Reviews of Kakuli Bushcamp
(95%) From 43 travellersThey do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa.
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very good for lions
Lovely location. Overall standard of accommodation was very good.
Our only real gripe was that we were given the end tent/cabin which was open to the bush and could not understand why we had to be escorted to and from dinner in the evening, but it was considered alright for us to walk ten yards from our front door, quite unprotected, unhidden and unsheltered to the passage leading to the bathroom, at say, 1 and 4 am, when we had been told there were hyenas and lions around the camp at night. I asked for a plastic bucket and got, eventually, an old plastic paint container to pee in, but only when I insisted. We were able to move to an alternative tent for our remaining nights.
Lovely dining area looking out over the river. We saw lions, cubs and adults, with breakfast one morning. There was less variety of landscape than in the other camps but we had excellent walks and interesting drives.
noisy hippos; great people
My main contacts during my stay here were Lucinda and Aubrey, and again, no one could have been more friendly and helpful. Some really great sightings of lion, especially with the 5 cubs. My favourite is the one with leopard markings, which I had never seen on a cub before. I'm sure not many can look like that.
With all Africa around us, Lucinda and I ended up discussing Rocking Horses!
Kakuli Bushcamp review
The camp was great! The staff were always helpfull, and couldn't do enough to make our stay eventfull.
The guide we had (JJ) was one of the best. Great camp!!
Our final bushcamp - Kakuli
Thankyou to all at Kakuli for making it so difficult for us to leave. Another amazing setting a few km down the river from Mchenja, but yet again a sudden change in the environment but the usual spectacular game viewing.
Watching elephant from your breakfast table has to be seen to be believed.
Food, service and guiding a cut above!
This was superb setting -wonderful views
This was such a delightful camp despite having to cross from our tent to the wash/toilet facilities - everything was superb especially the safaris. JJ was outstanding every one of our wishes was fulfilled - in fact we decided he probably went out ahead and posed the animals before taking us out!
Food/service/rooms etc all wonderful
Kakult Camp - excellent all round
This is another very well run camp in a great location with great staff.
We were guided by JJ both in walks and night drives and saw a great variety of animals and birds (quite a few lions about but leopards too).
JJ is interesting in himself and fun to be with and his knowledge of flora and fauna is vast and he can debate the finer points about distinguishing the Mozambique nightjar from other similar species and then lead one to with just a few feet of the bird.
Close encounters of the carnivore kind
Our memories of Kakuli will always be coloured by the wonderful sightings we had here of lions and a leopard. JJ, our guide, delivered these on our last night in South Luangwa, like a virtuoso delivering a cadenza. Being so close to the lions was an overwhelming experience. But one shouldn't forget the literally hundreds of hippos that gathered around as we enjoyed our sundowner on the river bank, or the dozens of crocs too.
Kakuli has a beautiful location, and great accommodation too. We specially enjoyed our open-air bathroom and our throne-like toilet below the termite mound!
JJ, Aubrey and Lucinda made us very welcome. The atmosphere and service here was outstanding
Kakuli Bushcamp review
Kakuli was our least favourite bush camp though the standards were as high as elsewhere. We were least impressed with hostess, Lucinda, here and also the guide, Aubrey, who although knowledgeable was less engaging than the other guides.
The "sundowners" on the last evening on the dry river bed was a nice touch.
Great outlook - hippo serenade
Loved the communal decking/bar area. Fab view out of chalet, the shower was a bit weak and took ages to heat up though.
Read more about the whole safariImpressive River Landscapes and Water Birds
Our reed and thatch chalet at Kakuli was at the edge of the low cliff fronting on to the Luangwa River. This gave us lots of opportunities to watch the birds in the nearby trees and on the water and sand banks, as well as the hippos and crocodiles in the river. There were many spoonbills and yellow billed storks and we were fascinated to watch a pied kingfisher as it hovered over the water and dived vertically to catch its prey.
Our walks and drives at Kakuli provided many varied sightings of wildlife, including following a track which led us to a snake marooned on a sandbank and in danger from the heat of the sun. Aubrey, our guide, carried it on his stick to safety. We liked the impressive river landscapes – there was always so much to see and to learn. The night drives were very rewarding too with a lot of lion and two hyenas removing a leg from a buffalo killed earlier by lions.
Unfortunately the toilet broke down in our chalet on the first evening. We were impressed by the way in which a temporary arrangement was made for the night and that we were then transferred with no fuss to another chalet the following morning without any such request on our part.
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.
