60th Anniversary Safari, Zambia

For its 60th anniversary, Norman Carr Safaris is offering a trip that combines a great safari with time set aside to visit the various community and wildlife projects it is involved in. Besides spending three nights at Kapani Lodge and five at various bush camps, with plentiful game drives along the way, guests will visit Yosefe School, the Kakumbi health center, the NCS tree-planting project, a local workshop making handmade cards from recycled paper and elephant dung, the South Luangwa Conservation Society, and Chipembele Education center. A donation of $300 per guest will be made towards conservation and community work in the South Luangwa. Guests are invited to bring books for Yosefe School library as well as sports and other school equipment. There is also a unique chance to support the exceptional work of SEKA, a local theatre group working towards raising awareness of HIV/Aids. For an extra $250 a guest can sponsor and attend a performance of the musical drama Sankani Moyo, about voluntary counseling and testing for HIV/Aids in one of the most remote rural villages. There will also be a chance to meet Rachel McRobb, the charismatic CEO of the South Luangwa Conservation Society, Steve and Anna Tolan of Chipembele Wildlife Education Centre and to hear about the work of the Africa Wild Dog Conservation Project. For more information, contact kapani@normancarrsafaris.com. Good idea!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/user/steppestravel#p/a/u/1/QhjSSlQ8s1M]

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Norman Carr Safaris, Zambia

Mchenja Camp

Mchenja Camp

Who They Are

Norman Carr Safaris consists of  Kapani Lodge , an eight-room luxury lodge  adjacent to the South Luangwa National Park, and four seasonal luxurious bush camps, dotted in isolated areas of the park, each with its own personality (some tented, some built with reeds). Even though they are called bush camps, they are completely rebuilt every season, all en-suite with open-air showers and no attention to detail spared.

Kapani Lodge

Kapani Lodge

Unlike many camps in the area, which have to be temporary structures because of heavy rains November through May, Kapani is open year-round. Besides game drives and boat excursions, you can take walks from bush camp to bush camp.

What They Are Doing

Education

Norman Carr started the Kapani School Project in 1986 to assist a “casual” school already there. Guests are invited to visit the school (if they express a desire), where they meet the teachers and the children, and hopefully feel inclined to leave donations. The company provides all administration and support, and employ several people to run the administration side of the project. The primary aim is to provide education (including books and clothing) to local children who would otherwise have none.

NCS also looks after the infrastructure of Yosefe School, between Mfuwe and the park, and over the years has built three classroom blocks, six houses for teachers, a fully stocked library, ablution blocks, a laboratory, and a borehole that provides drinking water for the whole community.

Library at Kapani School

Library at Kapani School

In addition, Yosefe also has a tree-planting project that is managed by NCS at the school, but maintained by the children. There are a couple of “plantations” at Yosefe School, and in the past NCS has given trees to the children to plant in their villages, although this has been dormant for a couple of years. The society also manages a community school in the Mfuwe area.

Medicine

NCS supports (along with about ten other safari operators in the Mfuwe area) the Kakumbi Clinic Project, which brings out a doctor from overseas for up to six months and provides health care to the community. The project also maintains the local clinic and provides medicines.

Wildlife

NCS is a corporate sponsor and member of the South Luangwa Conservation Society, which works in conjunction with the Zambia Wildlife Authority to protect and conserve natural resources (see video, above). The society funds an anti-poaching team to patrol the park who are trained, fitted with uniforms and anti-poaching gear, housed and fed. Animals that are found caught in snares are darted, the snares removed, and medical assistance provided.

Other

In order to help locals protect their crops from elephants, the society grows chillies that they then teach farmers how to use as a deterrent.

Norman Carr

Norman Carr

In Their Own Words

“Ever since Norman Carr first started operating safaris in the Luangwa valley back in 1950, the concept of managing the wildlife and the ecosystem in conjunction with, and for the benefit of, its traditional owners – the local communities – is something that has been very important to our company. He was a pioneer in this approach to conservation and wildlife tourism, and the company is proud to uphold his legacy.”

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Robin Pope Safaris, Zambia

Who They Are

The base for Robin Pope Safaris‘ operations is the small, riverside camp of Nkwali, which is close to the central Mfuwe area. Nkwali is one of  Luangwa ’s few camps that is accessible all year round. Further north, Robin Pope’s two substantial, luxurious seasonal bush camps are the much lauded Tena Tena (tented) and Nsefu. Like Nkwali, they offer 4×4 game drives and walking safaris.

Crossing the Mupamadzi in South Luangwa

Crossing the Mupamadzi in South Luangwa

For small groups and families, RPS runs two stylish safari houses, both close to Nkwali: the two-bedroom Robin’s House and the four-bedroom Luangwa Safari House and both come equipped with their own staff (chef, guides, and 4WD vehicles)  so you may set your own schedules.

Bed with a View, Nkwali

Bed with a View, Nkwali

Perhaps the most famous holidays from Robin Pope Safaris are their walking safaris, which utilize small  camps, walk-in tents, mattresses on the ground (with fine linens), shared bucket shower, bush loos). These ‘mobiles’ are organized about 18-24 months in advance, and often sell out swiftly; they run on fixed dates through the year. The properties offer game drives, walking, and boating, all with excellent guides.

Mobile Safari Tent

What They Are Doing

Education

The Kawaza School Fund focuses on education in the Nsefu Chiefdom (an area in the South Luangwa section of Zambia).  Efforts are aimed at building schools, paying for teachers in order to improve the children-to-teacher ratio.  The government does not provide adequate teachers for schools, and there is a shortage generally in the country. Also, it is hard to get teachers to come to

Kawaza School

Kawaza School

the rural areas.  They prefer towns, where there is electricity and water. The fund also provides educational equipment and sponsors 50 children to do their secondary and tertiary education. Only basic education is free. There are no secondary schools in the area, and no colleges, so anyone going to either has to find boarding, which is very expensive.  Many poor rural families and the increasing number of AIDS orphans cannot afford to go beyond basic schooling. The fund also has a volunteer program, where qualified people from abroad come and stay at one of the schools and teach.

Medicine

Robin Pope Safaris was the founding member of the Luangwa Safari Association Medical Fund. The lodges in the area pool money and organize for a volunteer doctor to live there and work at the local clinic. Over the last ten years the scheme has raised money to renovate the clinic, build new staff houses, and, whenever there is a need, buy or provide medication for epidemics. Do they also pay for other medicines? Not unless a situation gets desperate. The government provides monthly drug allowance to the clinic.

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Tongabezi, Zambia

Who They Are

Sindabezi Island

Tongabezi is a small, owner-operated luxury lodge on the banks of the Zambezi River. There are five gorgeous chalets set on the river, and five open-fronted houses built into the landscape, some with trees growing through them, creatively using the natural environment to make stunning rooms.  Each one has its own butler to take care of every need.

Sindabezi, a sister property, is located on a private island in the Zambezi, about a five-minute boat ride from Tongabezi and fifteen kilometers upstream from the Victoria Falls. This more remote camp has five open-sided chalets under thatched roofs. Activities at both properties include game drives in the Mosi-o-Tunya National Park, trips to the Victoria Falls, village visits, canoeing, guided bush walks with picnics on local islands. The romantic San Pan dinners are served on a pontoon floating in the river.

Tree House at Tongabezi

What They Are Doing

Education

Tongabezi owners Vanessa and Ben Parker originally started the Tujutane School for the staff and owners’ children but it now has 170 local kids at the primary level.  The school is self-financing and is run by Vanessa, who employs personnel and does fund-raising and everything needed to run the school. Tongabezi provides logistical support, such as electricity and housing for visiting teachers. The school employs over fifteen people.

Tujatane School

Tujatane School

Medicine

Tongabezi supports the USAID/SHARE AIDS program.  It has an internally appointed staff welfare committee that, among other things, assists staff who are HIV-positive.  Tongabezi gives  the committee a monthly donation that it can spend at its discretion, and it is currently helping at least four HIV-positive staff members with treatment.  Tongabezi sends several staff to Share AIDS programs, where they learn about AIDS in the workplace and receive training in counseling.

tongabezi

Other

Tongabezi has several smaller projects that include helping staff with soft and interest-free loans to purchase and develop land.  As a result, at least twelve staff members now have plots of land in Livingstone.

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