Zambia & Zimbabwe self-drive trip July 2018

[JPS]

 

 

Natalie, Alex and Johan Seekles

 

Highlights of the 4-second video loop trip report are;

Wild dog hunt in South Luangwa National park.

Leopard with a kill in a tree nearby.

Lioness with cubs did a mock charge in Mana pools Chitake springs.

Lion sounds nearby our camp in the night.

Bull elephant breaking a huge branch on his hind legs at Mucheni camp 3 in Mana Pools.

 

1 July Chimwewe Lodge in Petauake, booked a family room.

• 2-4 July Wildlife camp in South Luangwa, camping spot.

• 5-7 July Zikomo camp, camping spot. • 8-10 July Track and trail camp

• 11 July Chimwewe Lodge in Petauake, booked a family room.

• 12 July Palmwood lodge Lusaka

• 13 July lake safari lodge (Kariba)

• 14- 17 July Chitake 2 Mana Pools Zimbabwe

• 18-23 July Mucheni 2 Mana Pools Zimbabwe

• 24 July Nyamepi campsite 17

• 25 July Tiffany lodge Zambia

• 26 July Kakwele lodge Zambia

 

Support received for putting this trip together smoothly; 4x4 community South Africa

Transport: Toyota Land cruiser bush camper double cab from Avis safari rental fully equipped.

 

 

Any questions....just leave a message

[ElenaH]

thank you, @JPS for the thrilled video! Thrilled because of leopard helping to fix the vehicle ;-) Nice footage and photos! Can you please post a few photos of Kakwele Lodge in Lusaka. It is the one close to the Airport? As I understood you took the road from Petauke to SLNP directly and not through Chipata. It is not a tarred road? How was the road? And how long did it take to get to SLNP? I see you have some stop-overs to reduce the driving hours. And one more question: how can one book campsites on Chitake and Mucheni? As far as I know only tour operators (mobile safaris) can do it. Thank you!

[JPS]

Dear Elena,

 

Thank you for your kind words.

Kakwele lodge is a good place to stay for a night over and dinner, it's a 10-minute drive to the airport. I am not 100% sure if is the nearest but is nearby.

The route from Petauke is fun to do and shorter but you need a 4x4 as it is a sand route with some challenging but no impossible parts.and don't do this road in wet season.

The route to from Petauke to wildlife camp took me 5 hours easy going

 

Booking via Zimbabwe parks themselves amaguta@zimparks.org.zw

Please note that the response might be slow and  Amaguta is the better one.

 

We did Chitake and hired a ranger 50USD per day, this is fantastic as they have hundreds of thrilling stories and every day guided interesting walking safaris.

Chitake and Mucheni are really amazing places...especially Chitake.

 

Hope this helps

[ElenaH]

@JPS, thank you very much for reply! I have been to Mana three times but always thought that Chitake and Mucheni are reserved only for tour-operators and never been to Chitake. On the other hand one can go with Zimparks ranger everywhere. We used to take a ranger for several days in Hwange and we were able to drive the roads which were closed even for lodges. Rangers in Hwange are from anto-poaching unit, this is why it was possible to go with them everywhere. Thank you for a good tip! Glad to have you in Safaritalk!

[JPS]

Nice elephant (Boswell) video taken from Mucheni 3, well had to walk a few meters from the camp but almost in the camp ;-)

 

Sorry for the F word in the video but I was a bit overexcited

 

 

 

 

[NancyS]

Wow! Cool!

[Atravelynn]

You assembled some outstanding action in your video and that intro still of the skimmers is fantastic too.  That rearing elephant really stretched it to the limit.  He knew what he wanted breaking the limb.  Such excellent variety and all on a self drive!

[AKR1]

18 hours ago, Atravelynn said:

You assembled some outstanding action in your video and that intro still of the skimmers is fantastic too.  That rearing elephant really stretched it to the limit.  He knew what he wanted breaking the limb.  Such excellent variety and all on a self drive!

+1. Excellent video. 

[offshorebirder]

What amazing viewing you had @JPS!   

 

Thanks for sharing the excellent video.

[Johnieka]

Hi @JPS

 

My name is Johnieka Holtzhausen, and I work for the Discover Africa Group. I absolutely love your video and itinerary. Therefore, I would like to request your permission to repost this itinerary on our website.

 

We are in the process of launching a new site that features the web’s most extensive collection of road trips and 4x4 self-drive itineraries for Southern Africa. All the trips in our collection are sourced from genuine travelers who have completed these journeys themselves.

 

Your itinerary is a perfect fit for our new site, and we would love to showcase it. Additionally, this would benefit you by linking to your blog and social media accounts from our site.

 

Please let me know if you are comfortable with us using your itinerary, and we will take care of the rest.

 

Thank you for your time, and I hope to hear from you soon.

 

Best regards,

Johnieka Holtzhausen

Edited February 27, 2023 by Johnieka

[JPS]

On 2/27/2023 at 2:58 PM, Johnieka said:

Hi @JPS

 

My name is Johnieka Holtzhausen, and I work for the Discover Africa Group. I absolutely love your video and itinerary. Therefore, I would like to request your permission to repost this itinerary on our website.

 

We are in the process of launching a new site that features the web’s most extensive collection of road trips and 4x4 self-drive itineraries for Southern Africa. All the trips in our collection are sourced from genuine travelers who have completed these journeys themselves.

 

Your itinerary is a perfect fit for our new site, and we would love to showcase it. Additionally, this would benefit you by linking to your blog and social media accounts from our site.

 

Please let me know if you are comfortable with us using your itinerary, and we will take care of the rest.

 

Thank you for your time, and I hope to hear from you soon.

 

Best regards,

Johnieka Holtzhausen

Dear Johnieka Holtzhausen

,

Thank you for your positive feedback and apologies for my late response. Of course, you can use my video for publication.

 

Kind regards

Johan