A true walking mobile safari - special offer

A true mobile safari with the award winning team at Robin Pope safaris .
7 nights Combining some of the best safari camps in Zambia with a five day walking safari which is backed up by a totally mobile camp - a winning combination for those looking to be totally immersed in the bush.
"When I tell guests about this safari I always I just want to book myself on " Tony - Busanga Safaris

The safari begins with a flight from Lusaka to Mfuwe, where you will meet your guide and drive to Nkwali, staying for the first 2 nights, you will have had chance to explore on game drives and night drives (and of course walks), with good photographic opportunities. The safari then heads up to the remote north of the park. This takes you through different country and woodland , passing through a petrified forest and large open pans which attract some unusual species of both birds and antelope (Lichenstien's hartebeest). The party will picnic on the way making the journey very much part of the safari.

For the next 5 days the safari follows the Mupamadzi River - a clear water, major tributary of the Luangwa. The tents are "walk in" that open both ends for good ventilation with camp beds, mattress, sheets and blankets. The shower is under a tree and the loo is a short drop with a wooden throne. The dinning table is under the shadiest tree and the bar is a small table with the glasses and drinks, next to a small gas fridge to keep the beers and wine chilled.

The day starts before dawn, getting up for a quick breakfast around the camp fire. Setting off for the morning walk around six, the morning walk will be from 4 to 6 hours depending on sightings and enthusiasm.
After lunch there is a chance for a rest, read or snooze before afternoon tea. The afternoon walk is gentle, short and often sundowners will be brought to a meeting spot in the bush by vehicle and so there is a short spotlight drive back to camp. Then in the evening a shower and a welcome dinner, Then if you wish drinks around the fire before before heading to your very comfortable bed - weary and happy usually serenaded by the local lion pride or hyena.
The camp is very simple, a row of tents "walk in" that open both ends for good ventilation with camp beds, mattress, sheets and blankets), a shared large bucket shower and two "bush loos". The dinning table is under the shadiest tree and the bar is a small table with the glasses and drinks, next to a small gas fridge to keep the beers and wine chilled. The food is first class and the same standard as the safari camps.
On day that camp moves, the team will break camp, pack the truck and headed off to the next camp site. They arrive, set up camp, cook lunch, If a little late on departure the chef may end up chopping onions on top of the "kitundu" (safari kit)!, and as you walk in hot and no doubt a little tired from your walk - you will be greeted with cold drinks and lunch will be ready.
The walking is varied in difficulty as the terrain changes and the morning walks are from 6 to 10 kilometers. The timing, distance and toughness of the walks is determined by the group but you do need to be "walking fit" and we say that as a guide you should be able to run at least 50 meters (not from an animal of course ).

The area is very different from the Luangwa River. The area is remote and wild, the terrain and habitats varied and the game shy and unused to man. From ants to buffalo, a bird's nest to tracking a lion, you will learn the many facets of the bush. The Mupamadzi is clear and shallow. A tributary of the Luangwa, it rises in the mountainous escarpment within sight. We crossed the river many times - the ritual of taking of the boots and cooling the feet became second nature! There are foothills, open plains, thickets, wooded parklands, reedbeds, forest - amazing how many terrains and habitats you can walk through in one day.

The safari ends with 2 nights at the beautiful Nsefu Camp, where you will stay in a super cottage and enjoy the veryu high standards of care and quality wildlife viewing that the Luanagw and Robin Pope safaris are so well known for.
Contact us now for availability : 01628 621685 or click here for full details

11 Leopards in one week A guests eye view.

The Leopards of South Luangwa

For the 5 years, since I was bitten by the African Safari bug, a leopard sighting has evaded me. Last year in Northern Kafue, a brief glimpse at sunset was exciting but ultimately unsatisfying. South Luangwa is famous for its leopard population so I was filled with high hopes for the trip to Kafunta Lodge at Mfuwe, but previous disappointments had left me cautious.

I needn’t have worried. On my return home, I was asked at work what the highlight of the trip was…. I said, with typical English diffidence, the 11 leopard sightings!

Here are the leopards….

Day Two PM - Leopard 1
A great night sighting for our first leopard was this male stalking a group of impala. We went over to watch and he settled down to wait. I could hardly believe how slight and beautiful he was and it was brilliant to see him skilful manoeuvring ever closer to the prey. We left her patiently watching them in the moonlight.

Day Three AM - Leopard 2
Morning plans had changed suddenly as we left the camp when we saw a group of elephants moving across the plain in front of us to go to the river. Whilst we watched them drinking, baboons were making alarm calls in the trees on the opposite bank. We raced across the river by pontoon and immediately came across a herd of puku, alert and alarm calling. Josephat, our guide (and who was later christened the Leopard King) told us to start scanning the tree line. I am rather proud to say I spotted our second leopard yards from the landcruiser. The leopard was moving quickly and soon disappeared into the trees but was a brilliant sight for the sheer proximity and clarity of viewing in daylight.

Day Three PM - Leopards 3-7


Our first spot came soon in the afternoon with a leopard moving quickly in the undergrowth. We watched in awe as he walked in front of the car and was gone in the flash of an eye.

The others came at the end of the evening but were all the more interesting as we spotted 2 mating pairs. The first was a male, climbing the rocks to a female waiting high up for him. The second came shortly after when we turned a corner and saw a male with a small, very shy female, just walking down the road towards us.

Back at camp for drinks and dinner and we can’t help a small amount of celebrating – 5 leopards in one evening drive – 6 in total for the day!


Day Four PM – Leopard 8
The briefest but most exciting sighting came tonight. We were tracking a small group of lions (2 female and 1 male) when in the sweep of the night light, we saw a leopard in the middle of the plain drinking from a stream. The 2 lionesses walked towards the leopard, who, with a certain amount of arrogance, casually walked away. Suddenly the lionesses started hunting and the leopard was running for its life. In a moment of almost comic action, the leopard leapt down a gully and then came back up running around a tree, followed quickly by each lioness in turn. After 2 circuits, the leopard shot straight up the tree and left the lionesses watching thoughtfully below. I sat with my heart pounding, willing the leopard to get away – I thought with horror that after 5 years of waiting to see leopards, I was about to watch one being killed!

Day Five AM – Leopard 9
Our fifth day brought us to Alice. A leopard well-known in the area and perhaps the best sighting I will ever have in my life. We came across her sitting in the sunshine, pregnant and resting quietly. She was very calm as we watched her from close by.
The nights had brought full moonlight and therefore poor hunting and while we were watching, Alice clearly decided to take advantage of the relaxed state of the impala and puku nearby.

We followed in fascination as she stalked down a gully through the middle of the herds, moving so carefully and purposefully.

As she rolled in the dust, Josephat explained she was disguising her scent to allow her to get closer to her prey. We stayed for an hour with her and left her hiding in the gully, yards from an impala that was completely oblivious to her presence.







The following days brought a break from our routine as we moved to the Island Bush Camp, a four-hour drive from Kafunta, where the days are spent on walking safari and learning bush craft in a beautiful, remote and rustic environment.

Day Nine PM – Leopards 10 - 11
Our last evening drive with Andrew (we’d left Josephat behind in the Bush Camp) did not disappoint and our luck continued with a brilliant sighting of a leopard sleeping up a tree. I’d seen this in other people’s photos and had always thought it was a great sight to see them totally relaxed, flopped across a branch, legs dangling freely.
Our last sighting came as we were tracking two lionesses and an old male. It was a very dark night and perfect for hunting. We drove ahead of the lions to park on the side of the plain in the direction they were heading in the hope of catching them hunting. As we waited for the lions, we saw a leopard stalking impala down the side of the plain. Suddenly the impala took fright and ran off, calling. The leopard found a spot on a hill nearby and settled down to wait.

For a while we turned the lights off and sat in perfect darkness beside the leopard, waiting for the lions and listening to the sounds of night. I will never forget the feeling of the bush, so alive with the sense of anticipation of something waiting to happen. Of course, for humans, the park closes at night so, too soon, we had to leave, and with a deep pang of regret that this was my last night… until next year and another adventure.

Selinda Canoe Trail Botswana. No single supps !

A magical experience, the Selinda Canoe Trail is a canoeing and walking adventure safari, replicating the safari experiences of old as it navigates along the Selinda Spillway. The area evokes remoteness and solitude, combined with excellent wildlife viewing.

Great news, for all new bookings on the Selinda Canoe Trail from now until the end of October 2011, all single supplements will be waived (subject to availability).The three-night/four-day safari covers approximately 45km while the nights are spent in fly camps along the way, set up wherever the canoeists end up. Camps are set in prime, shady sites from whhich to explore remote and secret corners of the bush. The days are spent paddling eastwards along the Spillway, stopping whenever there is something of interest to be seen along the banks, such as the many wildlife and bird species found in the area.

The area is well known for elephant, buffalo, sable antelope, roan antelope and wild dog, while cheetah, lion, leopard and variety of other species are also found. The Selinda is also a birding paradise with some 300 species or more to be seen. With many males trying to claim the territory around the Tshwene area, lions are often seen and are very vocal at night.

Each canoeing day begins at first light when the Spillway is at its most peaceful. After an early coffee and snack, we set off for the day's adventure. Walking is part of the experience. If there happens to be activity that warrants investigation, the guide will stop on the banks and take a short walk into the bush. A brunch will be taken around mid-morning and light snacks will be available throughout the day for sustenance until dinner.

We have a number of great ideas to explore Botswana from luxury mobile camps to award wining camps in the Okavango, Moremi, the north and the arid Kalahari. Get in touch for help and advise.

Yellow Fever - do I need it?

Passengers travelling between Europe and Zambia will not be required to have a Yellow Fever certificate.

South African Department of Health has decided Zambian travelers will also require a yellow fever vaccination certificate.

Please be urgently advised that all passengers traveling between South Africa and Zambia (both directions) with effect from 1st July 2011 will be required to have a yellow fever vaccination certificate. This is due to the World Health Organizations recent revision of the Yellow Fever recommendations for Africa. This includes all transit passengers between the two destinations, irrespective of the time period in transit, will also require proof of yellow fever vaccination.
NOTE: A yellow fever vaccination needs to be done no less than 10 days prior to travelling.

Please also be aware that

The list countries for which a Yellow Fever vaccination certificate is required for entry into South Africa are as below: Angola, Argentina, Benin, Bolivia, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Colombia, Guinea-Bissau, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ecuador, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, French Guyana, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guyana, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan ,Suriname, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, Venezuela, Zambia.

ETHIOPIA added to our portfolio

We are really happy to be able to offer safaris / cultural journeys to stunning Ethiopia. The inspiration to offer Ethiopia came in the most classic of way, through black & white photos and stories told by Tony's great aunt who travelled extensively here in the late 1940's/50's.
The interesting and endemic wildlife of the region combined with an amazingly long and varied history make Ethiopia a classic destination for the keen traveller.
We have carefully chosen a partner in Ethiopia who can help us to create and provide outstanding journeys of discovery supported and who can provide us with expert guides, to unlock the whole picture for our clients.
Please visit our suggested Ethiopian safaris or call to discuss your own ideas that we can help you turn in to the idea safari.

Wildeye Photographic Safari

I am always excited about new safari ideas and this time especially so as we have joined up with an award winning wildlife photographer Drew Burnett to create two guided photography safaris to suit all abilities. These are small group safaris with just a maximum of 6 guests, Drew will help to build on your photographic knowledge and in getting those perfect wildlife shots. Sept & Oct 2012 are the height of the dry season in Zambia when Hippo fight for space and the time that the strikingly beautiful Carmine Bee eaters return to breed in colonies on the sandy river banks. These trips cost little more than an un guided safari and make for a very different experience. Click here to visit Drews safari.

Busanga Safaris promotes the Kafue

When other safari companies are thinking of nothing but selling more safaris we are thinking just as hard about first promoting those special places where rare or interesting wildlife occurs in the hope to inspire visitors to safari with us to see for themselves.
No more so than in Zambia's Kafue. Inspired by it's remoteness and varied wildlife we arranged our first safaris to there about a decade ago, it was good then but how it has changed. The wildlife numbers are greater and we know lots more about the diversity and distribution. There are still few safari camps in what after all is Africa's 2nd largest national park and those that are there are sensitivly managed and contribute to the welfare of the park and it's wildlife. Yet although visitor numbers have increased a little, and in truth we don't want too many ! the Kafue remains under promoted, and so when ever we get a chance to help it's profile we are happy to step up. Our Tyrone, who you may know lives in the Kafue and manages the wonderful little Busanga Plains Camp, has recently been contributing his words and experience to write and update the pages dedicated to the Kafue on the official Zambia Tourisum website and has also features about the Kafue to Wildlife extra the highly regarded wildlife magazine, including an article on the return of the Elephants , and giving a talk about the Kafue in London at the Adventure Travel Live show, which was very well received and led to experienced safari goers choosing to visit, and further offers to talk, which will have to wait for another time. Back in Zambia Tyrone has found time to compile a comprehensive wildlife guide to the Kafue which is being contributed to produce a guide book for sale to visitors, the revenue will be ploughed back in to managment and wildlife protection in the Kafue. Although his exploits at the jaws of a crocodile, looking after the first Lady, swimming across the Busanga plains and encounters with lions in the office would probably also sell well but that's also for another time.

We would love to show you the Kafue why not this year?