Zungulila Bushcamp

There are four chalets at Zungulila Bushcamp all of which are authentic and traditional. Inside, the chalets are spacious and luxurious. Large king size beds sit in the centre of the room, covered in crisp white bedding and romantically draped with mosquito netting. The chalets can come in twin or double configuration. The chalets’ stylishly moody dark canvas walls and polished floorboards are juxtaposed by authentic and colourful patterned rugs and the wide  floor to ceiling windows, which brings natural light into the room and offers breathtaking views over the stretching grasslands.

Through wooden framed French doors guests can make their way to the unique outdoor ensuite bathroom. Screened for privacy by bamboo screens, this bathroom includes an outdoor shower and a deep Trafalgar style bathtub, in which guests can enjoy a relaxing soak whilst gazing out over the endless horizon. All chalets come with a private bamboo decking, where guests can unwind after a long day.

Meals can be enjoyed by guests in the comfortable main area of the camp, around a large communal dining table where you can exchange stories of your day whilst you munch on delicious and freshly prepared food. For a unique safari experience guests can enjoy dinner in the shallows of the river or on the outdoor decking, under the wide starry Zambian sky. Gather around the boma fire pit and enjoy a traditional sundowner with your guides before dinner.

Guests can set out on a guided walk through the unspoilt African bush with a friendly and knowledgeable guide who will lead the way and impart their wisdom on the micro-ecosystems of the bush. This is an excellent activity for guests who wish to immerse themselves in nature, and experience all the sights, smells and sounds the wild South Luangwa National Park has to offer.

Game drives are also offered from Zungulila Bushcamp. Head out in the morning or evening and travel around the national park in the comfort of a 4×4 vehicle. Cover a large area of ground and view huge herds of buffalo and elephants, prides of lion or galloping zebras. If guests head out on a night time game drive then the more elusive nocturnal species may be wandering the plains, such as leopards.

The Luangwa Community Fund was founded in 2009, by Andy Hogg of Mfuwe Lodge and a group of knowledgeable tour operators all operating in South Luangwa. They were all of the opinion that no wildlife or habitat in Luangwa would lead to disastrous effects on the land and their businesses. They created long term sustainability projects which involved the local communities, and focused on education to help educate the younger generations on the importance of wildlife diversity and protecting the habitats. With the help of guest donations the money given towards this community fund is divided evenly between community and conservation projects.

To aid in local education The Bushcamp Company have a sponsorship programme for primary and secondary school students, from a starting number of 100 students, they now have 350 students being sponsored throughout their education. Guests of Bushcamp lodges can donate to the Education Fund if they wish to help educate a pupil. Donations are always pooled, to make sure the fund always has enough resources to successfully sponsor a student. The aim of the fund is to “commit to sponsored students from an early stage and see them all the way through tertiary education where possible.” This programme has had many success stories and guests are kept up to date with students’ progress throughout the year.

Intertwined with providing educational help to local communities is the need for good nutrition. 2,500 meals a day are provided to Chiwawatala Primary School, Aunt Mary’s Academy and Mfuwe Day School. The Bushcamp Company understands that correct nutrition is vital for a child’s development, and to help children focus and concentrate in class. If this wasn’t already proven, you could see the positive link in the fact that ‘attendance and academic results have increased significantly as a result of these meals.’ Another major success from this project is ‘during the first year of the programme, Mfuwe Day School had the highest number of Grade 12 final exam passes in the District, an increase of 40% in one year.’

A project was launched in 2014 to help provide clean water to villages in the local community. Currently it is estimated that in Africa, “over 345 million people are without access to clean water.” With women collectively “spending 2oo million hours a day collecting water.” Due to a rapidly growing population, communities in the Luangwa Valley are struggling to have “convenient access to safe, clean water.” One way to provide clean water is by creating boreholes.

The Bushcamp Company have planned to provide boreholes to the local communities, this project has already started “but with continuing donor support, the plan is to continue extending the project.” This project has been a great success so far, by the end of 2019 they “had provided 115 new boreholes, with 20 more planned for 2020,” this is a project which is “considered to be vital for the well-being of the local communities, providing tangible benefits to thousands of people.”

Living in such close contact with wild animals can be difficult at times so The Bushcamp Company “is committed to ensuring that the community around the Park has a reason to conserve it.” They are doing this by education, both children and adults on the importance of conserving this wildlife. With donations, The Bushcamp Company has been “able to pay teachers’ salaries, build classrooms and staff houses, provide access to clean water, and take school children into the Park on game drives.” Many initiatives are supported through The Bushcamp, they provide support to the Kakumbi Community Clinic – making sure health care is provided when and where it is needed – and they also support a local theatre group, who perform plays about human-wildlife conflict.

Staff at The Bushcamp Company properties are predominantly employed from local communities, and full training is provided, with encouragement on developing and progressing through the company. Staff benefits include “assistance with medical costs and access to a programme that pays for one of their children to attend school” as well as HIV and AIDS awareness courses.

The diverse landscape of the Luangwa is under increasing threat from growing populations, poaching, a lack of information about the animals and “a lack of training, education, and employment opportunities for local people who need to learn how to conserve their wildlife resources.” Recently, an endangered elephant population has started to increase again after extreme poaching in the 1970s and 1980s. However, Luangwa’s “natural heritage remains under threat from poaching and other illegal activities.” The Bushcamp Company supports Conservation South Luangwa, the Zambian Carnivore Programme and the Department of National Parks and Wildlife to help aid and support anti-poaching initiatives and protection of the local wildlife.

The Bushcamp Company runs a number of tree planting initiatives at local schools throughout the year. Planting trees “provides fun and motivation for pupils, simultaneously teaching them about the importance of the environment, primarily focusing on the issue of deforestation.”