Zambezi Expeditions

Zambezi Expeditions features 6 Meru Style Tents, each with their own private en-suite bathrooms consisting of a toilet and hot water bucket shower. The tents are both rustic yet luxurious, featuring two comfortable twin beds with soft linen, blankets and extra pillows. Enjoy an authentic safari experience while wildlife wanders through the camp, offering constant incredible views and photographic opportunities. The tents include an outdoor seating area, ideal for admiring the scores of elephants and impala that journey past the camp to drink from the riverbank, as well as spotting the occasional wild dog.

Guests at Zambezi Expeditions can expect three mouthwatering meals each day. Wake up to an early breakfast consisting of a light continental buffet. This allows guests to get out and enjoy their first activity of the day as quickly as possible. On returning to the camp, a buffet lunch will be waiting for you, including meat, salads and freshly baked bread, and followed by a light dessert. Afternoon tea is served before your second activity of the day, along with both sweet and savoury refreshments. Dinner is usually a three-course meal, but may also be served as a buffet. Guests can enjoy a range of dishes that incorporate local flavour and delicacies as well as familiar and homely dishes. Finish the evening with a delicious dessert accompanied by a refreshing beverage.

Embark on a game drive and discover the incredible wildlife of Mana Pools National Park from the comfort of a specially-designed safari vehicle. The park is home to a range of amazing creatures including approximately 12,000 African Bull Elephants and large prides of lions. Watch antelope as they congregate at the waters before scattering across the plains as predators approach. The camp’s knowledgeable guides will be able to teach you interesting facts about the incredible animals of Zimbabwe, as well as showing you the best spots for viewing game.

Explore the banks of the Zambezi River on foot on a walking safari, and experience the smaller details that make safaris more immersive. Your experienced guide will be able to teach you how to recognise tracks, and follow clues left in the wilderness that will lead to incredible game viewing opportunities. Get up close to the giant grey African Bull Elephants and get a sense of the sheer size of these amazing animals. Walking safaris allow you to explore at your own pace, without the noise of an engine to startle the wildlife, and take advantage of incredible photographic opportunities.

Enjoy a safari from a completely new perspective by taking a canoe along the Zambezi River, where amazing game viewing awaits you. Watch elephants and hippos as they wade through the waters to escape the hot sunshine, and observe eland and antelope as they gather at the riverbanks for a drink. Canoe safaris allow guests to enjoy a leisurely exploration of Mana Pools and appreciate the stunning landscape while drifting along the soothing waters.

Enjoy a peaceful afternoon by the river and fish for a range of amazing species including Tilapia, Vundu Catfish and Bream. All fishing is on a catch-and-release policy. Admire the stunning riverside views and the distant shores of Zambia as you reel in beautiful fish, and try your luck against the infamously difficult-to-catch African Tiger Fish.

Mana Pools National Park is home to over 380 species of birds, which can best be seen during April when the rainy season is coming to an end and migratory birds return to the area. Several species of kingfisher can be found along the Zambezi River, along with cormorants, darters, herons, and African fish eagles. As the dry season progresses, guests may find colourful carmine bee-eaters and Pel’s fishing owl as they nest along the riverbanks. Mana Pools National Park’s diverse landscape features woodland, riverine, and dry plains, making it the ideal habitat for a range of land birds such as the Nyasa lovebird and banded snake eagle. Enjoy searching for these incredible creatures and listening to their gentle songs.

The African Bush Camps Foundation has established a number of projects that aim to improve education, empowerment and conservation efforts within the local communities where they operate. They work with members of the community in order to improve school facilities, provide educational textbooks and supplies for students, and supporting a local health centre, as well as encouraging these communities to form a peaceful relationship with the local wildlife, and finding ways to resolve human and animal conflict. African Bush Camps contribute $10 USD towards the Foundation’s running costs for every night that a single guest stays at one of their camps.

The Detema Sewing Group was launched to empower women with limited employment opportunities by allowing them to practice creating garments and provide sewn products to local schools, businesses, and community members. The 8 women from Detema are all aged over 50, making it difficult for them to find employment due to being close to retirement age. This initiative supports them while allowing them to develop their sewing skills. The ladies then pass their skills on to local children who attend classes to develop this useful life skill.

African Bush Camps work with local communities in the areas where they operate in order to teach and encourage ways of living harmoniously with wildlife. When wildlife habitats become too close to human villages, predators such as lions and wild dogs can attack livestock, and elephants may trample crops. This can cause humans to retaliate in order to protect their livelihoods. By providing the tools and skills to protect livestock and crops, African Bush Camps are helping to reduce human and wildlife conflict.

‘By coexisting with wildlife and using the natural world to grow crop yields, protect livestock and use resources to preserve the environment, communities can improve their food security and achieve a higher quality of life without negatively impacting wildlife. With projects that aim to improve the perception and tolerance of wildlife in the area, we can help communities restore a harmonious relationship with nature for their benefit.’

Tourism helps to support the local communities, and by showing the benefits of sustainable travel, African Bush Camps can highlight why protecting and conserving wildlife habitats is crucial for human communities and the local economy.

African Bush Camps support both orphaned and vulnerable children through their scholarship programmes. The scholarships pay for school fees and allow children to attend Life Skills Workshops where they can gain skills that will boost their employability prospects. African Bush Camps also work with schools to improve their facilities in order to better support the students. By providing a safe, clean, engaging and social environment, students are able to work better and their physical and mental wellbeing is cared for. Providing children with a safe space to learn is crucial for overcoming poverty and offering children the chance to have a higher quality of living and a career.

The African Bush Foundation runs a ‘Greener Camps’ programme which means that ‘African Bush Camps Safari Properties are committed to operating in a sustainable manner, ensuring that we preserve the environment, culture and conservation of Africa. Where possible we use solar power, low energy lighting systems, wastewater treatment, greywater recycling, and single-use plastic reduction initiatives.’ This means that the impact on the environment caused by African Bush Camps is kept to a minimum.

The biggest threat to African lions is conflict with humans. Livestock is vital for many people’s livelihoods, and if lions attempt to attack livestock, it can have devastating effects for both the owners and the lions themselves if people were to retaliate. Because of this, the Lion Guardian teams are trained to empower and educate local communities about living in harmony with wildlife. By providing an income for the local members of the community that become Lion Guardians, the African Bush Camps Foundation is able to support the guardians and their families as well as protect lions and livestock.

The Mambanje Community Garden and Solar Borehole project aims to provide clean and safe water sources for the local community and their livestock so that the community can be self-reliant, and not have to use the local school’s borehole which is struggling with the current demand for water. Creating a community garden will also provide a source of healthy food and income for the community.

‘The water shortage is critical in Mambanje village with only 1 working borehole servicing both the school and greater community. Currently, households are limited to 20 litres of water per day at the school while school children can take back home only 5 litres per day. The school is now limited to the amount of water it can use which has affected the output of the school’s nutrition garden. The community lies in Zimbabwe’s Farming Region IV which is characterized by annual rainfall of 450-650 mm, severe dry spells during the rainy season, and frequent drought and this limited rainfall speaks volumes as to why areas such as Mambanje are still underdeveloped as water is a key and fundamental resource for rural communities and their livelihoods.’

Providing additional waterholes would also benefit members of the community who have to travel a long distance in order to collect water. This is often a task given to young girls, who may miss out on time in school because they had to collect water for their families instead.