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The season is in full swing at the moment with game sightings heating up as the weather begins to cool down. We got to witness an elephant fast asleep on its side in front of one of the tents yesterday, a leopard hunting in the back of camp at dinner time the night before, a lioness bringing down and devouring a young waterbuck in front of our game viewing vehicle a few afternoons ago and then three lionesses snoozing in the branches of a tree just afterwards. Whether it is on foot, canoe, boat or 4x4, Chiawa Camp offers incredible game viewing options. On hand are 7 pro-guides, 6 game viewing vehicles, a vehicle and speedboat dedicated to transfers, 3 game viewing boats and 6 canoes to provide still unequalled flexibility, reliability and convenience for its guests. And Old Mondoro reopens Friday May 25th.

Chongwe Camp having installed a new pool this season is now busy building the Albida Suite which will be completed by mid July. This two bedroom suite, designed by Neil Rocher, will have its own lounge and dining area as well as a private plunge pool. Situated on the confluence of the Chongwe River and main Zambezi the aspect spans from Mount Chilapera through to Mana Pools. Truly spectacular!  Chongwe House has recently built a new boat that adds an exciting element to any guests’ stay. The pontoon boat is large enough to offer a unique dining experience.  We are incredibly proud of our guides from both the Camp and House who sat their exams this month. They performed fantastically well, especially Duncan Menzies who passed everything with flying colours.


Islands of Siankaba has been busy these last few months refurbishing & updating all our soft furnishings.

Our rooms now have all new linen and towels to compliment our new look. This is all in preparation as we look forward to a successful season ahead.

The Falls are in full flow at this time of year, while we enjoy the cooler months along the river with some great birding activities.
 

April was an exciting month in Simonga Village. Apart of the odd pair of shoes here or there The River Club was able to hand over three huge boxes.

13 year-old Sam Berk, who came for a holiday with his parents some time ago and visited Simonga Basic School, celebrated his bar mitzvah back home in Florida. He convinced his guests to collect equipment for the school and they did a jolly good job! So apart from pens and pencils – flashcards for mathematics, fluorescent poster boards! - the school library received a whole box of novels and adventure stories, science and picture books. Not necessary to say that this caused big smiles on a lot of young faces in the village.

May has been a busy month so far.  The annual parade of agent visits (who have been attending Indaba travel fair) has started again.  Beginning of this month, we have been honored by a visit of HRH Prince Richard. He stayed in the colonial Family Suite with private plunge pool during His official visit to Livingstone.
During His arrival, our staff has counted over 30 vehicles, creating congestion on the parking place and our access road up to outside the gate!  Finally, we also completed an extension to the left of the Main Garden. An extra lawn on a split level creates more privacy during the busy season for the sun worshippers.  An additional teak deck has also been built by Muftau, which is a lovely spot for romantic dinners.

It is the thrilling time of year when the season really kicks in with a whoosh of client arrivals and happily busy rooms and staff on both Tongabezi and Sindabezi Island. Victoria Falls is still in all her spectacular full flood glory with the thundering smoke like spray being visible from miles away. However the river waters have now relinquished their hold on our river cottages and the renovation of the Tree house will be completed next week giving us a full complement of rooms again! If you find that our service has a bit of extra edge and refinement to it: Tongabezi and Sindabezi Island are benefiting from an extensive training program this year as we have invited experts from various fields to come and spend a couple of months sharing their skills with our staff members.

The South Luangwa Valley is famous for its cat population – guests are regularly thrilled by sightings of lion and leopard. But we also have a healthy, and growing, population of the rare and majestic wild dog. And visitors to Kapamba, the Bushcamp Company’s flagship bush camp, have recently been thrilled, once again, by both the playful antics and sheer determination of these highly successful hunters.

Nestled on the banks of the Kapamba river in the southern corner of the park, Kapamba is a regular haunt for the local wild dog population, allowing many of our guests a brief glimpse into the daily lives of these most incredible creatures.

There will be a new Nsolo Bushcamp this year. When we arrived to re-build the old camp we found that a bush fire had swept through the area sometime after we left in early November. There was nothing left of the old rooms and the trees above were badly damaged.

We have selected a new site under a grove of trees on the bank of the Luwi River. The views from this new camp are quite stunning and we are determined to build a camp to rival any other.  The original style of raised decks with grass chalets will remain and we are currently enjoying the challenges of designing and building a whole new camp.

Kasanka Bat Safari
New in 2007, Robin Pope Safaris is leading a safari to see the phenomenal bat migration in Kasanka National Park. Every year millions of “straw coloured fruit bats” congregate to feed for a short six weeks on seasonal fruit. To see millions of bats dispersing at dusk against the setting sun is one of the wildlife wonders of Africa. There is also a day visit to Bangweulu Swamps to see the black lechwe grouping in the calving season.
These exceptional wildlife experiences are combined with Nkwali, where the Emerald Season is starting. This is time of birth – from the newly born impala, warthog and elephant to the explosion of new leaf and flowers.