themselves or a “Flight of the Angels” which will take you by microlight high above the whole spectacle. There are a host of adrenalin activities on offer in the area but do save time to enjoy the tranquillity around camp.

Your last dinner in Africa will be truly memorable. Your candlelit table for two will be set up on a platform floating in the river, you will be boated out and left alone interrupted only by the waiters occasionally paddling out the next course. You will marvel at the tranquillity and the stars above, memories of the trip will leave you with no choice other than to start planning your return.

Please contact The Independent Traveller for a quotation.