We were greeted with cool cloths unfortunately they stank of mildew. The woman greeting us had on a dirty skirt. There are traces of peanut in their sugar so if you're allergic don't even think of going there. There were ants crawling up the table and onto the bottom of the plates of food on the table. The food was awful. On the way to our room you can see other people sleeping on their beds inside their rooms. There is absolutely no privacy. There are two twin beds crammed into the small room. There was no room to put your suitcase. There is no electricity. There generator gets turned off at night. You are given one small solar lamp for your room. There are no curtains on the open windows, no screens just widely placed bars. You can hear all conversations from the rooms next to you. The bathroom is open from about shoulder height to the roof with no screens or curtains. We had our guides take us to another camp right away.

For our second safari in Africa, we chose to go to Zambia with Robin Pope Safaris. We chose to stay 2 nights at Nsefu, 2 nights on a bush walk camp with Debs Tittle, and 1 night in Kawaza village.

We had a wonderful time at Nsefu - the game and diversity of scenery in the South Luangwa made it very worth while. Within the first 15 minutes of our drive into the park towards the camp, we spotted the Nsefu pride of lions. We saw so many wonderful things (if you're a bird lover, this is a place for you), and our ranger Braston was very thoughtful and knowledgeable about the bush. We had the entire vehicle to ourselves during our 2 night stay which made it very private. We were also blessed with seeing the honey badger, only the 2nd or 3rd sighting of the animal since the beginning of the dry season. The staff were all very courteous and friendly, and they conversed easily with us.

The accomodations are very comfortable but not highly luxurious when compared to some of the very pricey camps in Botswana or South Africa. That didn't matter much to us; we were there for the game. We loved sleeping to the sounds of the bush and waking up every day to breakfast by the river where the hippos and elephants were. The food is quite basic but nutritious and wholesome.

The highlight was the 2 nights we spent with Debs on the walking bush camp. I learned so much on those walks with her - i loved taking the time to pause, touch and smell everything around you. We had some dicey moments, including dodging about 30 elephants in a span of an hour, and being mock charged by a young bull in the vehicle but we always felt safe with Debs. It was also on those walks and sleepovers in the tents that we had our closest encounters with leopards. We did not visibly see any but their presence was felt. Debs even took us on a special excursion to spot the elusive eland - so difficult to spot but we found them.

The only thing we didn't enjoy as much were the night drives. they weren't the most productive for the most part and due to the long days, we found mid way through them we were falling asleep. however, that is just a personal opinion.
We have wonderful memories from here, and I feel that i have truly experienced the heart of africa by visiting here.

We have become great Robin Pope Safaris fans. We stayed in Nkwali and Nsefu. We also stayed at the camp of another operator in the South Luangwa, and much preferred the warmth, personal touches and attention to detail of the Robin Pope camps. This may because ithey are still owned by Robin and Jo Pope.

All the staff were engagng and friendly
We had fantastic game viewing with our guides Brendan and Joseph at Nkwali and Sebastian at Nsefu. The hosts, called "caterers", Fiona at Nkwali and Beck at Nsefu were very welcoming and looked after us very well and interesting people themselves.. Dowdy, the manger of Nsefu, was a delight.

At both camps the food was very good and the accommodation very comfortable, though more spacious and comfortable at Nkwali. Nsefu is more a bush camp. The bathrooms at both are open air which is part of the experience , but stll very good. The rooms at Nkwali are further apart from each other.. Nkwali is connected to mains power, and has a swimming pool. Nsefu relies on a generator which is switched off late at night and for much of the daylight hours. Nkwali is the base camp, Nsefu is seasonal

We would recommend going on walks, we had a particularly good walk from Nsefu to Tena Tena.
Nkwali is across the River from the Park in its own reserve, which has itself excellent game viewing, but you can be boated across the river to go for a walk or you can drive into the Park. As there a few of lodges and camps in and around the Park entrance ,you can in that part of the Park come across a number of other vehicles
Nsefu is in a section of the Park on the other side the River from the main part of the Park, which you have more or less to yourselves together with with guests Tena Tena, another smaller Pope bush camp about 7 km away.

At each place the game viewing was excellent, we saw at least one leopard a day, and one night at Nsefu we saw three. The guides seemed to be able to summon animals on demand.

There are large numbers of hippos in the River who make a fair bit of noise at night.

One special touch was that on our last night at Nsefu we were given a surprise,our "sundowner" was a very special set-up with table and chairs overlooking a lagoon,with champagne in an ice bucket. Beck had driven out to set it up and meet us.

Our only minor quibble was that at Nsefu, because one couple had booked a guide for themselves and another guide was away, we had less choice as to activitiesand for a day or so were in a vehicle with another two couples

We stayed here one night on our honeymoon. Circumstances were such that we couldn't spend more time, but after our first night we started a two night walking safari with Robin Pope Safari (RPS). We also stayed 4 nights at Tena Tena. Nsefu was hands down much more beautiful than Tena Tena, but both places were spectacular.

The bar at Nsefu overlooks the river and the wildlife was amazingly abundant. The food was good, a nice combination of local flair and european cuisine. I would have enjoyed a heavier committment to the local food, but this is hard to accomplish with consistant success though. Tea in the afternoon included elephants, giraffes, hippos and monkeys all within 100-150 yds, unblocked view!

Everyone is friendly, and the activities are well run. Staying with RPS includes the morning, afternoon and night drives or walks. They typically keep you with the same guide so you get to know them, and the guides are very well trained, many of them locals. You should absolutely do at least one walk. You'll see less large game wildlife, but it's a real thrill to be tracking, and not be limited to the vehicle.

We also did a two night bush camping (fly camping) with Debs Tittle. This is an absolute MUST. I would come back to Zambia just for this. Spending two nights with her is truly like being with a legend. She's got great stories, her knowledge of the history and wildlife is far superior to anything I've ever experience in any other wildlife guide. In fact, she's one of the primary people involved with training local guides. Bush camping with RPS and Tittle feels a bit like how it may have been in the old days. We have a tea porter, the tents are candle lit, throne toilet and bucket shower. Yet with the elegance of luxury. Really a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

This was our honeymoon, they treated us right and we wish to go back.