Dear Chris,

I have got your guidebook to Zambia but am aware that it is now a few years old and that things in Zambia are changing so quickly and camps are popping up all over the place so wanted to get your advice/opinion.

I am currently living and working in Joburg but in early April am embarking on a road trip with my boyfriend in his Land Rover. We are going to spend some time in Zambia (I used to help on a camp in the Kafue - Lufupa Lodge) and he is keen to visit the Kafue.

Some friends of ours from Joburg would love to come out for a long weekend/four days to join us there and I just want some tips on camps that you would recommend and if our friends can fly in from Lusaka for a price that is not totally astronomical. It will be mid April by the time we are there so some roads will still be pretty inaccessible no doubt. Any tips gratefully received... Emily Stratton, London

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Hi Emily,

Zambia in April can be, as you realise, quite wet. The black-cotton soil there turns to treacle when wet, making many roads totally impassable. Hence not all camps will be operating.

These include most of the camps in northern Kafue … like Lufupa and Shumba – both of which have probably changed beyond recognition since you worked there. (They’ve been completely re-built to the standard of top-end lodges in Botswana – or at least Shumba has been. And Lufupa is being re-built I the first half of 2007.)

So … you’d like a lodge that’s close to Lusaka, inexpensive and good in April.

It’s a difficult brief by start off thinking about Lechwe Lodge, just south of Lusaka. Great value, super food, really solid and genuine – but no dangerous big game.

You might also want to consider Kaingu Lodge, in the south of the park. The game’s not quite as strong as it is in the north, but the river there is stunning, and the owner-run lodge is delightful.

You might also want to check out Hippo Lodge, on the east side of northern Kafue. Not sure if it’s open that early in the year, and again the game’s probably not as good as you remember in Lufupa’s area, but it’s a fun little lodge with some quirky, idiosyncratic touches and a keen team led by Bruce, who used to manage Lufupa.

Please with any of these, bear in mind that Zambia’s had very heavy rains this year – and the Luangwa’s been higher than it’s been for 30 years – so check with your chosen lodge about what’s happening this year before you book.

Finally – if you are thinking of a return trip to Kafue when it’s drier – look into trips using the brand new Musanza Bushcamp, which opens in July. A week-long trip in northern Kafue, including 3 nights on the Busanga Plains at Musanza Bushcamp, is a particularly hot tip as a great value safari from July to November 2007.

Good luck – and let me know where you end up.

Chris McIntyre is managing director of Expert Africa

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