Reviews of Anabezi Luxury Tented Camp
(100%) From 8 travellersThey do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa.
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Anabezi was perfect in every way
This was our second camp, following Lion Camp, and it was fantastic.
The staff was enthusiastic, energetic and engaging. This was the only camp of four that had studied up on our preferences and fully provided both food and drinks as requested (specifically, rum and pineapple juice; a carton of milk for Randy’s coffee; oodles of choices for our vegan as well as soy milk). Like all the camps, they greeted us as we came and went, but it wasn’t just fulfilling a requirement: they sincerely wanted to know about our day and very conscientious about anything we might need.
Upon arrival, they directed us to the late lunch buffet, which was a bevy of delicious choices. At 3:30 tea, they showed us a menu of choices to order for dinner! There were about items including veggie/vegan salads. They had cappuccino all day!
The room was spacious and lovely, with a separate sitting area, ample shelving, a mini bar and kettle. Bush babies were in our beds when we returned in the evening. The bathroom, with only a tub, could use more counter space-we just pulled in a small table. There is only an outdoor shower—but that included a sink and a toilet. The deck was gorgeous and vast with a private dipping pool. They had yoga mats for your use in the rooms!
Walkways went nearly a half mile from one end to the other, where there was another lounge with a full bar. There were numerous animals coming and going in the camp, with a few resident elephants as well. Hippo grunts were our bedtime lullaby. Wifi was limited to the main tent and it was excellent there.
Breakfast was at a civilized 6:30 with a fresh cooked egg option (and did I mention cappuccino?) with the game drive at 7. Noon lunch had about three entrée options and two salad options plus fresh bread and fruit. Tea at 3:30 was a yummy dessert cake. And dinner was plated based on your menu choice, except for one offsite boma that was delicious.
Our guide Mwila was the best of our trip. He was highly engaging with excellent communication, knowledge, driving skills, curiosity and sense of humor.
Anabezi highlights water activities and the sunset cruise was fantastic with elephants crossing the river at sunset. We arrived on a little island for our sundowner, and there was a full bar with glasses on a white table, and two elephants to greet us! Magical. (We opted not to do a sunset cruise at Victoria Falls because of this wonderful experience.)
We did two cruises, one canoeing and one nature walk. They were great though obviously reduced our number of full game drives (which were less spectacular than elsewhere--it seemed to me the animals were a little more skittish here).
We hated to leave this lovely camp: but to send us off en route to the airstrip was a gorgeous young leopard posing in a tree.
In conclusion: Anabezi is a world-class lodge with spectacular river setting
Anabezi
Extremely comfortable, lovely setting by the river. Could watch lots of animals from our deck. The plunge pool on our deck was very welcome in the heat of the afternoon.
The camp had something of a hotel feel rather than a safari camp due to individual dining and activities. Told we could invite others to dine with us but because of separate activities we didn't get to mix much with others. We prefer the usual camp communal dining.
The food was excellent, dinner was ordered in advance from about three choices.
Staff and service was very welcoming, we had the same guide throughout our stay.
Guides were top notch but possibly due to it being a new camp there didn't seem to be much local knowledge, so drives were often quiet. We usually go to camps where there are no more than four guests to a vehicle. Here we had a car to ourselves, this resulted in not having a spotter on night drives, making them a lot less productive.
Walks were the most interesting activity, plenty of close up animal encounters. The boat and canoe trips were also highlights, one of the advantages of the lower Zambezi
Combine luxury with adventure at Anabezi
We thouroughly recommend anabezi. The location, the rooms and the food are all top class. the chalets are well spaced out and allow privacy, each has an indoor and outdoor bathroom, and a small plunge pool on the private deck. One looks out over the riverbank at a constant stream of wildlife - warthogs, elephants, baboons, various antelope, and occasionally big cats.
there are 2 outdoor pools, one at each end of the camp, and 2 eating areas, though while we were there, the camp was not full, so everyone ate in the main dining area.
Nobby was our guide, and the standard of guiding lived up to it's high reputation. 2 game drives per day, the evening drive includes sundowners and a good chance to see nocturnal wildlife while driving back after dark.
The birding is just brilliant, and we also enjoyed a variety of river- based activities- including fishing. The Staff could not have been more helpful, and we appreciated having the same guide for our whole trip. We only shared the vehicle with one other couple on one occasion, otherwise we were just 2 plus the guide.
Anabezi Luxury Tented Camp review
A luxurious camp with very large tents, your own decking & plunge pool. Personally, I am not too sure that the design with glass sliding doors in the rooms "fits" with the bush? The food is excellent with a choice of starters / mains / desserts for your evening meals. I got the opportunity to visit their sister camp Amanzi, which has very well appointed tents on decking, also overlooking the river.
Overall, Viewing wildlife around Anabezi from the decking was enjoyable. Fishing with Gift was really great (the last day of my stay, I caught a 18.5lbs tiger fish on my first cast!). The area is rich in wildlife and sightings plentiful (3 different leopards on the first game drive) and I was also very pleased to see an aardvark!
Anabezi Luxury Tented Camp review
This was the icing on the cake for us - pure luxury in the African bush - and a great way to end our superb visit to Zambia. The location on the banks of the Zambezi was incredible and the luxurious accommodation could not be faulted. Lying on our day beds on the deck outside our tent watching the elephants and antelopes wanderin past was awe inspiring. Food and service were also superb; this was the only camp which offered a choice of menu and wines.
Again the game viewing was excellent.. Our guide Prisley was amazing. His knowledge was far reaching and he worked so hard to give us the widest variety of animals and birds. This camp is at the eastern end of the lower Zambezi park and we rarely saw another vehicle on our game drives. We were able to experience walking safaris and boat trips too which added further interest to the activities.
Excellent new camp in Lower Zambezi
We stayed at this camp in late October and had an excellent time. Really good game and the whole park almost to ourselves it seemed; we only saw a couple of other vehicles during the five days we were there.
The camp was very new but not obviously so. The managers, Matt and Annette were clearly very experienced at running a camp and everything felt very smooth and well managed, especially for such a new operation.
Patrick was our guide and he was very good (if somewhat aloof). But aloofness aside, he knew his stuff and we saw excellent game, especially leopards and elephant. He was also very willing to go look for specifics such as the carmine bee eaters on the river so we were very happy with what we saw.
The "tents" were over-sized (in a good way) with a nice plunge pool with a view over the floodplain. I'd normally be a little dismissive of luxuries like a plunge pool but in 45 degree heat it was lovely! Also a good outdoor shower and an indoor bath. I personally didn't especially like the aesthetic of the double patio doors but they were very practical and made it easy to get on and off the terrace. And they did a good job in keeping out dust so what they lacked in charm, they made up for in practicality. Food was excellent too; always very well cooked and plenty of variety. And good wine :-)
Lower Zambezi remains one of my favourite Zambian parks with it's combination of riverine and bush environments. Anabezi was hard to fault with its choices of water and land based activities. I'd certainly go back again
Anabezi Luxury Tented Camp review
Anabezi already has the feel of an established camp although it only opened this year. The camp layout and chalets are of the highest order - the plunge pool being idyllic during the very hot days!
There were many aspects to Anabezi that we enjoyed; the welcoming cold towel after a game drive; the chats around the bar before meals; the company of the staff; and the delicious food. However an overriding point was the lack of overcrowding on the game drives where there was never more than three people involved.
Matt, Anet and Emma were exceptional hosts and made our stay very enjoyable. Matt and Nobi were great guides - both locating well hidden leopards from baboon warnings. They were very knowledgeable and keen to identify and let us photograph all wildlife including birds. It may seem a small point but they were willing to stop and switch off the engine to enable better photography - thank you.
Seeing and hearing a male lion roaring on our first night drive was an excellent start to our holiday. However the high point was probably the boat trips to see the Southern Carmine Bee-eaters. There is really nothing negative to say about Anabezi except that the animals are still somewhat skittish with approaching vehicles but this should disappear as the camp becomes more established.
Anabezi is already proving to be an excellent camp and will only get better still as it becomes more established. Well worth a visit and a great start to a safari holiday in Zambia.
Anabezi Luxury Tented Camp review
The location, accommodations and food are first rate. The service we enjoyed was top notch with a great deal of attention to detail. The Anabezi team did a wonderful job of making us feel welcome, attending to our requests and organizing community time with other guests and staff. The variety of safaris provided allowed us to safari by car day and night, safari on foot and on the water, both in boats and canoes. I would highly recommend the Anabezi.
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