There are some trips where I feel entirely comfortable that my group will have a great experience. I can’t be sure of the sightings, of course, but I can be sure that I’ll be able to make good on my promise to find whatever is out there. Trips that include Classic Zambia’s camps fall into this category. Their approach to camp management is to ensure that the whole experience is geared towards safari: early breakfasts and departures with ‘mobile coffees’, long mornings in the bush with no need to rush back for lunch and guides who understand that there is a very short window of epic light and photographers wish to make the best use of it.
For this trip, I spent 8 nights split between Chula and Kutali camps in the Lower Zambezi. With the exception of Nancy, all of my group had travelled with me before and they knew that we’d spend long hours in the bush and work hard for our sightings. As a result, we had a dream trip, with great sightings in excellent light almost every time we left camp. Thank you to Johan who worked so hard for us and always maintained his professional and helpful demeanour.
Below is a camp-by-camp summary of the trip. You can also see the Instagram daily diary by following this link here. Thank you for reading!
Chula Camp is located on a large island alongside the Zambezi River. It’s separated from the mainland by a channel which is famous for its canoeing adventures. As such, the only way to access the camp is using a pontoon and that gives the area around camp a very private and special feeling. We had a few cloudy days while we were at Chula and the vegetation on the island is quite thick, so we opted to move onto the mainland each day, rather than doing safari on the island where it was quite dark. But on the final morning, we had a wonderful leopard sighting all to ourselves on the island; the chance to have a totally private safari experience in the Lower Zambezi is something that will keep me coming back to Chula camp. In between the predator searches, we had wonderful elephant sightings, including of a bull with excellent ivories (perhaps the best in Zambia) and lots of fun in the forests, discussing light and composition.
After 3 nights at Chula, we moved to Kutali, a similarly styled camp on the Kulefu island. It’s also separated from the mainland by a channel but there is a bridge made from gabion baskets that allows vehicles to cross. The camp is sited in superb winterthorn forest, and is perhaps the most scenic camp anywhere in the Lower Zambezi. With river views in front and forest behind – sprinkled with game including lion and leopard – there’s little need to travel far for safari.
We continued our plan of early starts, usually leaving camp at 05:30 (which is early in the winter months!) and using the 45 minutes before the light appears to find our sightings. We were lucky that Kwela (a well-known local leopard) had killed an impala and hoisted it into a tree on our first morning, so we had long and extensive sightings of her during our 5 night stay. Lions, wild dogs, birds and elephants were also plentiful.
On one memorable morning, we found lions trying to reach Kwela’s kill which was stashed high in the tree. One cub nearly reached it, but decided that the final jump was too risky. The lions moved off, the leopard began to feed again when chaos broke out across the floodplain — wild dogs had entered the area and were scattering the antelope on all sides. It was an extraordinary morning and one that will stay with me.
With ample sightings and so much time, we were able to play with light angles and to try different techniques. Kwela went up and down her tree many times, giving us chances to perfect the technique of tracking a cat that is climbing or descending which is a tricky skill. Amongst all the photos, we regularly put the cameras down and simply reflected on the place, its abundant life and our good fortune to be there at that time.
This felt like a dream trip. We were certainly fortunate with the sightings, but we worked hard to achieve them. Getting a great safari experience requires a blend of diligent fieldwork and persistence……alongside the ability to pause, listen and enjoy what Nature brings. Searching too hard often leads to rushing — and Nature doesn’t reward rushing — but it’s also important to get out early, work hard and use all our skills to find our sightings.
I’ll be back in Lower Zambezi twice more this year, twice more in 2026 and I am working on tours for 2027. If you would like to join me, please do get in touch. Thank you for reading!
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