Chiawa Safaris - Chiawa Camp

Chiawa Camp sits on the bank of the Zambezi River beneath a stand of mahogany trees, inside Lower Zambezi National Park. The camp is fully solar-powered and family-owned — the Cumings family have run it since it was the first tourist camp to open in this park.

Nine safari tents and one safari suite sleep guests across the property. Tents one through eight each have a lounge area, a ball-and-claw bath, his-and-hers washbasins, a separate shower, an outdoor waterfall shower, a timber veranda with hammock, and a private plunge pool. The safari suite sits on a ridge overlooking the river, its floodplains and the escarpment; it has an air-conditioned bedroom, a private pool, a private campfire, and private vehicle access, and its lounge converts to a sleeping space for young children.

The camp holds a separate sleep-out tower — the only one in Lower Zambezi National Park — for guests who want to spend a night above the treeline.

Activities run on both land and water. Game drives go out in open four-wheel-drive vehicles. Guided bush walks are led by an armed ranger and a qualified guide; elephant and buffalo appear on most walks. River safaris use custom-built motorised pontoons, one of the few concessions inside the park permitted to run waterborne safaris. Six-metre Canadian canoes are available for trips from one hour to a full day. The camp is also a well-regarded fishing base: tigerfish are caught on fly or conventional tackle, with a camp record of just over ten kilograms.

The pool and sundeck face the Zambezi, and a game-viewing hide sits within the camp.