Time + Tide Chinzombo

high levels of conventional comforts

Time and Tide Chinzombo is located in the South Luangwa Central area of eastern Zambia.

The camp is in a lovely position on the eastern bank of the main Luangwa River, around 2 km south of the main Mfuwe Bridge Gate into the national park. This area south of the bridge is a Game Management Area, so remains clear of human habitation and also contains a reasonable amount of wildlife.

It is a super-luxury lodge, the first such in the valley. It was designed by renowned safari architects Silvio Rech and Lesley Carstens, who are also responsible for other top-end lodges including Mombo Camp and Jao Camp in Botswana, Ngorongoro Crater Lodge in Tanzania and North Island Lodge in the Seychelles.

The design is essentially very modern, with steel frame structures and white boarded flooring, but softened with more traditional canvas and reedwork elements, finished off with Victorian themed safari fixtures and fittings.

The camp is centred on a large open-plan mess area, containing rather swish bar, lounge and dining areas, leading out to a broad terrace with a lovely sunken seating area and a couple of small infinity swimming pools. A spa facility and wine cellar are also hidden away behind.

Animals in camp

One aspect which we particularly appreciate is the amount of wildlife which can be seen both in camp and out on the river directly below. Elephants are regular visitors, lured in by the shade, the cool lagoon and the seed pods which fall from the ebony trees; they can often be seen at very close quarters. Hippos and vervet monkeys can also often be seen around camp.

A particular feature is a local leopard called Alice, who often walks through the camp on the prowl for pukus and impalas, occasionally providing guests with an unusually intimate and convenient sighting.

Rooms

Guest accommodation at Chinzombo is in just six lavish guest suites, similarly styled, with a very large bed surrounded by a walk-in mosquito net and an exceptionally large and well-appointed bathroom with a free-standing bathtub. These areas are fronted by netting and canvas ‘walls’ which can be rolled down to close these areas off at night. However during the day the bedroom leads directly out onto a broad terrace, which also features a sunken seating area and private pool. One of the suites is a family unit with two bedrooms facing onto a shared deck.

One major standout feature of this camp is that the bedrooms are fitted with the innovative Evening Breeze systems, environmentally sensitive mini air-conditioning units which maintain comfortable temperatures within the mosquito net, which is highly appreciated during the hotter months of Sep-Nov.

Activities

Chinzombo provides the following guided activities …

• vehicle safari
• walking safari
• community projects

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 45 minutes by road into camp.

usually combined with Livingstone and other safari areas