Kapamba Bushcamp

a wonderfully remote and peaceful location

Kapamba Bushcamp is located in the South Luangwa South area of eastern Zambia.

The camp is in a remote riverside setting, deep in the southern sector of the reserve, some 40 km as the crow flies from the main Mfuwe Bridge Gate. This is an extremely quiet part of the reserve, so you really can expect to have the place largely to yourselves, even during peak season.

It is set alongside the Kapamba River, around 3 km upstream from its confluence with the main Luangwa River. Unlike the many seasonal tributaries, this river tends to have surface water flowing well into, and sometimes right through, the dry season.

It is one of the older camps in the area and is traditionally built, but with a pleasantly modern facelift. From the vehicle turnaround, we are immediately confronted by a modest stone building under an unusually tall thatched roof. Inside there is a bar and lounge area to the left, dining area to the right, running out to a broad deck with further seats stepped down towards the river.

Rooms

Guest accommodation at Kapamba Bushcamp is in just four rather unusual rooms, which are of a similar design, with a large thatched roof over a polished concrete floor. The rear and one side walls are in stone, but the other two sides are open, with unusual ironwork screens in place to prevent larger animals from entering. The bed is set on a heavy concrete base and has a large mosquito net. The bathroom is to one side and features an unusually large stone bath, which guests often leave full during the hot season to use as a plunge pool. Hot water is provided by individual donkey boilers for each room, you need to request that they are lit in the morning in order to have hot water during your siesta.

Activities

Kapamba Bushcamp 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.

usually combined with Livingstone and other safari areas