Zambia Safari – Hippos & Crocs & Kudus!
Zambia safari: Elephants swim out to islands in the Lower Zambezi to feast on soft grasses.
The first night of our Zambia safari I awakened to a familiar grumbling noise and issued my usual plea: “Rick, please stop snoring!”
“It’s not me,” my husband whispered from a moonlit corner of our tent. “It’s the hippos in the river. They’re really making a racket.”
I sat up and listened to the chorus of hippos and elephants and birds echoing in the night. It was exotic and – well – just so cool.
The hippo population in Zambia’s Lower Zambezi River is about 70 per kilometer.
Choosing Chiawa for our Zambia safari
After months of anticipation, we had arrived at Chiawa Camp in Zambia’s Lower Zambezi National Park that afternoon. I quickly scanned the surroundings for signs that I’d picked the right place for what I was pretty sure would be our once-in-our lifetime Zambia safari. Everything I’d read about Chiawa sounded like the right place for people who prefer intimate and personal over large numbers and a mass-produced experience.
Chiawa Camp is a small bush camp on the banks of the Zambezi River. It’s family owned and operated, which gives it an intimate rhythm that makes guests feel almost immediately at home.
So far, everything had exceeded my expectations. The boat carrying us from the airfield passed dozens of pods of hippos and had slowed to give us a good view of a mother elephant and her offspring.
Zambia safari: Our bathtub at Chiawa Camp provided a view of wildlife on the bank of the Lower Zambezi.
Iconic Zambia safari lodging
Chiawa’s nine tents are built on wooden platforms a la Out of Africa. All come with king beds with mosquito netting, Egyptian cotton linens, and solar-powered lights. Six include a river-view deck and an open-air bathroom with a flushing “loo,” a sink, and a shower.
Best Zambia safari digs: This tent at Chiawa Camp offers a view of the bush from bed and bath.
Three tents offer more privacy and fantastic outdoor bathrooms with river views. Ours included two showers – one traditional and another built into a hollowed out tree – and a claw foot tub, from which I watched a “bachelor herd” of cape buffalo grazing along the shore.
Our Zambia safari: Breakfast at the fire circle is a Chiawa Camp tradition.
Chiawa Camp fun and game drives
Days at Chiawa start with a “knock knock” at 5:30 am. Then everyone gathers around the fire circle for a light breakfast before climbing into open safari vehicles for game drives or loading up boats for fly fishing on the Zambezi or heading out on a bush walk in the surrounding area.
The first day, we opted for the drive and were rewarded with sightings of warthogs, baboons, monkeys, elephants, kudus, impalas, bushbucks, and spectacular birds. However, the most memorable sight was the four lions we found devouring an unfortunate cape buffalo. I was surprised and somewhat nervous about how close we were to these powerful cats, but our guide assured me they weren’t interested in us.
Later, we enjoyed lunch served on a pontoon boat as it floated down the river. This was followed by an afternoon of canoeing, pre-dinner drinks on the riverbank, and a candlelit dinner accompanied by an acappella African chorus.
Hippos regularly cross the Zambezi River, which flows between Zambia and neighboring Zimbabwe.
The “last real Africa”
I was very glad we’d chosen Zambia over neighboring countries with more tourism infrastructure. I didn’t need cell service, but it was very important to me that our African experience be authentic. Zambia is often called “the last real Africa.”
At Chiawa Camp, sharing the dinner table with repeat visitors, I felt like we’d discovered a wonderful insider spot. By now I was convinced I’d picked the right place – I just was no longer sure that this would be our only Zambia safari.
FYI The safari season in this part of Zambia is early April through mid-November.
While in Zambia, we also had a great time with Norman Carr Safaris in South Luanga National Park If you’re planning a Southern Africa holiday, you may also want to include one of Zambia’s neighbors. Here’s what some readers said about their wonderful time on a safari in Botswana.
Enjoy!
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Chiawa does a fabulous job, don’t they? They just nail glamping in Zambia. And we were soooo glad we chose Zambia for a safari. It was such an authentic experience. We stayed at Chiawa and Chiawa’s more remote sister camp, Old Mondoro, where we even went canoeing with crocodiles and hippos. (We’ve written about Chiawa too on our blog – just type in “Chiawa” in the search box at the bottom.”