Zambia is a window into off-grid ‘old Africa’ – and it’s about to become safari’s worst-kept secret

I fell in love with Africa with my body curled up in a bed of river sand, a malleable mattress carved by an ephemeral river.

Under a velvety black sky, I watched a boy wrapped in a blue blanket stoke a fire—I was still young enough to worry more about whether the boy would ever kiss me (he never did) than the sound of a nearby hyena.

But the magic of that unfiltered experience—waking to the plaintive cry of a gray hooded warbler; the rhythmic bass hum of a southern hornbill—would become a pivot root, anchoring me to this continent.

After more than three decades, wilderness areas where experiences like this were once impossible are now mostly annexed by luxury camps. Their guests pay a premium for the privilege of being served iced mojitos and kudu medium-rare in the riverbed in front of their private pool deck. But for a more grounded safari experience – literally – a country still holds its own.

It’s a short one-hour hop from Lusaka to Mfuwe, and from here the journey is suitably transportive. Cruising along a single lane road, you pass through a string of rustic villages, each settlement surrounded by lush foliage. People on bikes or on foot, braiding their hair and drinking beer under hand-painted store signs with names like “God Only Knows” and “Never Give Up.”

Authentic Africa, vibrant and alive, the gaps between wilder and wilder, until you finally cross the Luangwa River and into the dense green of Zambia’s most popular national park.

South Luangwa is home to one of the highest leopard population densities in Africa, and the guides at Time + Tide’s Kakuli Camp have an excellent track record of finding these elusive cats. You can opt for a standard safari program – spending a cumulative six to eight hours in an open game vehicle – but South Luangwa is known for its walking safaris, pioneered here in the 1950s by Norman Carr.

Kakuli is a much more elegant base than when Carr – nicknamed “Kakuli”, meaning “old buffalo bull” – took his safaris from this perch overlooking the Luangwa River, but it retains a nostalgic charm. Black-and-white photos of Carr, flanked by two enormous lions—orphaned cubs he raised and released into the wild—hang in the thatched mess area open to the elements; the five en-suite bungalows – with grass walls and retractable canvas fronts – are simply furnished; glamping, but much roomier and airier than a tent.

Walking offers a thrill you don’t get in a vehicle. From caressing the petrified skin of an 800-year-old leadwood, wood so dense it sinks, to studying fresh lion paw prints, the outside world, with its intrusive demands, is completely on hold.

Bush walks are not an uncommon offering, but here you walk between camps, an old-school pioneer experience, albeit hands-free and reserved with rustic luxury. From Kakuli to Mchenja, following the Luangwa, accompanied by the guide and armed scout, takes about three hours; luggage is transported by vehicle. Or follow the course of the Lubi River from Kakuli to Nsolo – the longest walk at just under nine miles.

Little Luwi is a five mile walk from here. And from any of these camps, a walk down to the Lubi riverbed for a night under the stars is optional – an exclusive set-up, with cook and waiter, guide and scout to watch over you – a far more comfortable and safer set-up than the one we had with the blanket boy, but with our feet still on the ground, our toes digging into the coarse sand of the river.

“The main reason why Zambia has stayed so true to the original safari ethos is that it is so seasonal,” explains safari dean Suzanne Baylie, owner of Classic Portfolio and an ardent supporter of Zambia.

“Building a fancy pants camp in Zambia just isn’t as financially viable as it is in more popular safari destinations. It’s very hot from October, then the rainy season starts in December, so most camps have to shut down operations for at least four – sometimes up to six – months. It’s a limited time to make money, and the people operating tend not to gain passion for Zambia, rather than advertising. namby-pamby But this is why Zambia is relatively unchanged from 30 years ago: small, intimate camps – on average, in rustic settings;

That said, the Zambian scene is evolving. His government has woken up to the benefits of tourism, eliminating visa requirements for 53 countries and streamlining regulatory red tape to increase flight connections. Since the opening of Kenneth Kaunda International’s upgraded Terminal 2 – funded by a loan from the Exim Bank of China – Zambia has seen a huge increase in visitor numbers of over 200% from 2021 to 2024.

This has in turn encouraged investment: the opening of the ultra-luxurious Chichele Presidential in South Luangwa earlier this year is now attracting a less adventurous traveler to the walker’s paradise, offering the kind of luxury that is de rigueur in the Botswana Delta – enormous suites with private pools; a full-service spa; lap pool – and at $1,400 (£1,060) per person per night, good value.

In Lower Zambezi National Park—one of Africa’s most beautiful parks, where river safaris and island sunsets enhance the traditional safari experience—Time + Tide’s Chongwe House has been beautifully overhauled by designer duo Silvio Rech and Lesley Carstens—it’s your own chic, barefoot, four-bedroom safari with a $900 private team that looks at home every $90. (£680) per person, it’s probably the best exclusive use experience you’ll find anywhere in Africa.

New entrants include classy Botswana outfit Ker & Downey – which this year launched its Zambian division with King Lewanika Lodge in remote Liuwa Plain National Park, a luxurious base from which to witness Africa’s second-largest wildebeest migration with not another human in sight – and Anantara, which opened Kafue River Camp in 2022, forging their link with Royal Livingstone Victoria. Anantara Sales Director Lindi Mthethwa’s answer to ‘why’ is succinct:

“Zambia is growing but remains wonderfully unspoiled. For those looking for the original Africa, the kind that feels raw and rare, now is the time to go.”

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Ethiopian Airlines flies daily from Heathrow to Lusaka (via Addis Ababa) from £680 return. Time + Tide offers a seven-pay-six package (combining three nights each at their camps in Mchenja and Kakuli, optional walking in between, one night sleeping outside and one night at luxury Chinzombo) for $8,215 (£6,220) per person.

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