Into Africa: safari adventure goes luxury, part 2

by J.S. Fletcher and Kathy Newbern © 2009

Continued from Into Africa: safari adventure goes luxury, part 1

Zambezi Kulefu Camp

Granted, getting to Africa takes an effort, but getting around in Africa is also an adventure, especially when it involves small planes (in our case all piloted from Proflight) that land on airstrips in the middle of nowhere. When the blacktop runs out, the plane continues to taxi on packed gravel. If you’re after remote, as one fellow “camper” put it: “the smaller the plane, the better the place you’re going.”

When transferring to the uber-remote Sanctuary Retreats Zambezi Kulefu Camp alongside the mighty Lower Zambezi River, we experience the best airport transfer of our lives, and we’ve had lots of them.

On the barren landing strip at Jeki, we are met by our guide, Elija. The normal one-plus-hour ride in a 4-wheel drive to the riverfront camp takes us three times as long because we keep stopping to view the elephants, zebras, birds, wart hogs, impalas and baboons along the way.

“The real experience by going to Zambia first versus Kenya or some other places, it will be a private experience,” explained Nick Davies, an A&K private travel specialist. “Most of the time on an itinerary going from point to point, we put four to six people only in a 4x4 vehicle.” (These are comfortable, behemoth sport vehicles with a roof but open sides for maximum viewing and photographing.) “It’s good value – an authentic, real safari experience.”

He’s absolutely right.

Because we chose to take a slow, photo-op filled, three-hour transfer from the Jeki airstrip, we arrive after dark in Zambezi Kulefu Camp, built right next to the Lower Zambezi. So it’s especially exciting to hear (but not see) the low moans of the many hippos out there as we enjoy a three-course dinner with fine wine.

As we get out camp tour, fellow campmates, a couple from Australia and an American mother-daughter pair, head out on a night-drive safari, and upon return, excitedly report seeing a leopard stalk her prey.

Later, deep in the night, we hear our first lion roar and what we think is a human scream. Turns out it was a baboon. While here we will cross one more off our Big Five list, a cape buffalo.

Of the six camps in the Lower Zambezi National Park, this one is the most remote: there are no cell towers, and it’s a five-hour drive to the nearest civilization. Appropriately, Kulefu is translated to "the far away place." Its seven tents (and tent is loosely used here because the only comparison to a tent is that each hut has canvas walls affixed to the cement floor surrounding the comfort inside – there’s even Internet access at the main building) accommodate 18 guests in unparalleled luxury considering the locale.

“What’s the secret to the magic?” we ask Simone, the camp’s assistant manager.

“It’s the place. It’s the animals. It’s still unspoiled,” he replies.

Enjoying a white tablecloth lunch outdoors beside the Lower Zambezi following a morning of fishing for tigerfish, a relative of the piranha, we smile and recall his answer as we watch a line of elephants swim cross the river.

Continue on to Into Africa: safari adventure goes luxury, part 3

If You’re Going

Abercrombie & Kent, offering premiere luxury travel since 1962, has year-round safari offerings in Zambia and other African locales.

Sanctuary Retreats are a collection of luxury travel portfolios from lodges and camps, in Zambia and beyond, to villas and cruises: www.sanctuaryretreats.com. A spokesman says guests typically travel a Zambia circuit, enjoying 2-3 nights at each camp for a river experience, a highlands experience and maximum game viewing. To plan a stay, he suggests, “10 days would be good.”

For more on Zambia and its 19 national parks, visit www.zambiatourism.com

Getting There

Zambia’s capital, Lusaka, is accessible from both London Heathrow and a number of international airports on the African continent. Various options include Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (Nairobi, Kenya), Dar es Salaam International Airport (Dar es Salaam, Tanzania), as well as O.R. Tambo International Airport (Johannesburg, South Africa).

Livingstone, home of the Victoria Falls, is also serviced by direct flights from O.R. Tambo International Airport.

To reach some lodges and camps, there are charter and scheduled flights from both Lusaka and Livingstone. Proflight is the preferred small plane service. And since these lodges are located in pristine and often remote locations, flying is the recommended mode of transport.

Continue on to Into Africa: safari adventure goes luxury, part 3

International Travel Examiner J.S. Fletcher and spouse, Kathy M. Newbern, report on luxury destinations, spas and cruising around the globe. They are award-winning members of the Society of American Travel Writers and operate their personalized romance novel business.