Zambia, back to the essence

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Zambia doesn't leave you indifferent: for its immensity, for the force of the nature, because it makes you feel special within its grandeur. And all that, for you and yours. There the safari experience is unique thanks to its extensive areas of unspoiled nature, which have remained unchanged for years. This experience still acquires more charm with its latest generation accommodations, totally committed to sustainability and the environment.

We arrived in Lusaka, the capital of the country, and headed to Latitude 15º, an accommodation full of charm that fascinated us by its design, its works of art, its elegant style and, above all, by its staff, with its permanent smile and great professionalism. Local people from the area who make the stay at Latitude 15º close, attentive and very welcoming.

We continue the experience in South Luangwa, an area located in eastern Zambia. Being a national park and not a private concession, it’s an area that receives more visitors than other places in the country; even so, thanks to the location of our accommodation, we were able to enjoy great tranquility and incredible views over the Luangwa River. It's a pleasure to rest in that environment between safari and safari, in a sustainable lodging, with totally purified water, whose objective is to combine the elegance with the sustainability of the place.

South Luangwa Park is an ideal area to spot hippos and crocodiles, as well as giraffes, zebras, elephants, baboons and numerous species of birds, and something that caught our attention is the type of zebra. The stripes of a zebra are unique to each animal, such as fingerprints. The Burchell's zebra, the subspecies found in South Luangwa Park, has uniformly spaced dark and light stripes compared to those found in southern and eastern Africa, which have broad pale stripes with faint shadow stripes between the thin dark lines.

In South Luangwa there's a great animal life, surrounded by a considerable wild fauna that allows us to live an experience out of the ordinary: we feel that we're really in the middle of the nature.

It’s time to head towards the Liuwa Plain National Park, and on the way we could admire the Victoria Falls from the air, a true spectacle of nature. From the heights, the landscape is reminiscent of the Okavango delta, in Botswana, with those large plains where the savanna merges with the river.

King Lewanika is a spectacular place, completely isolated and surrounded by unspoilt nature, and with fantastic views over the surrounding savanna. In the hotel camp, we could enjoy its family room with its wonderful views. As in Chinzombo, King Lewanika also stands out for the friendly treatment on the part of its staff, its special design adapted to its environment and its excellent cuisine.

During our stay in King Lewanika, we discovered the figure of Norman Carr, a man ahead of his time. Since the 1950s, his dream has been to secure the future of this unique desert by ensuring that the local population benefited through the conservation of the wildlife and habitat of the Luangwa Valley, leading to the birth of the first safari company in Zambia.

On Liuwa Plain the light is spectacular, and one feels in full harmony with the wild nature. Also, when you are in a private reserve, the safari experience there is very special. In the area you can do kayak trips, as well as safaris on foot, an ideal experience to approach the animals, always safely and without leaving the road.

Peter, the Researcher of the reserve, controls all the activity of the park, from births and falls to the location of the animals within the park and, in this way, can carry out his wildlife conservation project of South Luangwa. Thanks to Peter, who constantly monitors the fauna, we could see a lot of wildebeest, a group of cheetahs and also a beautiful family of lions.

In fact, we were lucky enough to be able to admire this family of lions with total tranquility, and the felines were so comfortable with us that one of the lionesses approached us in a naughty and playful way, and even decided to try one of the wheels of our jeep, biting the tire with curiosity, to burst it!

It was a surprising and fun experience, and thanks to the professionalism of our guides, it was safe at all times, even when changing the wheel.

My favourite experience in Liuwa Plain was undoubtedly sleeping under the stars or, as they call it, "sleep out camp". We spend the night in a wide and comfortable double bed suspended between the trees, in full savannah. A true return to the essence of safari and a simply unforgettable experience.

Also, that night there was a full moon, and I could see how it came out spectacularly, pouring its light on the landscape, as if it were a night sunrise. It was very exciting!

Zambia is probably not the first country that comes to mind when you think of a safari, however, it's an unique destination. We were able to enjoy this authentic place completely alone; an unexplored destination that remains virgin today and that changes with the passing of the seasons, offering unique landscapes in each season. Depends on the time of year when Zambia is visited, the trip is totally different.

Still, without a doubt, with the best memory we have of Zambia it's its people, the welcome and the smiles that they gave us. In Zambia we enjoy a relaxing and full of style with total privacy.