Reviews of Kapani Lodge
(95%) From 72 travellersThey do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa.
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Great introduction to South Luangwa
Staying at Kapani Lodge was an ideal start to our holiday in Zambia. As it is quite close to Mfuwe airport it was a good base for our first two nights. There was knowledgeable guiding on both birds and animals and as the amimals are quite habituated you are able to get really close views and photos.
The team were welcoming and attentive and as a vegetarian I was very well catered for with a variety of dishes from vegetable kebabs on barbeque night to risotto, salads and wonderful cakes!
The suites are very comfortable and well equipped. Clean, spacious and cool.
Nice start at Kapani for a great trip
At the Mfuwe airport we have been met by our guide, Andrew, who brought us directly to a night drive, where we started with sights of lions and leopards, of course after a sundowner close to impala, baboons, birds, etc.
Arrived for dinner at Kapani, also people there (Enoch) took care about the problem I had with my luggage (that did not arrive in Lusaka with me....), and that was very reassuring.
Even if I had in my hand luggage all what I needed, at least for a few days (underwear, shirt, trousers, socks, etc.), the opportunity to use the laundry service is very useful in these cases.
We spent the two nights in Kapani having a great time and great food, as it will be for the rest of the trip in all the camps, where the food was always fantastic.
Kapani Lodge review
Very impressed, the drives were great and the guide and staff couldn't do enough for us.
Read more about the whole safariReturn to Kapani for our last night
Nothing to add here; see previous comments [Ed: See the review below!]
Read more about the whole safariA lovely start to our trip at Kapani Lodge
This was our second visit to Kapani, and we loved it as much as the first time. It's location seems even finer after the rains, when the lagoon is full, than later in the year.
Our guides - Brian and Innocent - made the most of all the opportunities for game and bird viewing, and we were very pleasantly surprised that we saw so much game at this time of the year. Of course, the birds, mostly in their breeding plummage, were fantastic
The food was excellent - we were again astonished by the range and quality - and the service generally very good (although there were a couple of slips, one when requests we made weren't followed up and one when heavy rain denuded the restaurant area of management!).
Kapani lodge 4 nights, 1 night at Kakuli.
It took me 19 years to get back to my favourite place in the world- the South Luangwa Valley, once again at a rejuvenated Kapani lodge and having the same guide, the infamous Abraham Banda. Nothing let me down! This was just how I wanted to experience, the best of Africa's game reserves/parks and at my favourite time of the year- the emerald season. Amazing sightings, harder work for the tracker/guide, Abraham, but this is part of the challenge.
The season brings better light and photographic opportunity in general and no dust to test my lenses and camera. This is the place to see leopard and the newly crowned king with a pride of 17 lions in tow. The kill during the famous spotlight safari, with 18 lions in a scrum trying to get their share of the kill was amazing to see and hear. Great birding opportunity, genet, serval and the regular cast.
Had the opportunity for a 'free' upgrade to KAKULI bush camp, and 2 wonderful walking safari's- part of what is the Norman Carr concept. Thank you to all concerned and it will not be another 19 years before I get back to South Luangwa!
Good introduction to the area and wildlife.
Kapani is a good place to start. The drives give the opportunity to get close to the animals for the views you tend not to get when walking.
Our guide, Innocent, was first class and asked us what our interests were before setting out. He was very enthusiastic about all our sightings.
Kapani set the scene for the quality of food we were to enjoy at all Norman Carr camps.
Fantastic safari at Kapani Lodge
All the people we met at Kapani were professional, polite and very friendly and helpful, right from our pick up at the airport to our transfer to the next camp. Everyone was focussed on making our every experience wonderful and memorable. I particularly liked that everyone introduced themselves by name and remembered our names and used them regularly; it was a nice personal touch. My memory, however, is not as good as theirs, so it might have helped me if some of the staff wore name badges.
We stayed in one of the suites, which we weren't expecting and it was fabulous. The decor and cleanliness were outstanding and the view of the lagoon was delightful, especially as each rooms veranda and lookout were private. You felt wonderfully secluded. The excellent laundry service was much appreciated and the food was out of this world. We couldn't believe how great the catering was in such a rural setting.
We'd never been on safari before, but the guides were fantastic and catered for all levels of knowledge without making you feel like you were asking a silly question. They were also great at helping us get the best views of the animals for photographs and tried to make sure we found the animals we really wanted to see. We appreciated that all the staff wroked very hard to make our holiday wonderful, but were always cheerful and seemed to be enjoying their work. We were mainly guided by John and Ashid and they were both lovely people and brilliant at their jobs.
Kapani Lodge review
The food we had at Kapani was just fabulous. Not just the best meals of our visit to Zambia, but perhaps some of the best meals out we've had in years!
The room was great and we enjoyed dropping off to sleep to the sound of grunting hippos.
Our last night here was shared with 2 large groups. When taking our seats for dinner we realised that there didin't appear to be enough seats for us to join either party. We were then shown to a table for two on a viewing platform away from the main dining area. It was such a nice gesture to be given some special treatment and we enjoyed a lovely meal to ourselves under the stars.
The location is just outside the National Park, but this isn't detrimental in any way, since we saw various interesting things on our drive to and from the park.
Kapani Lodge review
friendly knowledgable staff, beautiful location, care and attention, fabulous room
would have been nice to have airconditioning in the vehicle which collected us from the airport
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.
