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Luangwa Wilderness Lodge
When travelling
around
Zambia,
it is becoming harder and harder to get that feeling of really being
in the bush. Only when you arrive at a place like Luangwa Wilderness
Lodge in the Luambe National Park you appreciate the Zambian bush
and her wilderness.
Whilst in Chipata
I stayed at Mama Rula’s campsite where I met Andrea Breytenbach who
told me about Luambe and the lodge. She invited me to travel up with
her the next day. From Chipata we traveled to Mfuwe, through Nsefu
Game Park and onto Luambe National Park. With a number of
treacherous river crossings and numerous stops to look at game we
finally arrived around sunset. The lodge is nestled on the banks of
the Luangwa
River.
Here we were warmly greeted by the staff and received ice cold
orange juice to quench our thirst.
Luangwa
Wilderness lodge is owned and operated by people who are
professionally involved with animal conservation. Besides Andrea,
who herself is a nature lover and started the lodge, I also met Dr.
Olaf Behlert, a zoo veterinarian and deputy director of the Cologne
Zoo, his wife Dr. Claudia Behlert also a vet and Dr. Friederike Von
Houwald, veterinarian and curator at Basel Zoo in Switzerland.
Talking with them you sense their total commitment to the project.
They are actively involved in the direct management of the park and
money is raised by donors to support Zawa in order to control
poaching and for park management.
 The
Lodge itself is located in a remote part of the park under a canopy
of African Ebony trees. I was shown to my tent, all built on a
platforms with en-suite bathrooms. There are five tents and they are
all beautifully furnished with twin beds. There is also a campsite
for those who like to rough it. As the sun set over the beautiful
Luangwa, the night was spent sitting around the fire relaxing and
listening to the sounds of the African bush. Dinner was served in
the large thatched dining area overlooking the river. Here we had a
magnificent meal prepared by the camp staff.
After a great
nights sleep, surrounded by the sounds of the hippos grunting and
elephants playing in the river, I was ready for the new day that
started with tea and coffee and a game walk. We strolled along the
river and saw the largest pod of hippos you could ever imagine. We
also saw many species of antelope. However, one of the main
attractions is the large and diverse number of birds, including the
African skimmer, many woodland and riverine species. This is truly a
nature lover’s paradise.
On return from
our walk we were treated to a full breakfast before it was time to
journey back to Chipata. As I left I felt my stay needed to be
longer in order to appreciate this unique and exciting piece of
Zambia. I would recommend it for that trip to the wilderness knowing
that your stay will directly contribute to the future of
Luambe
National Park.
More information is available
from their
web page
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April 2004