Reviews of Anabezi Luxury Camp
Wildlife sightings and reviews
21 independent comments and wildlife information from our travellers who have visited Anabezi Luxury Camp and kindly agreed to share their thoughts. They do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa
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"Anabezi Luxury Tented Camp review"
The "tent" suite was a wonder, with both indoor and outdoor bathrooms, two writing desks, fantastic bedroom and lounge and a private plunge pool! Plenty of room and no lack of places to relax in private and spot the game just across the way from my verandah.
My private guide was fantastic, each evening we would plan the next day's activities together and the wildlife spotting was never ending.
Great bar and coffee bar with wonderful service and of course, the personal water bottle with my name on it." See all these reviews: 13n in Zambia
"Anabezi Luxury Tented Camp review"
Good drives with a good guide (Jacob and his cousin Adrian as spotter and coxswain). Slight communication problems as Jacob had problems with l’s and r’s. All drives were just the two of us and we saw a lot, especially birds as we had asked for this.
Highlight was a hoopoe mother feeding her chick.
Several trips on the river which seem to be very much pert of the experience there. Had to ask for life jackets which were only supplied for one trip.
Again, very good and helpful staff." See all these reviews: 8n in Namibia; 4n in Zambia
"Anabezi Luxury Tented Camp review"
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
"Wild, magical, unforgettable Anabezi"
We spent 4 days there at the end of August and just about everything exceeded our expectations. The setting overlooking the Zambezi, the luxurious and comfortable tents, the food and bar service, and the friendly attentive staff make Anabezi a very special place. We loved the outdoor shower, and the private plunge pool was particularly welcome on a couple of extremely hot afternoons.
We came for the wildlife, and although the density is not as great as in South Luangwa, this is more than made up for by seeing the animals in the stunning, almost surreal landscape of the winterthorn forest. The light filtering through the trees, the strange shapes of the termite mounds, all backed by hazy blue mountains create a quite magical feel.
Our knowledgeable guides, Laurence and his 'co pilot' Chris were excellent trackers and spotters and took great care to position our vehicle so that we could get great views and photo opportunities of the wildlife at the same time as respecting the animals' space.
The absolute highlight for us was seeing wild dogs in action - with a kill, and then a thrilling ride through the forest tracking them as they hunted again, and then watching them frolicking like puppies in a stream.
We also saw numerous elephants, many with babies; lions with cubs; leopards, jackals, kudu, waterbuck, hippos, impala, baboons and warthogs. There were many species of birds including fish eagles, Bateleur eagles, lilac breasted rollers, bee eaters, 3 species of hornbill and drongos.
As well as land based activities, we also enjoyed a sunset cruise with sundowners, watching the hippos and seeing elephants crossing to the islands. We also did some fishing, landing (and safely returning) a 16lb tiger fish.
Our thanks go to Laurence and Chris for the excellent guiding and fishing, and to Dennis and his whole team, who have created a luxurious oasis in a remote and truly wild location. A wonderful and unforgettable experience." See all these reviews: 9n in Zambia
"Anabezi Luxury Tented Camp review"
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
"Anabezi Luxury Tented Camp review"
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 Luxury Tented Camp review"
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
"Anabezi Luxury Tented Camp review"
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
"Anabezi Luxury Tented Camp review"
We really had the best time and food was absolutely delicious!" See all these reviews: 8n in Zambia
"Anabezi Luxury Tented Camp review"
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
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