Lion Camp

some quirky and unusual design elements

Lion Camp is located in the South Luangwa North area of eastern Zambia.

The lodge is in an excellent position on a dry oxbow loop of the main Luangwa River, with broad views out across the surrounding floodplain, often with a range of wildlife in view.

Set amongst a stand of large African mahogany trees, it is a relatively heavily built lodge which offers unusually high levels of conventional comforts and includes some very elegant design elements.

Arriving into the vehicle turnaround the main entrance is hidden behind a large strangler fig tree. Up a few steps and under the large thatched roof, we pass through a stylish reception and small seating area, before emerging into an open courtyard, centred on a recessed campfire area. Around the periphery is an elegant indoor lounge and gift shop to the right, whilst to the left there is, remarkably, a snooker room and a casual outdoor bar. On the opposite side the building is open-sided and there are views out across the swimming pool to the plains beyond.

Rooms

Guest accommodation at Lion Camp is in ten widely spaced rooms, which are accessed along elevated boardwalks either side of the main building, all with broad private verandas from which to watch the wildlife during the afternoon siesta …

• Luxury Suites : x8
• Deluxe Suites : x2 : larger, with outdoor bathtubs

Animals in camp

One aspect of the camp that we appreciate is the amount of wildlife around camp, with a constant stream of pukus, zebras, giraffes, buffaloes, warthogs and baboons out front and sometimes straying right under the boardwalks. Lions and even leopards are also occasionally seen and there is one particular elephant who is renowned for ‘limbo dancing’ under the decks in order to get to the seed pods from his favourite trees.

At night these open areas often play host to hunting lions, occasionally in plain view of the lodge. Guests sometimes report that prides of lions have parked themselves underneath their room at night and roared until the whole place was literally reverberating, or that the room has been shaken by a hippo scratching its sides up against the support columns.

Activities

Lion Camp provides the following guided activities …

• vehicle safari
• walking safari
• night vehicle safari

South Luangwa is a very high quality safari area that often serves as the primary location in a trip.

The stay duration tends to be 5-8 nights split between two camps, or more occasionally 3-5 nights at one camp. Three camp combinations are also possible.

Seasonality

The best time to visit South Luangwa is during the May-Oct dry season, when the wildlife is focused on the riverine areas and easy to find.

Within that period, May-Jul is pleasantly cool at night, but the animals may not yet be fully migrated back into the river.

Towards the end of that period, Oct-Nov the wildlife should be at its strongest, but the weather is likely to be uncomfortably hot, especially at night. Bear in mind that most camps do not have air-conditioning.

Getting around

South Luangwa lies to the east of the country and is usually accessed by light aircraft services from Lusaka or Livingstone.

From Mfuwe Airport it is three hours by road into camp.

It is also possible to charter into the nearby Lukuzi Airstrip, especially if you are coming from a more unusual location.

usually combined with Livingstone and other safari areas