Reviews of Mchenja Bushcamp
(98%) From 63 travellersThey do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa.
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A fitting climax to the holiday
After a relaxing walk from Nsolo a sensational arrival. Aubrey came tearing over and dragged us off in a vehicle for a unique viewing of a huge pride of lions killing a buffalo. This apparently is a very rare occurrence because the lionesses were teaching a young male( about to leave the pride) how to bring down a buffalo and finish a kill - not for the squeamish.
We met Andrew our guide at Mchenja and again some wonderful walks and night drives, Andrew had an amazing knack for finding anything we wished to see from leopard to chameleon, three very special days at the end of our holiday.
Mchenja Bushcamp review
This camp was very well run. The rooms were lovely.
Finally saw our first giraffe.
Away from the crowd
During the firts night drive, John, our guide, received via radio the information that my luggage was in my tent: even if that day was already fantastic, this news gave me an extra happiness!
In Mchenja, Charlotte and our guide John did a great job and we enjoyed very much this camp, where we met also other very nice guests, as also was the case in all the other camps.
John tried very hard to find a leopard, that we saw also during the transfer to Luwi. Night drives were really very interesting, with the opportunity to see the bush in complete different perspective: notturnal animals like civets, genets, porcupines, owls, but also the different behaviour of animals like impala, puku, etc.
Nice to hear, during the night, hippos "walking" around your tent, and other animals using the camp as their own territory: I think this is another feeling that can be met only in such places. Frogs in the camp liked to stay in the night in our bathroom and in our tent: but do not tell this to Lawrence.........
First visit to Mchenja
Mindy ran the camp with a quiet, friendly efficiency and was always available. We very much enjoyed sharing meals with her. Whilst the variety and quality of the food was excellent, we have rated it as good because it did not always take account of my very special dietary requirements - vegetables were often too hard for me to eat. The laundry service was very efficient and much appreciated.
Levy and Godfrey were excellent guides and made every game drive an experience to savour and remember. We learnt so much from them and enjoyed their enthusiasm and humour. Bird life was superb and there were several leopard sightings, lots of monitor lizards as well as all the more usual animals. Great to see so many baby impalas.
The room was comfortable and well-equipped with an excellent shower but the absence of mosquito nets made for uncomfortable nights. The mesh covering the windows was not sufficient to keep out even the larger insects which came in through other gaps. We realise it was our choice to come at a time when insects were most prolific but nets would have helped.
The plunge pool was less than inviting, with a variety of dead creatures floating in it!!
Thankyou to the whole team for looking after us and giving us a memorable experience.
Luxury in the bush
Lovely camp - the tents are fantastic!
Good walks with lots of little details and track interpretation.
Enjoyed listening to Pel's Fishing Owl in the evening.
Luxuriant safari at Mchenja
We loved the difference in look and feel of the accommodation at the various places we stayed, but felt that the rooms at Mchenja were the most romantic and gave the most elegant impression. The location on the river bank was lovely and the outside deck was a great place to siesta as lots of antelope and birds came very close. However it didn't feel quite as private as either Kpani or Nsolo,as we could see our neighbour and the chitenje from our deck.
All the staff were very friendly and helpful, but special mention of Levy and Mindy, who were both great fun and made sure our stay was perfect. Levy put in lots of effort to track down whatever we asked him for, the leopard being our obvious favourite. The only improvement I could suggest is for there to be more light in the chitenje in the evenings that doesn't rely on candles; very dark when it was windy.
Wonderful game at Mchenja.
Driving to the camp from the airport we were treated to some excellent game, Elephant, Buffalo, lions, Hyena and even wild dogs, all in the space of a couple of hours - fantastic!
The camp lived up to all expectations, lovely setting, great food and extremely helpful hosts and guides. The rooms were of and excellent standard and it was fun sharing the shower with a number of tree frogs! The only comment we would make was ,unlike the other two camps there were no mosquito nets over the bed and we got bitten where as we hadn't at the other two.
A great camp which we would definitely visit again!
A truly magical setting on the river
Mchenje was even more luxurious than Kapani and the location on the riverbank was perfect. The lack of mains electricity was not a problem despite our initial trepidation and again the food and drink was gourmet standard.
We saw more hippo every day than you would think possible and on the second night whils drinking pre-dinner cocktails we were captivated by the deep and resonous sound of a lion roaring on the opposite bank - I'm sure the sound carried for miles.
Once again, the game drives were brilliant - Lawrence and his spotter were clearly top of the class compared to some of the guides from other camps - where he went others followed!
Our bush breakfast was a complete surprise and an absolute treat as was our special sundowner locations and candlelit settings - very romantic.
Mchenja Bushcamp review
Excellent roomy tent design with outside bathroom.
Very knowledgeable and active guides but game was sparse around the camp area so that it was necessary to drive further to see a variety of animals. The immediate terrain was not exciting.
Food good with some recipe highlights.
Total luxury at Mchenja
Mchenja was beautifully equipped, the lodges catered for your every need, very comfortable. Location was idylic overlooking the Luangwa river. The comical sounds of the hippos keeping you company was brilliant.
Every walk and night drive produced new game and bird sightings, plus lots of knowledge of tracking and habitat passed on by our fantastic guide Lawrence. If we were to choose our favourite guide (which is difficult) it would be Lawrence. Lawrence was very informative whatever we saw, and exceptionally easy to get on with. Our hostess, Mindy, again was our favourite, nothing was too much trouble, very easy to talk to, very relaxing atmosphere.
The leopard kill was exciting, from watching her crawling along a ditch to approach the impala, picking out a rather large male, to making the kill was unbelievable.
