Bilimungwe

South Luangwa NP, Zambia

GENERAL SCORES /5:

Lodge/Hospitality: 5

Rooms: 2

Food: 5

Guiding: 5

Game Viewing: 5

OVERALL: 10/10

Vital Statistics:

Country: Zambia

Game Reserve: South Luangwa

Management: Bushcamp Co.

Year we stayed:2005

Approx price pppn then: $300

Bilimungwe Review Summary:

What a place! Very basic rooms (just chicken wire for windows), as you'd expect from somewhere built from reed and thatch at the beginning of the season. However, the environment, service, food, guiding and everything else were absolutely superb. It has become much more expensive since we were last there, so I guess we were lucky - but it was worth twice the price we paid.

Bilimungwe Review

N.B. This review will share many parts with the review for Kuyenda as the structure of the safaris is the same and they are fairly close.

Bilimungwe means "chamaeleon" and it is a good name. It was only because our driver was pulling up that we knew there must be a camp there - it was so well camouflaged in the trees.

The rooms are very basic reed and thatch huts, with running water in the en-suite though, with chicken wire for the windows. The beds, necessarily, have good mosquito nets. But the rooms are just for sleeping in; the rest of the time that you are not on safari you will be in the communal area, which is just lovely. There are no walls - just a large, open-plan space on stilts overlooking a beautiful waterhole just metres away with a constant stream of elephants, antelope and birds visiting. There are comfortable seats to sit and watch them all come and go, with plenty of reference books on hand and a bar to keep your whistle wet. There is no electricity in the rooms, but give your batteries to the host and they will be charged up for you from the generator.

Meals were also taken in this thatch-covered area and were excellent - especially considering the limitations the chef has to work with. Our host was welcoming and helpful. He was not a guide, but knew his stuff regardless, and was always on hand to answer questions or help with anything.

The camps run by The Bushcamp Company have a large emphasis on walking safaris. We would generally walk for a good couple of hours, seemingly at random, following tracks and learning about the smaller things in the bush, and then stumble upon the Land Cruiser which had a supply of drinks and snacks. A leisurely safari drive back to the lodge followed the drinks, as we looked for larger game. There was no shortage of sightings, despite the guide not having other guides' radio calls to help find things (we didn't even see another vehicle during our stay there). I can only assume there is an incredible density of game in the park as we saw a huge amount. I think rhinos were the only thing we didn't see, but there are so few of them in South Luangwa that we really didn't expect to. Everything else was there in abundance. In one week, for example, we saw six different leopards!

Any stay at somewhere like Bilimungwe is going to rely on your guide and spotter and on luck that the game isn't all in hiding. With the Bushcamp Company I believe you can relax in the knowledge that the guide and spotter will be top-notch. And in Luangwa you would have to be pretty unlucky not to have a series of wonderful sightings.