Reviews of Old Mondoro Bushcamp
Wildlife sightings and reviews
123 independent comments and wildlife information from our travellers who have visited Old Mondoro Bushcamp and kindly agreed to share their thoughts. They do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa
94% success
100% success
0% success
53% success
100% success
100% success
100% success
97% success
68% success
33% success
3% success
3% success
0% success
"Ideal Bushcamp Experience"
The management team, Jason and Michaela, are excellent--warm and welcoming and very capable, and their staff is exemplary. Lovely and plentiful food was prepared by two men that we never saw but greatly appreciated.
We arrived exhausted, so especially appreciated that our tent (#2) was comfortable and perfectly situated for wildlife sights and sounds. From the daybed on our porch, we watched hippos and elephants on the nearby islands and white-fronted bee eaters that frequented an uprooted tree on the riverbank. Despite our laziness, we enjoyed a game drive and a boat ride and saw quite a nice selection of wildlife. Just as we were about to leave for our next camp, two elephants walked right through camp as if they owned it and scoured the winterthorn trees for pods--the first of the season. I left wishing that we could linger for a few more days.
Helpful hint: take slippers or thick socks for the unbelievably, inexplicably cold floor in tent!" See all these reviews: 10n in Zambia
"Old Mondoro - The Highlight of our trip."
Wonderfully scenic with a mixture of woodland and a grassland plateau, plenty of animals and birds, including lion cubs, leopards, huge herds of buffalo ,hipoos, elephants etc,it was just what we wanted. Furthermore from the photographers point of view the lighting is magnificent. The walking safari therefore was the most pleasant of the several we did in the various other camps.
Turning to the people at all levels there is only one word needed - fantastic,
If we go again to the Lower Zambezi it will only be to Old Mondoro" See all these reviews: 15n in Zambia; 4n in Malawi; 3n in Botswana
"Old Mondoro Bushcamp review"
Old Mondoro was by far the best camp we stayed at in Zambia in all aspects. The Lagoon room was a perfect location especially with the close attention of the one tusked male elephant 'guarding' our tent. One day we were the only ones in camp at lunch time, so they served our excellent meal on the verandah overlooking the lagoon, where we treated to a show of several elephants crossing, a buffalo bathing/eating and our friend the one tusked drinking/eating and bathing only a few feet from us. The highlight of our holiday.
Mentioning diabetes again! Following discussions, they said leave it to us and we'll sort things out. I had some wonderful low sugar sweets (especially the fruit crumble)." See all these reviews: 14n in Zambia
"Old Mondoro was amazing"
"Old Mondoro Camp"
For the first 24 hours the game drives were truly excellent. We spent plenty of time looking at some of the less traditionally spectacular animals like antelope, baboons and birds, which I feel makes for more interesting and varied game drives. We also had a few leopard sightings (including a short sighting of a mother with a very young cub). However, half way through our stay we were joined by different guests and they mentioned to our guide that they really wanted to see big cats. From this point onwards our guide for the daytime game drives got a case of what I call "big-cat-itis" where you charge around the bush looking for big cats to the exclusion of everything else. This is great if you see them, however, it's a bit rubbish if you don't (in this case - we didn't).
One of the highlights of our stay were the night drives. We saw porcupines, leopards, genets, civets and even an aardvark. The guides were certainly good at finding things in the dark, although I suppose the tall trees and open areas really help. They use a red filter on the spotting light for finding animals. However, I did find the ban on flash photography frustrating. I can understand the reasons behind it, however, the jeeps still used their headlights (which didn't have a red filter) and if they came across antelopes that didn't get out of the way quickly enough they would flash their headlights at them. So I did find the ban on flashes slightly contradictory. We took red plastic to put over over camera flashes which helped the cameras to focus in the dim light as the cameras could use the auto assist beams of the flashes. We bought a small role of red plastic lighting gel off ebay for less than £5. The "no flash" rule didn't seem to make the animals any less skitish, or less stunned looking as they would often get dazzled by the jeep headlights anyway. We saw no difference in behaviour from other camps that didn't have this rule.
We also did a river boat trip which was great. We told our boatman that we were really interested in photographing birds and we were the only two on the boat so he did his best and we got some nice shots. We had multiple groups of elephants cross the river in front of us, which was lovely. Seeing elephants in the water is great.
We also did the canoe trip. We found this disappointing. There were three guests on the trip, split over two canoes. However, for almost the whole journey the other canoe went first. This meant that any birds or animals we were trying to photograph would run or fly away when the first canoe drew level with them and the only photos we could get from the second canoe were retreating back or blurred wings. This was made even more annoying by the fact that the man in the first canoe wasn't interested in birds at all and we were. It is just a shame that they hadn't told us before we started that we would be on the second boat the whole times, since if we had known in advance we would have chosen a different activity and gone canoeing on a day when it would just have been the two of us.
The tents were nicely appointed (although I would have liked some shade over the outside bath - you couldn't lie in it for long in the middle of the day without getting sunburnt). The staff were generally helpful and friendly and the food was good." See all these reviews: 21n in Zambia
"Nothing to improve!"
There is a variety of activities on both land (drives, night drives, walks) and water (cruising, fishing, canoeing), 2 friendly and helpful hosts, Kayla and Jason, and a great team of guides.
Special mention to the canoeing trip and the tiger fishing - the highlights of our stay!
Excellent camp." See all these reviews: 12n in Zambia
"Old Mondoro Bushcamp review"
Kayla did a wonderful job of planning the menus (she does the planning for Chiawa Camp also), and the food was varied and delicious. The guides and hosts join us for all the meals, which leads to great conversation. The rooms are well appointed, and we were happy to have a charging station in our room for the camera batteries. And hot water on demand is always appreciated. Sitting on the deck outside our room was a great way to relax, with the ever-changing river so close at hand.
We enjoyed the variety of activities offered, even though we only did game drives with Morat and the pontoon cruises. We saw no lions while we were there, but Morat found a great leopard sighting for us on our last morning drive." See all these reviews: 12n in Zambia
"Old Mondoro: sunrise over the Zambezi"
A small camp of 5 comfortable rustic wood and bamboo tents set in beautiful green woodland on the Zambezi - in our case we looked on to a canal where elephants came to drink and wash. Like all the camps we visited in Zambia, the main sitting/dining area was a magnificent long-house of wood and thatch. Breakfast was round the campfire watching the sun rise over the river - pure magic. Elephant were impressive frequent visitors.
On drives through the open woodland we saw large herds of bushbuck, kudu, elephant with babies. Another canoe trip down a long canal - breathtaking beauty and peaceful but not without adrenalin, coming into close proximity with elephants, crocodiles and hippo. A birdwatchers paradise: egret, Goliath herons, Fish Eagles, Lilac breasted roller to mention a few.
The managers, Michaela and Jason, and all the staff made us very welcome: there was a good atmosphere." See all these reviews: 12n in Zambia; 9n in Botswana
"Old Mondoro Bushcamp review"
the peace and quiet with only the sounds of the many various birds. The boat trip on the Zambezi river with the hippos, crocs, elephants and the vegetation was also very much enjoyed. The evening drives with a low powered red light were a disaster for photography and to a lesser degree also for a guest as it limited the views. Semantha and Levi and their team did a fantastic job in organising and catering including taking care of diabetic food requirements." See all these reviews: 11n in Zambia; 6n in Botswana; 2n in Zimbabwe
"Great safari at Old Mondoro"
We felt special too as thee service and commitment from all thee staff team was amazing, exemplified in thee way theey all responded when thee tree crashed onto thee kitchen during lunch one day! Everyone worked togetheer to get thee power up and running and food and drinks flowing. There was hardly a hiccup, Kayla apologised at tea time theat thee biscuits were from a packet! After theat thee routine of lovely fresh food and home baked cakes resumed.
The range of activities is a really plus withe boat trips on thee river and canoes up thee Discovery Channel where you felt very close to nature - thee hippos/ crocodiles and especially thee wonderful birds. The drives were excellent withe lots of animals, apart from thee leopards which were magnificent, we loved thee Aardvark and Porcupines at night thee Kudo, Buffalo and Elephant during thee daytime.
The walking was exceptional withe Levi providing a real insight into life in thee bush and thee history of thee region where he was brought up. We saw lots of game and learnt masses about approaching animals and how to be safe. We always walked in a different area of thee park so enjoyed different terrain and animals each time. Truly we have lovely memories of Lower Zambezi
The elephant wandering round thee camp was a real bonus. They got close up and personal so great photos.
At all times we felt very safe and looked after and I really recommend thee camp, its small and friendly and just great." See all these reviews: 10n in Zambia; 5n in Malawi
Holiday styles & special interests in Zambia
From birdwatching breaks to walking holidays, find great ideas for your trip in Zambia.
Other lodges in Lower Zambezi National Park
Alternative places to stay in this same area.