Reviews of Ruckomechi Camp
(83%) From 6 travellersThey do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa.
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Ian and Michelle - Ruckomechi Camp Review
After having the time of our lives in Zambia, our very first impression of Ruckemechi was a touch concerning. By comparison it seemed corporate and a little over-the-top, with a very large staff and great big permanent tent accommodations with concrete floors giving the impression of a small hotel room rather than a bush camp tent. Really very impressive, but different than than the first camp we had just come from. But I really can't say enough about the view we had - facing the Zambezi River, with Waterbucks grazing in the foreground and elephants wandering on a small island in the background. Truly awesome! It took very little time for us to recognize all the amazing attributes of Ruckomechi, and we enjoyed it very much.
We did not use some of the alternative activities offered such boating/fishing/canoeing/walking because we had just come from 4 days of walking and were about to go on a 3 night canoe trip - so we focused just on the game drives. Due to the time of year, well into the dry season there was not a lot of activity in the upper regions of the trails but there were a lot of animals bunched closer to the river.
We were lucky enough to see wild (painted) dogs, and a lion kill, as well as many other animals and birds. We had just one guide, Kevin, who was extremely knowledgeable and had a great sense of humour - so we forgave him for failing to find the elusive Cheetah. We will have to come back sometime to fill-in that one small gap.
Comfortable Camp - good for first timers
Although our experience of Rukomechi was good this had much to do with the accommodation and the service. The camp is very well run and everything works. The very spacious large Tents are extremely well appointed and artistically decorated yet are tastefully integrated into the riverbank setting.
However the game drives seem to be restricted in the area they covered due to the boundaries of the concession. Compared with other camps this was a relatively tame experience. There were not enough charging points to accommodate all of the guests and their cameras and laptops.
We enjoyed the pontoon cruise along the Zambezi followed by a Sundowner on a river island.
We would not recommend taking a transfer from Lusaka to Chirundu, through Zimbabwe Immigration and then by boat to Rukomechi as this was a long and very tiring route especially as we had started our day at 6:00am at Kaingo Camp in South Luangwa, Zambia.
Ruckomechi Camp review
We stayed here just one night as a transfer stop and loved the place. Beautiful location and wonderful staff.
As I recall there were no guides qualified to do walking safaris at the time we visited. It was good to be back on the Zambezi.
A Zambezi dream
If I had a wish free I would return to Ruckomechi right now. The last three days of my safari will stay in my memory for ever. The camp has everything a guest could wish. The location breathtaking, the tents spacious and beautifully furnished, the main area inviting and, the most important point, the people who work here.
Game viewing was excellent with the highlight of wild dog sightings. Elephants, my favourites, were in camp all the time, I loved it. The afternoon pontoon boat cruise with a visit of the carmine beeaters colony and the river crossing of an elephant family just in front of the boat will for ever stay in my heart.
Thank you, Carel, Juju, Belle, Gus, Gadrick and, above all, Rachel and Jeff to having made this safari one of my best ones
Ruckomechi Camp review
Beautiful setting by the Zambezi. We arrived at camp via an hours boat ride from the Churundi crossing. No better way to leave your busy world behind and settle into your holiday.
Accommodation and food up to a good standard.
Staff were very helpful, professional and with good senses of humour.
We saw 3 wild dogs a number of times. Elephant plentiful and relaxed,close up of eland, lots of birds and the mixture of different enviroments made it most enjoyable for the 3 nights we stayed
Lacklustre experience at Ruckomechi
In an nice setting on riverbank with great views across to Zambia. The game was OK although lots of water meant that parts of the concession were shut off (not the camp's fault of course). But we saw the usual stuff and some nice eland herds. Lion a couple of times at night.
Overall though we were very disappointed with the camp which had an odd, tense atmosphere. It felt poorly run versus other Wilderness camps we have stayed in and not a patch on Somalisa down at Hwange. Lots of niggly stuff and the guides / camp were very inflexible in the way they treated and interacted with guests.
In summary by no means terrible but much better places to go in Zimbabwe in our experience.
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.
