Reviews of Anabezi Luxury Camp

"Anabezi is a very luxurious camp indeed. After South Luangwa, the landscape was very different, more open, and very attractive, and being just by the Zambezi was marvellous. The tents are huge, with a sitting room, terrace and private plunge pool and two bathrooms. Nearly as big as my flat at home!

Travelling alone, I was sitting at a table for one at meals (unlike the smaller camps, where people sit around one table), although I sat with people I'd met along the way a couple of times and also had great conversations about Zambia with the staff. Service was excellent, the food outstanding, and the guiding (Lawrence) extremely good, and committed, especially haring after the wild dogs on a hunt!

Here I went on a boat down the Zambezi and also did a couple of walking safaris. Although you see much less wildlife that way, it's a good change after 2 weeks sitting down and a way to look at the small things (while hastening away from the elephants...)" See all these reviews: 12n in Zambia

"A superb camp on the edge of the Zambezi River in the best possible location for leopard and lion sightings.

Quietly stated luxury, but unpretentious, with the friendliest staff and excellent attention to detail from everyone. Delicious food throughout, though far too much of it, and a good variety of drinks in the room fridge.

Lovely rooms open onto a private wooden deck offering a wide view of the river and plenty of wildlife passing through, particularly warthogs, elephants, antelope, monkeys and baboons all on a daily basis. This provided plenty of opportunities to relax which can be hard to find if you’re always busy on game drives; take timeout and enjoy.

Our guide, Prisley, was keen to know what we might particularly want to see and was informative on the animal front and helpful with photo opportunities and angles. His excitement at seeing two honey badgers squabbling over a honeycomb was nearly as great as ours, he hadn’t seen one for four years!

We enjoyed a sunset river cruise but as the rains failed last season the water was too low for canoeing safely which was a shame but safety was paramount.

When I was unwell the staff were attentive and caring and provided specific food for me on request." See all these reviews: 13n in Zambia

"Arrived to find the camp half empty and got emptier during our visit !

Lawerence was our guide; very attentive and keen for us to do things but took a while for him to realise that we did'nt need to be on the go all the time following our week in the Luangwa valley. Excellent opportunities to view animals but felt a little like a safari park after unhabituated animals of the Luangwa. Did a boat trip, sundowners on an island in the Zambezi, had lunch in a boat on the Zambezi and had an all day drive heading east up river.

Food felt a little unexciting perhaps due to the lack of guests and the head chef being away (we met her at the airstrip on departure !). Staff happy to arrange almost any activity but they struggled with the idea that we might want a lie in or quiet afternoon !

For someone who wants a luxury hotel and a good chance of seeing animals the Anabezi would be a good choice, but possibly doesn't mix well with Tafika and linked camps/activities." See all these reviews: 13n in Zambia

"Anabezi is a well run, very comfortable camp. A bit larger than we normally prefer with 12 rooms, but occupancy wasn’t over 50% during our stay, so it never felt too busy, we even had the guide and vehicle to ourselves for the 4 nights, a very nice bonus.

The tents, or better pavilions, are huge, no bumping into each other for sure. We used the sitting area only for putting or backpacks on and spend most free time on the wonderful outside deck. Our room 1 is positioned at the very west end of the property, a bit of a walk from the main area, but very private. The views over the small channel in front of the room are fantastic, lots of wildlife passing by throughout the day, elephants, antilopes, baboons, hippos, perfect for an armchair safari. We even witnessed crocodiles taking down a waterbuck into the water and consuming it an quite a violent way, all this right in front of our room.

The service in camp isn’t as polished as at other places, but all very sincere and relaxed. The meal portions are huge, especially lunch. This is a platter to share for two with meat, pasta, vegetables, accompanied by a salad and another hot dish such as a quiche or lasagna. Very generous indeed but too much considering the full breakfast that is served after returning from the morning drive at 9:00.

As we’d never stayed inside a National Park before, only at concessions, the volume of vehicles was something we had to get used to at first. The area surrounding the camp is very scenic, hence many vehicles from other camps would drive here as well. All guides have radio contact so any good sighting is reported to allow others the same experience and while being obviously advantageous it leads to busier sightings too. Our guide Lawrence was very conscious of this and carried on a few times when too many vehicles would arrive in order to not overly disturb the animals. But an epic event as a wild dog hunt and kill excites everyone so despite very commendable efforts from Lawrence to temper his colleagues enthusiasm we ended up with 12 vehicles witnessing the dogs consume a warthog from closeby.

Leopard sightings were fantastic the first two days, after that the weather changed into a mini heatwave with animals obviously taking a break from being active.

We concluded our stay with a very scenic canoe trip that was well organized and executed, ensuring that everyone involved was well aware of what to do in the possible scenarios that might come up." See all these reviews: 16n in Zambia

"4 nights. Highly recommend Anabezi. Everything deserves an excellent rating.

The wildlife sightings were superb, our guide Levi was very experienced, the accommodation was luxurious, the food was good and service most attentive.

We had three separate sighting of the wild dogs with their pups, we saw leopards every day, (4 on the last day) numerous lions, and huge numbers of elephants and buffaloes. We saw wild dogs and leopards hunting prey, one leopard catching and devouring a squirrel in front of us, a lion dragging away a warthog the leopard had killed earlier, and beautiful birds too numerous to mention.

Overall, Anabezi is a high standard lodge which offers outstanding wildlife sightings. We would definitely recommend it, and consider returning.

Be aware that the plane from Lusaka to Kulefu airstrip is very small. Total of four seats, and one of those is for the pilot!" See all these reviews: 12n in Zambia

"I think that no words really do justice to what we experienced at Anabezi - not only we had amazing sightings (we saw multiple times 7 different leopards in 4 days) but the camp and its staff were just incredible.

We really had the best time and food was absolutely delicious!" See all these reviews: 8n in Zambia

"Anabezi was the perfect way to end our safari.

It was amazing, the facilities were first calls the food was good and Prisley our guide was very accommodating. We spent a lot of time at the Mishuka (sp) Deck, we had it all to our selves every afternoon. We watched a herd of elephant come right in front of it and play in a mud hole! was quite entertaining.

Also they prepared a wonderful picnic lunch for us by the river and we could watch elephants cross the river during lunch.

We could easily have been in just two chalets as one had two double beds and a king size bed." See all these reviews: 12n in Zambia

"If one could only travel to a single location for safari, we would enthusiastically recommend that Anabezi Camp be that location. On our August 2022 Zambia safari we found every detail at Anabezi Camp to far exceed our greatest expectations. Our tented suite at Anabezi Camp was perfect in every detail. From the comfortable bed, to the in-suite bathtub, to the outside shower and amazing patio view – every detail was first class!

The entire team at Anabezi Camp went above and beyond to make every moment of our safari experience the best it could be. The dining experience at Anabezi Camp was exceptional. Before our morning game drives we could have a custom omelet prepared or a wide variety of items from the breakfast buffet. There was an expresso machine available anytime of day/night for any type of coffee. The lunchtime and dinner menus were varied and included both vegetarian and non-vegetarian options. Dinners at Anabezi Camp were exceptional. The dining patio at Anabezi Camp was beautiful day and night.

Our guide while at Anabezi Camp, Presley, was world class. It is difficult to imagine a guide with more knowledge, better educational skills and better ability to place people in front of amazing wildlife – in spectacular light.

With respect to wildlife viewing, Anabezi Camp is optimally located within the Lower Zambezi National Park. During our four days at Anabezi Camp every location we visited while on game drives was filled with wildlife. We were absolutely astonished by the abundance of wildlife in this section of the park. The Winterthorn grove adjacent to camp is home to 11 leopards. Every time we drove through this grove our guide found at least one leopard. Each day we saw vehicles from much further West in the park drive more than an hour to get to this section of the park to see leopards.

We were entranced by the amazing beauty of the Lower Zambezi National Park. Spending an afternoon/early evening on the Zambezi River is highly recommended. The late afternoon light on the native flora and fauna is unlike any experience we have ever had.

We have travelled the world and believe the sunset we experienced while on the Zambezi was the most beautiful we have seen." See all these reviews: 10n in Zambia

"A 30 minute boat ride took us to a small jetty where we were met by our guide, Mwila from Anabezi camp. A great chap who we soon found out was very knowledgeable, polite and a good conversationalist. The drive back to the camp was about an hour so plenty of time to sit back and enjoy the game spotting.

Anabezi camp was situated in a superb location with the main deck, dining area and bar high up on stilts overlooking a grassy plain in front of the Zambezi river. All the rooms were in fact linked by 7/8 ft board walks. A beautiful main deck where wildlife, such as, elephants, waterbuck, baboons, warthogs and lions (more about them later) meandered across in front of us and in the background hippos were splashing about and snorting in the river.

Our room was comfortable with an overhead fan but no air-con. I keep mentioning this because in the summer months some travellers may find this uncomfortable. Outside shower only - a little chilly, as it was winter when we visited. The bathroom was positioned between the sitting area and the bedroom, with canvas walls and a curtain for a door. Not ideal for privacy. Our deck had a plunge pool and wonderful views over a grassy plain and out towards the Zambezi river. We had frequent visitors including elephants, waterbuck, impala and baboons.

Our game drives were excellent thanks to our guide who had a knack of knowing where the best sighting would be and on many occasions when we were following leopards he would successfully anticipate where the leopard would appear again. We had the vehicle to ourselves which was great. Our sightings consisted of leopards, lions, families of elephants, wild dogs trying to chase down several waterbucks with no success, a young bull elephant who challenged us to pass him on the track, the occasional zebra, many African fish eagles, saddle billed storks, grey herons and lilac breasted rollers. Our sundowner stops were amazing, either overlooking the river, sipping gin and tonics to the chorus of snorting and laughing hippos or by a lagoon with the sky a multitude of pinks, oranges and red. We also had a stunning boat ride up and down the Zambezi in the evening, navigating around the hippos and trying to spot kingfishers and bee-eaters.

On our final day whilst finishing breakfast two lions walked across the grassy plain just in front of us on the main deck, heading in the direction of our room. As we walked back to our room after breakfast we saw that the two lions had made an impala kill just 30/40 metres from our room. Even though we were up on the board walk, it was still unwise of us to walk the last 20 or so metres to the door of our room so we waited until our guide and other staff, who had heard the commotion and come running over, advised us it was safe to go into our room - some last minute excitement before we moved on to our next lodge.

We would recommend this camp to others for it's outstanding location, excellent quality of guiding and game sightings.

There were just a number of small things that added up together would perhaps dissuade us from returning. For example, there was tea and coffee making facilities in the room but no milk and none was offered so we had to ask for it. Hand towels disappeared for a few days and we had to raise the issue in order to get hold of some. The pump action on some of the shower gel and lotion bottles did not work until the last day. A staff security radio device was left in our room in the evening still switched on so camp calls/chatter could be heard, until we decided to turn it off - we were somewhat surprised that nobody seemed to have missed it. Some drinks orders at the main deck and bar were different to what we asked for and my wife's request for no nuts at meal times was noted but on at least one occasion nuts appeared on a desert. Small and perhaps slightly irritating things but were not experienced at other camps." See all these reviews: 19n in Zambia

"Spectacular rooms with every amenity.

Lots of wildlife in the area and never a dull moment on drives or walks.

Food - well prepared and varied but don't get on the scales when you return home!

Presley our guide and Taps the trainee guide were the dream team! On our first afternoon we see 5 lions and a young leopard in a tree with a waterbuck kill, then see it's mother with another young one. Hundreds of elephants about from very small babies to big bulls. Also see a big male leopard.

Went on a morning game walk and a Greater Honeyguide constantly trying to lead us to the hives and an elephant which we had to do a detour to get past.

Evening game drive we come across a big male lion just lying across the track and refusing to move and two females with cubs playing.

On our last drive to the airstrip Presley finds a big pack of 26 wild dogs and a few minutes later they set off on a hunt after 3 warthogs and we have a fast and exciting drive trying to follow them. The warthogs lived to fight another day. We then find the dogs again scattered in the bush and a few lie down by our jeep, 16 of them and 15 minutes later the other 10 arrive to a lot of greeting from the others." See all these reviews: 12n in Zambia; 1n in South Africa