Reviews of Mwaleshi Camp

"So peaceful and remote, an African paradise." See all these reviews: 10n in Zambia

"It's a bit of a trek to get to North Luangwa, but definitely worth the effort.

The walking here is always special, and this time was no exception, with elephants, wild dogs and a pride of lions including two impressive males and six cubs ranging from 2-6 months. Mwaleshi itself is just lovely - the lighting in the chalets has been upgraded, but it is largely unchanged and perfect for it.

Next year Remote Africa will be opening a small camp near the confluence that will offer driving safaris; I will be interested to hear how that progresses." See all these reviews: 13n in Zambia

"We loved the serenity of Mwaleshi Camp and it's appropriate yet very comfortable facilities.

The cook Brightwell created magnificent food from his bush kitchen.

The walking was good but we felt the heat was a bit oppressive after about 9.30." See all these reviews: 10n in Zambia; 2n in Zimbabwe

"Everything about Mwaleshi was wonderful. We had camp to ourselves, and were made very welcome.

This was definitely the highlight of our trip.

If anything, I wish we'd stayed here at the end, because it was hard to compare everything else to Mwaleshi's remoteness, service and comfort." See all these reviews: 8n in Zambia; 3n in Zimbabwe

"Expert guiding, great camp" See all these reviews: 2n in Zambia; 2n in Malawi

"This camp really brings home that one is in North Luangwa park and much more remote.

It is wonderful for walking and tracking and the guiding was FANTASTIC" See all these reviews: 14n in Zambia

"It was my third visit to Mwaleshi in as many years, and it only reinforced what I felt a year ago: that North Luangwa is one of my favourite places in the world.

Stunning scenery, fantastic sightings (especially lion and buffalo), top guiding by Brent Harris and a superb, friendly camp in one of the remotest places in Africa means that, in my book at least, it doesn't get much better than this.

I recognise it is not for everyone, however: guests should be aware that game is more dispersed than in the South, for example, and I would recommend a reasonable level of fitness to get the most out of the experience. One thing's for sure: I'll be back." See all these reviews: 9n in Zambia

"It's difficult to write this review, because it was supposed to be the high point of our trip and it ended up being slightly disappointing - perhaps because our expectations had been so high. Despite this, we did enjoy our time there.

The camp is perfect. Lovely location, good accommodation, excellent food and brilliant guiding. The ability to have a splash in the Mwaleshi river after a morning walk is a big bonus.

However, we have been spoiled on our previous trips in that all our game walks have been alone or with two other people and, unfortunately for us, the camp was full for the whole 6 days we were there and so our walks were with 4 other people, which we did not enjoy. I found being at the back of a group of 6 deeply frustrating because you knew that if the guide saw something interesting, it would be long gone before you had a chance to see it and you weren't able to ask questions till the group stopped. Fortunately (for us), one couple were getting tired of walking and missed a couple of walks and so we were able to have 2 good walks when there were only 4 of us.

This problem only arises at walking camps where walking is the only activity. For example, at Tafika, if 6 people wanted to walk we could have chosen to drive and at Musekese, with 3 guides to 8 people (and 3 activities) it is unlikely ever to happen.

Other people may be happy to walk in a group of 6 (and I understand there are sometimes 8 at other camps) but I would not go to a walking camp again unless I could guarantee walking for 4 or less - either by having a private guide or paying for 2 rooms. (Tafika guarantees a maximum of 4 per vehicle but I think a maximum of 4 is just as important for walking).

I discussed this with John when we returned to Tafika and explained that it is not a criticism of Mwaleshi, it is simply our preference, now, having been so spoilt on previous walks." See all these reviews: 18n in Zambia

"We have been here 7 times and love its remoteness. River dried up opp camp which was a shame as it is normally very pretty and we like crossing it with shoes off. Flowing upstream 2K so we used truck to get there some times, which we would not normally do.

But worth it as lots of lion, buffalo and elephant activity. We were alone for all 5 days which meant we had Brent Harris as a personal guide. He is deeply experienced across the world so fascinating to talk with. His approach to guiding is different from others - he is more interested in how the bush works as an integrated whole and less on listing every tree, bush, animal we see. This is a deeper approach and conservation came the main topic which we liked. So we tracked lions often and close, spent time just watching, took care with elephants (once after swiftest move to behind a tree and lots of shouting), and loved every moment.

Note that a couple from Australia had so much luggage the plane could not take 4 of us and the top-up food supply to Mwaleshi.

They should have been told by their agent, or were just stupid!

We hear the Rhino Sanctuary, with 32 now, will extend in 2016 to include Mwaleshi." See all these reviews: 13n in Zambia

"This is certainly different, we absolutely loved it, but maybe not everybody's taste, the game is much sparser and you need to work for it (it is a walking camp and the last hours of the morning get hotter by the day as you approach October). The pack of hyenas trying to steal the kill from 3 lionesses will stay in our memory for ever.... and it was during the morning tea break, what a treat!!!

The camp is more basic than Tafika, but when you think that everything (up to the ice cubes) has to be flown in, it is a logistical tour de force, and if you want to stay at a place with air con and swimming pool,....well it's not for you." See all these reviews: 10n in Zambia