#Zambia Tourism News updates by #KafuntaSafaris

(Posted 06th June 2023)

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Dear ATCNews Readers, Dear All!

May has come and gone! What a month it has been!

Hang on tight; here’s a summary of the past few weeks, packed with amazing photos.

For me, things got serious on May 7th, when I flew from my home office in Belgium to Durban to attend Indaba. Indaba is a tourism business-to-business trade show focusing on Africa. It was lovely to meet all our trade partners and fellow Zambian operators again, and in person! And thanks to the Zambian Tourism Association and our Minister of Tourism, Hon. Rodney Sikumba, we had a splendid stand to hold our meetings on!

Zambia wins top prize!

The stand was so good that Zambia actually won the platinum prize in the large stand category. A grand award considering we were competing with the likes of Emirates and Qatar Airways! Well done to our Tourism Board for such an achievement.

I’ll take this opportunity to thank our trade partners for coming; I had an amazing 42 meetings over the show’s three days. It was a great success.

After Indaba, I flew to Mfuwe for a two-week visit to Kafunta. It was so good to be back. The lodge has been busy with guests from the start of the season on April 1st. If you remember the last newsletter, we had a pretty rough start with the late floods.

But things are getting back to normal with roads being graded and the pontoon finally opening. Our operations manager, Sam, has sure been busy with these projects.

But that’s not all!

On other fronts, Ron & Anke were equally busy overseeing the progress of the Sunset House construction, while TJ, Levy, Julius, and their crews were cranking up the building of Three Rivers Camp and Island Bush Camp to ensure they would be ready to open on May 25th.

Big shoutout to everyone for putting in such incredible effort!

Sunset House update : it’s looking so good!

In case you missed the latest newsletter, we’re building the Sunset House, our brand-new addition to Kafunta River Lodge. The house will be the perfect spot for families of all ages or close-knit groups of friends who want a little more privacy during their holidays. Along with three en-suite bedrooms, the house has a large dining area, spacious outdoor decking, an infinity pool and a fireplace. And, of course, it comes with private services, including guiding.

Just like you, I had so far only seen Anke’s photos of the Sunset House, but seeing it in person was… amazing! It’s such an exciting project, and it’s well underway to be completed within the next few months.

Three Rivers Camp & Island Bush Camp

May 25th, it’s Camp Opening Day

With the late rains, reaching the camps early on was impossible, and camp building only started around the 5th of May. That left just 20 days for our teams to get to work! But their colossal effort paid off, and both camps were ready for opening on the 25th.

I hopped in the car with three other guests and our guide David, and we headed south, cruising alongside the beautiful Chindeni Hills. My first stop was Three Rivers Camp – our tented camp set at the confluence of the Luangwa, Kapamba and Lusangazi rivers.

I absolutely adore Three Rivers Camp, not just because I’m a big fan of canvas, but especially because of the amazing star beds. With only one night in camp, there was no doubt where I was going to sleep! The camp looks really good and TJ’s team are eager to serve you!

Waking up at dawn, on the star bed, and observing an elephant munching. Pure bliss…

My next stop was Island Bush Camp, where Martin and his team were already attending to the season’s first four guests.

Island is a very authentic bush camp, and its simplicity allows us to reconnect with the raw beauty of nature and the untamed surrounding wilderness. It’s a splendid experience.

The camp has an incredible 180-degree view of the Luangwa River, where you can see the sun rise and set over the water. It’s really beautiful.

Are you still with me?

I warned you it was a jam-packed newsletter! So far, I’ve talked about Kafunta, Sunset House, Three Rivers and Island but what about the wildlife? Oh yes, it’s been busy on that front as well!

Lion cubs have been the show’s stars so far, although leopards (including a very elusive cub) and wild dogs are never far behind.

But for this chapter, I’ll hand over to our guests and their awesome photos. As the adage goes… pictures are worth a thousand words. I absolutely love it when my inbox gets filled with the work of our visitors. Please keep the pictures coming!

You asked for lions?

Let’s start with the pride known as The Big Pride (Mfuwe pride). It was already delighting us with three generations of cubs, 9 of them! But in mid-May, a surprise came along! Three more cubs made their debut in the pride, now totalling a whopping 12 cubs! Unheard of in South Luangwa for decades.

If these cubs grow healthy, this Big Pride (2 males, 4 females and 12 cubs) will be around for years to come.

Photos by Geoff Loughborough and myself.

Then there’s always leopards…

And loads of them! Photos by Geoff Loughborough, Marc Weis and Paul Vrouenraets.

These two photos by Geoff Loughborough really tell a story!

And there’s everything else!

From baboons to wild dogs and everything in between, the Luangwa never disappoints!

Photos by Maurice Sarson, Marc Weis and Geoff Loughborough.

Did these amazing photos pique your interest? Oh trust me, the real thing is even more breathtaking!

So are you ready to pack your bags? There’s still time to book your 2023 safari! Reach out to Ritta for the latest availability and a personalized quote.

More to come!

But it’s time to wrap up this newsletter and gear up for our special 25th-anniversary edition next month! You won’t want to miss it. I also suggest keeping an eye on our social media handles.

Quick reminder: make sure to share your photos with me so that I can showcase them throughout the year.

Thank you all for being part of our story, and let’s meet again in the next edition.

Izzy, and the Kafunta Safari team