We stayed at the Lion Camp from the 27th June until yesterday, 30th June. It is a quite delightful privately owned camp, deep into the South Luangwa Valley. Its central reception/meeting/relaxing area with bar and dining tables, fire pit, swimming pool and even billiards table is most attractively decorated with African lights and artefacts. There is always a welcome party waiting to greet arriving guests – whether for the first time or merely back from a game drive – with either iced or hot flannels.
Leading away from this central area are ten wooden chalet tents on stilts, high above the river bed, connected by a covered wooden walk way, all apparently in the trees like a series of connected tree houses.
Our chalet was lovely. Another great big bed swathed in mosquito netting drapes, and a balcony overlooking the river bed. The food here was delicious and all drinks – as at Kapani – on the house so once again you feel you are staying with friends rather than somewhere that hopes to make more money out of you with an expensive wine list.
Our only criticism, if that is a fair one for a camp so remote, is that for the first time this trip, our enquiry about possible Internet connection was met with a blanket ‘we do not provide Internet connection for our guests.’ So, for anyone needing wifi, Lion Camp is a ‘no no’. For everyone else, it’s very much a YES!
And yes, in case you’re wondering, we saw lions – and plenty of them and practically everything else, in abundance. Sorry to tantalise but John has some tremendous photo which we’ll do our best to show you. My iPad (plus my incompetence) can’t seem to cope with loading more than one at a time at the very best.
