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Flatdogs Camp
Flatdogs Camp
Flatdogs Camp
Flatdogs Camp
Flatdogs Camp

Reviews of Flatdogs Camp

Wildlife sightings and reviews

74 independent comments and wildlife information from our travellers who have visited Flatdogs Camp and kindly agreed to share their thoughts. They do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa

Wildlife sightings by our travellers
Starting in May-2018, 27 of our travellers have recorded their wildlife sightings at Flatdogs Camp.
Lion

96% success

Leopard

85% success

Wild dog

63% success

Elephant

100% success

Hippo

100% success

Spotted Hyena

100% success

Zebra

100% success

Giraffe

96% success

Buffalo

88% success

Wildebeest

45% success

Eland

18% success

Sable antelope

6% success

Aardvark

6% success

Roan antelope

6% success

Pangolin

5% success

Showing 21-30 of 74
Duration
Arrival date
Mrs S.
Somerset

"Flatdogs Camp review"

3 nights Arrived 18 Apr 2019
"1). Accommodation
We (3 adults and 3 children) stayed for 3 nights in the very self contained Croc Nest accommodation. Whilst the rest of the camp seemed to become crowded and busy we were entirely isolated from this. It worked very well for our group and we would all recommend it to anyone. Comfortable, large, well maintained, with good views to the river. The pool (about 8mx3m) was a real bonus keeping the 3 children completely occupied during the down time between drives.

2). Food
We had all our meals apart from breakfast delivered to our tent/house. The food for lunch and dinner was good with a reasonable choice of dishes (more choice than we have had at other lodges) and arrived promptly. Drinks are not included which was unusual and possibly a negative. The predrive breakfast eaten at the main camp compares badly to other camps. Very basic. Similarly the sundowners and mid morning drive snacks were rather uninspired.

3). Game Drives
Most important, the reason for visiting! South Luangwa has the reputation of being one of the most game prolific areas of Africa. We were not disappointed.
We had Yokim as our guide, possibly Flatdogs chief guide (a previous history of safari-ing meant we were not assigned a rookie, a very good touch). He was knowledgeable and prepared to engage with the children.
Some of us are especially keen birders and he was able to show us many different species. We thought he was pleased not to have to spend his time chasing big animals. The children enjoyed filling the check list in, they ticked about 75 different birds, Mabel (our evening spotter) clearly found this odd. Our only complaint would be that on evening drives Yokim was less alert to our interests due to interaction with Mabel.
We particularly enjoyed our leopard cubs and lion cubs spottings and the huge numbers of hippos and crocodiles. Plus genets (lots, a first for me) elephants and giraffe. I would have liked to see more big buck but for this we would have to be more into the dry season. Plenty of small ones: impala and puku." See all these reviews: 4n in Zambia
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Good
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Good
Sightings Report

Elephant

10 sightings

Giraffe

7 sightings

Hippo

10 sightings

Leopard

4 sightings

Lion

2 sightings

Zebra

9 sightings

Mrs. KCW
DC

"Jackalberry treehouse"

3 nights Arrived 10 Sep 2018
"We loved the Jackalberry treehouse. What a cool experience! We opted to skip a drive in favor of staying back to watch the animals drink from our own watering hole one day! The caretaker was super attentive and the staff went out of their way to make us comfortable.

We loved our guide.

This is very much a wild experience, which we very much appreciated! But less adventurous travelers should be aware of insects and animals in and around the treehouse." See all these reviews: 11n in Zambia
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Good
Facilities:
Excellent
Sightings Report

Buffalo

4 sightings

Eland

4 sightings

Elephant

10 sightings

Giraffe

10 sightings

Hippo

10 sightings

Leopard

3 sightings

Lion

5 sightings

Spotted Hyena

4 sightings

Zebra

10 sightings

Prof. A
Nottingham

"Flatdogs Camp review"

3 nights Arrived 25 Aug 2018
"Flatdogs is a lovely camp. The guiding is excellent (Yotam) and Adrian and Jess are genuinely interested in ensuring everyone has a great experience.

We stayed in Croc's Nest which is beautiful. One small drawback is you can't walk back to the main camp because of wandering animals!

We had our own pool and patio and sent the day watching elephants and baboons. Magic!" See all these reviews: 6n in Zambia
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Sightings Report

Buffalo

4 sightings

Elephant

10 sightings

Giraffe

10 sightings

Hippo

10 sightings

Leopard

4 sightings

Lion

4 sightings

Spotted Hyena

4 sightings

Wildebeest

3 sightings

Zebra

10 sightings

Ms Y
Oregon

"Lovely Experience"

4 nights Arrived 20 Aug 2018
"Our stay at Flatdogs was terrific. Adrian, Jess, Becca, Louis and our guide Kennedy made our days at Flatdogs warm and engaging. I apologize for not mentioning all the staff as they were very good at their work and made everything flow smoothly.

The guiding with Kennedy was solid and we were able to spot everything we desired with a bit more added in.

We loved our luxury tent and it had all the amenities that you need for a stay. I loved sitting outside our tent and watching the elephant crossing everyday. Walking through camp we saw elephants, baboons, monkeys and hippos.

In adddition to leopards, lions, ellies, etc, we also saw a Honey Badger, Genet, and a number of different varieties of mongoose.

I would not hesitate to recommend staying at Flatdogs." See all these reviews: 13n in Zambia
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Good
Facilities:
Excellent
Sightings Report

Buffalo

2 sightings

Elephant

10 sightings

Giraffe

10 sightings

Hippo

10 sightings

Leopard

3 sightings

Lion

5 sightings

Spotted Hyena

2 sightings

Zebra

5 sightings

Mrs S
NZ

"Flatdogs Camp review"

4 nights Arrived 3 Jul 2018
"Great welcome, excellent and personable guide." See all these reviews: 7n in Zambia
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Good
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Good
Facilities:
Good
dadndoc
Mawson Lakes

"Excellent game drive base camp"

3 nights Arrived 2 Jul 2018
"We stayed for three nights at Flatdogs Camp which is conveniently located just outside the main entrance to South Luangwa National Park. The camp is extremely well staffed with pleasantly helpful staff. Our vehicle driver, Kennedy, was an excellent guide who also took good care of our meal requirements before each game drive. Animals within the National Park were not abundant but there were always some excellent animal encounters and leopard viewings.

Our spacious solid construction lodges were “rustic” with dated interiors but they perfectly suited our needs. We experienced numerous encounters with elephants outside our lodge and around the camp which was unexpected and enjoyable.

The kitchen offered a full day menu with a wide variety of food choices on both the regular menu and with daily specials.

Flatdogs Camp was an excellent game drive base and offers a considerably better value package than any of the camps we visited at South Luangwa National Park.
It is our first choice of safari camps within the area." See all these reviews: 6n in Zambia
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Sightings Report

Aardvark

1 sighting

Buffalo

4 sightings

Elephant

10 sightings

Giraffe

10 sightings

Hippo

10 sightings

Leopard

5 sightings

Lion

1 sighting

Spotted Hyena

6 sightings

Zebra

10 sightings

J+K
Canada

"Flatdogs Camp"

3 nights Arrived 26 May 2018
"Flatdogs was an excellent introduction to our safari! It has a very relaxed atmosphere, and we enjoyed spending time each midday by the pool. Our guide, Joffrey, was fantastic, and really made an effort to tailor our game drives to our interests. The food was delicious, and we had no issues with our dietary restrictions (vegetarian and severe allergies).

We stayed in the Luxury Safari Tent, which was huge and provided every amenity we could have asked for. We were thrilled to be able to sit on our porch and watch herd of about 15 elephants bathe and graze right behind our tent one afternoon!

Given the size of the camp, there were several families with young children staying there, which did cause some louder poolside afternoons, however we had no other complaints or issues about our stay!" See all these reviews: 13n in Zambia
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Sightings Report

Buffalo

1 sighting

Elephant

10 sightings

Giraffe

10 sightings

Hippo

10 sightings

Lion

4 sightings

Spotted Hyena

3 sightings

Wild dog

1 sighting

Wildebeest

Multiple sightings

Zebra

6 sightings

Dr M
Grand Rapids

"Flatdogs Camp review"

3 nights Arrived 23 Apr 2018
"The previous reviews (Expert Africa and TripAdvisor) had me expecting slow service for food/meals and iffy Wi-Fi. Both turned out to be true, but honestly: I didn't care. The WiFi is nearly nonexistent, and you wait for food. But who cares?

We found this place to be special and enjoyable in every other way. We would stay there again and recommend it to any/all (unless you want to be working and emailing from a bushcamp).

Great guiding. There's nothing else to do there but go on game drives. That's why we came and Flatdogs delivered, along with friendly service and good food and great vibes." See all these reviews: 6n in Zambia
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Good
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Good
Facilities:
Good
Mr M
Fortis Green

"Long weekend at Flatdogs"

3 nights Arrived 21 Sep 2017
"Spent a long weekend at Flatdogs in September 2017 as a solo traveller. Overall, it was a fantastic experience

Location - It's right by the main gate but outside the park, not much more than 30 min drive from Mfuwe airport. Being near the main gate brings you a bit more traffic - but on the other hand it also allows you to piggy back on other vehicles' sightings. We took a drive into the more remote part of the park one day and didn't see as much, as you only see what you spot yourself.

Accommodation - The tents are perfectly nice, though in September it is warm and although the fan in the room helps, sleeping can be difficult.

Food - Unlike nearly every other lodge I've been to, they have a full-size restaurant menu, rather than 1 or 2 options per night. Makes a big difference to the experience to be able to choose from so many things.

Wildlife - South Luwangwa in September is incredible. The combination of low number of tourists relative to other places, not much vegetation, lots of leopards and ability to do night drives makes it one of my all time favourite places to do safari.

Service - The team at Flatdogs were really helpful - a lot of places have a fixed 'programme' for guests and that's what you have to do. At Flatdogs we had a discussion every night about what we wanted to do tomorrow. In the end I paid extra to have a private vehicle as being in the truck with half a dozen others felt more like being on an open-top bus tour than enjoying a special moment with nature. It wasn't cheap, but well worth it. My guide was fantastic - in terms of spotting, his knowledge but also listening to what we were interested in rather than going through the motions. Will definitely go back next year." See all these reviews: 3n in Zambia
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Good
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Average
Mr & Mrs B
Singapore

"Flatdogs Camp review"

4 nights Arrived 26 Aug 2017
"Felt like Nat Geo live! Elephants mud bathing in front of my tent. Consistent leopard spotting in every game drive and lots of lions with cubs. When in camp I enjoyed very delicious food, plenty of choice and a lovely Asian touch to many dishes. Management tremendously supported me when my luggage was 5 days delayed. Will never forget the shopping tour in the nearby village. Highly recommended camp!" See all these reviews: 11n in Zambia
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Good
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Good
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Good
Showing 21-30 of 74
98%
74 reviews of Flatdogs Camp by travellers since August 2007
Overall rating by our travellers
66
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0
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