Sanctuary Zebra Plains - Walking Safari Camp

On arrival at Lusaka Airport, proceed through passport control, and collect bags. Please make your way to the Proflight counter in the Domestic Departure area once Airport Departure taxes have been paid (these are currently USD 8 but are subject to change) to check in for your onward flight to Mfuwe. The flying time is approximately 1 hour. On arrival at the Mfuwe International airport a Sanctuary Retreats representative will meet and transfer you to Sanctuary Puku Ridge Camp.

Sanctuary Puku Ridge Camp offers guests an authentic tented safari experience in South Luangwa, one of Zambia's best areas for game viewing and bird spotting. The region is home to 60 mammals - including elephant, lion, wild dog, buffalo, hippo and, of course, antelope - and over 400 bird species. Guests can spend an afternoon relaxing in the camp's large living area in between thrilling game drives or walking safaris. You might even hear the Puku antelope whistling to one other when danger threatens. The central dining area produces gourmet meals, despite being so far away from a city, let alone a road. The camp is designed to leave no trace on the environment and has embraced a very natural kind of African chic in its decor. The seven tents are spacious and comfortable; each with a soothing hot tub and an outdoor shower shaded by trees and stocked with luscious and environmentally friendly Africology products. Watch the sun rise from your double bed, or spot animals making their way across the plains to a waterhole from your private viewing deck.

A full range of day and night game drives in the South Luangwa National Park are offered by the lodge, using open 4X4 vehicles driven by knowledgeable guides. The emphasis in this area is on the plentiful game and the opportunity of being able to combine both game drives as well as short walking safaris with a professional guide and an armed national parks scout. Walking safaris offer a different perspective on the bush and its plentiful inhabitants, experiencing the "little five" and much more. The afternoon is at leisure to enjoy the activates on offer

The afternoon is at leisure to enjoy the game viewing activity on offer, including night game drives, the perfect complement to your South Luangwa explorations.

Meals Included: Dinner

Overnight: Sanctuary Puku Ridge Camp

The day is at leisure to enjoy the activities on offer. Including a morning or an evening game drive or a walking safari.

Lions and leopards are often seen in the area around the lodge, as are buffalo and elephant. For big game like this, guests really need a vehicle to get up close and here in the South Luangwa, travellers have the privilege of going on game drives at night. Guests are always amazed how much can be seen when they go down to the river for sundowner cocktails before leisurely driving back to camp. Bush babies in the trees stand out with their enormous eyes, puku and impala scarcely notice as vehicles pass by. Guests often see hyena and leopard in the early evenings and are able to get very close in Sanctuary Retreats' specially designed 4 x 4 vehicles. On the open plains below the camp there are always grazing herds of antelope and of course they attract the predators that every guest wants to see.

Meals Included:  Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Overnight: Sanctuary Puku Ridge Camp

After breakfast please meet your guide who will transfer you to a half way meeting point, where a Sanctuary Zebra Plains Camp representative will transfer you to the camp. The transfer is mostly though the National Park and forms part of a game drive where the driving time is approximately 2 hours to the meeting point and then another 1 hour 30 minutes to Sanctuary Zebra Plains.

Sanctuary Zebra Plains is the first true luxury walking safari camp of its kind with just four traditional tents - two doubles and two twins. The camp accommodates a maximum of six guests, allowing for an intimate exploration of the untouched Northern sector of the South Luangwa National Park. All tents have real beds, campaign furniture, mosquito nets, en suite facilities and flush toilets. Water for al fresco showers is mixed to your preferred temperature by your tent attendant. The main mess tent has a dining area although most of the gourmet meals will be served in the open in carefully selected vantage points. There is also a small library and bar area. This is a seasonal camp operating from June to October each year. The camp has been designed to leave the lowest possible carbon footprint and will be packed up completely with no trace that it was ever there between seasons.

What sets the area apart is quite simply the concentration of wildlife. On the plains zebra, antelope, buffalo and puku congregate alongside endemic species such as the Thornicroft's giraffe, as well as the unique Crawshay's zebra and Cookson's wildebeest. Predators such as lion, leopard and the elusive wild dog can be seen tracking their quarry whilst the rivers and tributaries are teeming with hippo, elephant and crocodile. A Safari on foot also ensures that one can see many of the 400 species of birds found in the area as well as the rarely seen but fascinating "Little Five" (rhino beetle, buffalo weaver, elephant shrew, leopard tortoise and ant lion). The afternoon is at leisure to enjoy the walking safari on offer

Meals Included:  Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Overnight: Sanctuary Zebra Plains

The days are at leisure to enjoy the walking safari activities on offer, you might wander along a river bank, observing elephants before canoeing across the river to a large island opposite the camp to get up close to plains game before returning to camp for cocktails and canapés as the sun sets over the Luangwa River.  Listen to the sounds of hundreds of snorting hippos providing the background music before sitting down to a three course candlelit dinner served under the stars, with white linen, the finest silverware with lanterns strategically placed to set the ambiance of this true 'Out of Africa' experience.

Meals Included:  Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Overnight: Sanctuary Zebra Plains

The days are at leisure to enjoy the walking activities on offer. Imagine standing in the giant footsteps of an elephant or touching the bark of a tree where only minutes earlier a leopard had scratched it. Imagine watching the grass spring back seconds after a puku antelope bent it in passing or spotting the tracks of a lion in the sand as it stalks its prey. Today you may choose to explore nearby Zebra Plains where buffalo, zebra and eland gather in large herds on the open savannah, a rarity in the wooded terrain of the South Luangwa. The following day your destination might be the Changwa Channel, featured in David Attenborough's "Life" series and home to one of the highest concentrations of hippos on earth.

 Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Overnight: Sanctuary Zebra Plains

After breakfast please meet your guide who will transfer you for your onward journey.

Meals Included:  Breakfast