Extraordinary Africa>Zambia>South Luangwa>Shawa Luangwa Camp
If there’s one thing we love, it’s a safari camp with proper heart, and Shawa delivers in spades.
What’s Shawa Luangwa Camp really like?
The chief of Nsefu offered legendary local guide Jacob Shawa his pick of locations to build a camp, and he chose here, on the banks of the Luangwa River. In the fine tradition of Zambian bush camps this is unpretentious and unflashy. If you want acres of space and an iPad to control your room, this may not be the camp for you. But if hippos honking in the night, warm staff, excellent guiding and lovely food are what you’re after, sign up here.
Shawa’s 5 tents aren’t huge as they sit amongst the trees, but they expand out onto decks looking out over the river. We love the outdoor showers and “evening breeze” cooling air over the beds. The latter is an absolute blessing in September/October when the South Luangwa can get extremely hot, though the unusual structure of the tents with lifting flaps has also been designed with the climate in mind. There is also a family tent- two tents linked by an external walkway. We’d say this is best suited to teens rather than very young children. The main areas of the camp are cosy and welcoming, decorated in what we’d maybe call a contemporary rustic style. Meals are usually eaten at individual tables. There’s also a lovely pool to relax in on hot afternoons (see above our comments about October!)
What can I do at Shawa Luangwa?
Activities at Shawa Luangwa focus on game drives across the river in the South Luangwa National Park (a short boat or pontoon crossing may be required for this). Shawa is one of the few camps to pioneer electric safari vehicles which are a wonderful way to hear the bush as well as see it. Traditional fuel vehicles can be used on longer drives away from camp. This being the South Luangwa, walking safaris are of course on offer and are a fantastic way to experience the bush up close.
Giving back at Shawa Luangwa
We’ve long been impressed by the depth and genuine commitment of the team here to supporting the wildlife, the community and the environment. 11 of the 20 construction staff who built the camp were recruited and upskilled as members of the new hospitality team, giving huge opportunity and the banks of solar panels (and electric vehicles) are testament to Shawa’s environmental credentials. Shawa works with Conservation South Luangwa, Project Luangwa and the Zambia Carnivore Programme so please do ask in camp if you are interested in learning more about their work.
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