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Nkwali
Nkwali
Nkwali
Nkwali
Nkwali
Nkwali
Nkwali

Reviews of Nkwali

Wildlife sightings and reviews

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

Wildlife sightings by our travellers
Starting in Apr-2018, 60 of our travellers have recorded their wildlife sightings at Nkwali.
Lion

88% success

Leopard

93% success

Wild dog

63% success

Hippo

100% success

Elephant

98% success

Giraffe

98% success

Zebra

98% success

Buffalo

86% success

Spotted Hyena

84% success

Wildebeest

27% success

Eland

9% success

Roan antelope

6% success

Aardvark

5% success

Sable antelope

5% success

Pangolin

0% success

Showing 31-40 of 238
Duration
Arrival date
Ms S.
Missouri

"Nkwali review"

4 nights Arrived 17 May 2022
"Just about a perfect experience at Nkwali. Robin Pope exceeds expectations when it comes to personal service of all the staff, such a warm and friendly place….wonderful meals, fantastic game drives, creativity of experiences with some sort of little surprise nearly every day. Also really loved the smaller size of the camp, made it feel very exclusive.

My only complaint is that the rooms are open air, which allows the baboons to wreck pure havoc on your personal belongings. Really wish there had been an option for a screened partition to keep the baboons out of the rooms. I realize the open air shower area also provides access to the baboons with the tree branches overhead. It is indeed a difficult situation to remedy.

It’s a lovely camp, my first impression of the open air concept was very positive, until I learned about the habits of the baboons in camp. In future I will definitely inquire whether there is some way to prevent larger animals from entering the rooms/tents. I do not mean this to be disparaging in any way against Nkwali camp.

It’s a unique experience and the South Luangwa NP is stunning and exciting to visit. Just be aware of the situation and make an informed decision." See all these reviews: 7n in Zambia; 5n in Namibia; 3n in Botswana
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Rooms:
Good
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Mr N.
London

"Nkwali review"

4 nights Arrived 21 Apr 2022
"The rooms feel slightly tired but fundamentally, one comes for the game drives and those were top notch.

Excellent guides and the camp is in a very good area for game.

Regularly saw leopards and wild dogs in the area." See all these reviews: 8n in Zambia
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

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

Buffalo

Multiple sightings

Elephant

Multiple sightings

Giraffe

Multiple sightings

Hippo

Multiple sightings

Leopard

Multiple sightings

Lion

Multiple sightings

Spotted Hyena

Multiple sightings

Wild dog

Multiple sightings

Wildebeest

Multiple sightings

Zebra

Multiple sightings

Miss P
London

"Nkwali review"

7 nights Arrived 10 Apr 2022
"I've slightly lost track of the number of times I've visited Nkwali, and it definitely feels like home now.

It's always such a friendly and welcoming camp.  At this time of year, it's lovely to see a mixture of faces from all the RPS camps and even the mobiles.  The location on the river can't be beaten, and the rooms really make the best of the views and bring the outdoors in. I also love the amount of wildlife around the camp, from the cheeky vervets bounding between the rafters in the room, to the elephants visiting the lagoon during lunch time, to the beautiful bushbuck in front of my chalet during siesta time.

This is traditionally thought of as a weaker time of the year for game viewing, and certainly the big cats are not as prolific as in dry season, but the wild dog sightings were exceptional (as they were last time I visited at this time of year) and the birding is great too, so personally I think it's much under-rated.  We saw a big pack of 20 dogs almost every day, including a sighting of a full hunt and kill of a puku from start to finish.  The park is also really stunning at this time of year. We had only one leopard sighting but it was a really excellent one, with the leopard trying to hunt a rock monitor and then being chased off by zebras. Other guests who made more of an effort to find leopards saw several more, but I was quite happy to spend time with the dogs.

This is my second trip to South Luangwa during green season, and if Luangwa River Camp had been open I would have split my time between the two camps.  However, the Nkwali location is very central for accessing all of the area that is possible to drive in at this time of year, by using the boat crossing to enter the park directly and occasionally driving up to the main gate.  The dogs were mainly up in the area around the main gate which is a bit further from Nkwali but the guides were always happy to adjust game drive times to leave earlier in the afternoons. I had Obi as my guide, and he was excellent.

Finding options for walking can be tricky as many areas are boggy and those that aren't are used for driving, but we did manage to do a nice morning walk by taking a boat up to the area where the pontoon usually enters the park.

Overall, a superb stay." See all these reviews: 8n in Zambia
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

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

Buffalo

3 sightings

Elephant

10 sightings

Giraffe

10 sightings

Hippo

10 sightings

Leopard

1 sighting

Lion

1 sighting

Spotted Hyena

10 sightings

Wild dog

10 sightings

Wildebeest

2 sightings

Zebra

10 sightings

Ms T.
Ness Ziona

"Great place to stay"

3 nights Arrived 27 Jul 2021
"Great camp, loved the option of staying as a family together ( 2 adults and 2 teenage kids).
Amazing food and very attentive staff.
Had the pleasure of being guided by Kiki with whom we loved sharing stories and laughs as well as great sightings.
This sectors has blessed us with amazing sightings, of hyenas, leopards, lions and of course plenty of hippos, elephants, kudu, puku and impalas.
Night drives were great, finding owls, genets, and mongroose- among the rest." See all these reviews: 8n in Zambia
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

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

Buffalo

Multiple sightings

Elephant

Multiple sightings

Giraffe

Multiple sightings

Hippo

Multiple sightings

Leopard

Multiple sightings

Lion

Multiple sightings

Spotted Hyena

Multiple sightings

Wildebeest

Multiple sightings

Zebra

Multiple sightings

A&J
San Francisco

"Nkwali review"

2 nights Arrived 19 Jun 2021
"Nkwali was a beautiful camp by the river. We were the only guests and were hosted and guided by Kiki. The guiding in Zambia was the best we have ever experienced and Kiki immediately showed off his expertise. On the first day, we saw a leopard with a kill in a tree, and another leopard during the night drive where he expertly positioned the vehicle multiple times for the best vantage point.

Not only was Kiki a great guide, but he was also a very humorous and interesting conversationalist. Over dinner he told us about the matrilineal tradition of his people, the Kunda, and some funny stories of his girls growing up with their cousins. We exchanged travel stories – us with other trips in Africa, and he with trips to the US. The first place he visited in the US was Minneapolis in February! Believe it or not, he also spent time in Menlo Park California, which happens to be where I grew up. What a small world!

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at Nkwali. Our room was beautiful and comfortable, with a view of the river and hippo chorus serenading us every night. Food was fresh and delicious. The camp has a very convenient boat that can cross the river into the park without having to drive to the main gate bridge. South Luangwa park in June was stunningly beautiful – lush and green with plenty of wetlands, beautiful birds and butterflies, and teeming with wildlife. What a great start to our trip!" See all these reviews: 10n in Zambia
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

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

Buffalo

10 sightings

Elephant

10 sightings

Giraffe

10 sightings

Hippo

10 sightings

Leopard

2 sightings

Spotted Hyena

Multiple sightings

Zebra

10 sightings

Mrs M & Mr D
Germany

"Nkwali review"

4 nights Arrived 5 Oct 2020
"What a treat to stay at Robin’s House ! We were looked after so well and the kitchen & house-keeping crew pampered us from early morning till dawn. They even prepared a brunch in the bush just for the two of us - what a lovely surprise and for sure our earliest G&T ever 😊 Thank you so much Michael, Chico, Daniel and Perry !
The wildlife in the Mfuwe area was during our stay slightly less active than at Nsefu, but maybe it only felt like it after being on safari for already quite a while. We also felt that compared to Nsfeu the area might attract a little bit more traffic due to the higher number of lodges and self-drivers. But of course now due to Covid, it was not busy at all. Amongst the usual *stuff”, we spotted 4 leopards, a very photogenic porcupine and as the highlight of our stay even an aardvark – still can’t believe it ! Now only an aardwolf and a pangolin is left on our list of rare sightings." See all these reviews: 11n in Zambia
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

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

Aardvark

1 sighting

Buffalo

Multiple sightings

Elephant

Multiple sightings

Giraffe

Multiple sightings

Hippo

Multiple sightings

Leopard

4 sightings

Lion

2 sightings

Spotted Hyena

1 sighting

Wildebeest

1 sighting

Zebra

Multiple sightings

Mr & Mrs R
Glos

"Good safari at Nkwali "

4 nights Arrived 18 Mar 2020
"Off the boat from Nsefu and straight into viewing a female leopard who had walked past Braston as he waited on the river bank for us. The viewings, especially of leopards, were exceptional on this second visit to Nkwali. We also saw the other pack of wild dogs.

We had a shared car for these last days which was ok but curtailed the photography somewhat. Service in camp improved because the camp host was called away to look after luangwa house so Kiki stepped in. He was excellent in sorting out the changed arrangements for getting home and printed off the new flight details for us, which was a god send in the bedlam at Johannesburg.

The only problem was the room. We were in room 5 and the mattress was infested with bugs so we were bitten to death each night. If we had stayed we would have asked to move back to 6, but the holiday was, sadly, ended prematurely because of covid19." See all these reviews: 10n in Zambia
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Average

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

Elephant

6 sightings

Giraffe

4 sightings

Hippo

10 sightings

Leopard

4 sightings

Spotted Hyena

4 sightings

Wild dog

1 sighting

Zebra

10 sightings

Mr & Mrs L
Sweden

"Unextected long stay at Nkwali "

3 nights Arrived 17 Mar 2020
"3 nights in the Nkwali camp (all this as Pumulani Malawi was cancelled due to Coronavirus)
Best room/house during our entire stay in Zambia
Food very well presented - mostly also very tasty

Guiding excellent (Nyambi) both walking and by road
Total 7 nights too many, seen the same roads and game too many times (not intended though due to Malawi cancelling)
Excellent support with rebooking trip
Night guard not always present (walked in the camp during evenings alone)" See all these reviews: 12n in Zambia
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good

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

Buffalo

3 sightings

Elephant

10 sightings

Giraffe

10 sightings

Hippo

10 sightings

Leopard

4 sightings

Lion

9 sightings

Spotted Hyena

6 sightings

Wild dog

4 sightings

Wildebeest

1 sighting

Zebra

10 sightings

Mr & Mrs R
Glos

"Great safari at Nkwali "

2 nights Arrived 13 Mar 2020
"We were in room 6 which is large, spacious and set away from the main hub. Good view of the river, plenty of birds and our own monitor lizard on the river bank outside. The food was excellent and the new chef-Chico- was a delight.

We were incredibly fortunate to have Braston as our guide. He was a great birder and also good at positioning the car for photography. We saw lions, with cubs, one of the wild dog packs, and loads of elephants, hippos, hyenas etc. The birding was terrific. We chose to visit at this time of year to enjoy the green season. The river was still high, although it had gone down from the peak of the floods. We enjoyed setting off on our twice daily safaris by boat and it was interesting to explore this different part of the park.

The only niggle was that the photography bean bag that we had requested before leaving the uk was not available and the camp host seemed unable (and rather unwilling) to get one. We felt the request was brushed off. In the end we asked Braston and he turned two up immediately, so it was not clear why the camp host had prevaricated." See all these reviews: 10n in Zambia
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

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

Buffalo

1 sighting

Elephant

10 sightings

Giraffe

5 sightings

Hippo

10 sightings

Lion

7 sightings

Spotted Hyena

1 sighting

Wild dog

1 sighting

Zebra

10 sightings

Mrs K.
Middlesex

"A great return to Nkwali"

2 nights Arrived 11 Oct 2019
"It's been five years since we last stayed and Nkwali and it was as great as ever. The camp suffered from power cuts during our 2 night stay, exacerbated by the backup generator being out of action but the camp looked lovely with all the lanterns and solar lights.

This trip we were given a huge room with an enormous sofa so we had plenty of room for the tree frogs that shared the bathroom with us. The steps down to the river have been upgraded to concrete which makes it much easier to get to and from the boat. The pool was a welcome respite from the heat and it was lovely watching Humphrey the hippo enjoying the waterhole. This trip the elephants weren't coming to the waterhole as often, but we had many close encounters with them in the park.

Pias was our guide for our short stay. During the transfer to Tena Tena, we were fortunate enough to encounter a pack of 11 wild dogs. One of the dogs had found a discarded plastic bottle (slapped wrist for whoever was so thoughtless) and refused to share with the others. Unlike watching lions during the day when you are waiting for one of them to even roll over, the dogs are so much more active. We loved watching them and actually got to see a second pack that evening - fortunate indeed! If the number of sighting of giraffes we had are anything to go by, the population in the park is healthy.

Kiki was a marvellous host for our all too short stay. Despite the brevity of our stay, we still saw 56 different species of animals which is pretty amazing." See all these reviews: 9n in Zambia; 5n in Malawi
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

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

Buffalo

3 sightings

Elephant

7 sightings

Giraffe

4 sightings

Hippo

9 sightings

Leopard

1 sighting

Lion

1 sighting

Wild dog

1 sighting

Zebra

4 sightings

Showing 31-40 of 238
96%
238 reviews of Nkwali by travellers since August 2007
Overall rating by our travellers
199
34
5
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0
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Luangwa River Camp

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Kakuli Bushcamp

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Nsolo Bushcamp

Nsolo Bushcamp

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Kafunta River Lodge

Kafunta River Lodge

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Lion Camp

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Robin Pope Safaris Mobile Safari Camp

Robin Pope mobile

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Puku Ridge

Puku Ridge

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Mfuwe Lodge

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Chindeni

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Chikunto Safari Lodge

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