Reviews of Wasa Lodge
(93%) From 6 travellersThey do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa.
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Wasa Lodge review
Minor grumbles only, mentioned by other visitors at the time, may well be attended to in planned upgrading of the accommodation.
Read more about the whole safariKasanka Trust and the community
Our comments are on earlier. [Ed: See review below]
We visited the Kasanka Conservation Centre at the park entrance and saw the work the Trust is doing with ecological researchers and school visits. There are several research teams in action and this is very encouraging as the Trust developes its work.
Wasa, Kasanka Trust and Bengweulu superb
It was great to meet up with Ernst, from Mwalshi 2 years ago, who is the new Trust Manager. He covers several sites but the work with the Trust is going well and it is very rewarding to visit. It is quite different from Luangwa - lakes and rivers, drive-in visitors and rare animals.
The Lodge is comfortable with good food provided by Brighton. We saw 23 Sitatunga on a morning drive coming out of the mist. It is very cold a night - down to 5 probably, so fleece layers were essential. Days were clear and lovely. Fishing, walking, birding and good guiding made our visit to Kasanka a really good experience.
We decided to add a day trip to Bangweulu as it was so strongly recommended by recent visitors. extremely glad we did so. Fly out at 08.00 and back at 16.00 gives a full day in the Wetlands from Kasanka. What a place! We saw Black Lechwe wall to wall, Tsessebe elusive in long grass and after a bit of a search by boat 3 of the rare Shoebill.
The water trips were outstanding, poled along with birds everywhere, local fishermen and as the name means "where the sky meeets the water" is wonderful scenery.
Sitatunga Central!
We went to Kasanka with one principal objective, ie to see the elusive sitatunga, and were fortunate enough to have an excellent sighting on the first of our three mornings there. We were also very impressed with the birdlife - Schalow's turaco being just one of several 'specials' we found there. And we were fortunate enough to enjoy a good sighting of a troupe of blue monkeys too.
That said, Kasanka is not especially well populated with megafauna thanks to the impact of poaching on this part of the country; so visitors should be prepared to temper their expectations accordingly and be patient.
In addition to going out in the truck, we enjoyed a very pleasant river safari from the nearby Luwombwa camp; and a couple of walks. Throughout we were expertly guided by Webby.
The camp itself is comfortable and its manager, Ernst, is working to improve standards across the board as the Kasanka Trust looks to attract more guests.
All in all, we feel that Kasanka - coupled with Bangweulu - is well worth a short stay, especially for the experienced African visitor looking for something a little out of the ordinary and with an interest in bird life.
Wasa Lodge review
It is more than 20 years since we last visited Wasa and it has changed hugely but not at the expense of its simplicity and essence. It is a very special place.
We were most warmly welcomed by everyone there who took great care to accommodate any wishes we had and our stay was a joy. The location is beautiful, the staff delightful, food delicirous, rooms very comfortable and bird and game viewing great - we were so lucky to see the first of the fruit bats and enjoyed a well guided walk round the lake. We also enjoyed meeting other guests.
Everything was great - from the day trip to visit the Livingstone Memorial and Chief Chitambo (whom we didn't actually meet but loved the whole adventure), expertly guided by the charming Emmanuel, to dinner with some of the most interesting and engaging people we have met for a very long time. Thank you to Ernst and his team, you got it absolutely spot on.
Wasa Lodge review
Kasanka is still under development, interesting because of researchers active in the park. Our guide might have told us a bit more, instead of just pointing at animals. A great contrast to Brent Harris in Kafue!
Read more about the whole safari
We have always believed that acting responsibly is the only way to approach tourism and we're one of
the few companies to hold AITO's original coveted 5-star status for responsible tourism. It's a lead
that others are now following.
