After a quick flight, we landed on the Jeki airstrip. Sausage Tree was there to pick us up. After a short drive, we were taken to a boat for a nice, 20 minute ride down the Zambezi to Sausage Tree Camp. The camp holds 18 guests (the biggest camp we stayed in on our trip). The huts/tents have tinted cement floors with a high white roof w/teak beams. They main room is round, with a bed, desk, dresser, closet, leather couch, coffee table, and a teak deck with two chairs. The bathroom is attached to the room, down a curved hall area. The bathroom is open air, we had a tree going over ours, with high enough walls to provide privacy. The shower has good water pressure and the water gets good and hot! Liquid soap, shampoo, conditioner, lotion, and insect repellent are all provided. With the open air, we did have a monkey leave a present on the sink one day, but i was pleased that they didn't take any of my products. :)
There isn't any wifi/internet access at this camp, but did get intermittent cell service (Zimbabwe from across the river).
The meals were great!! Breakfast included porridge, toast, fruit, muffins, eggs, meat, cheese, and eggs/bacon/sausage to order (you order with your butler the night before). The treats served with afternoon tea looked great, i was usually too full to partake. But, i did love the option of iced tea in the afternoon (when it was hottest). Lunch was a buffet set up - all very delicious options. For dinner you get to select between two starters (tip - the soups were all excellent!), two or three entrees, and three dessert options. The chocolate chip banana bread offered while on walks was so good! Lunch in the river was a beautiful surprise. So neat to eat with your feet in the river!
I enjoyed the options for the activities. I liked fishing much more than i expected to. I caught a bream & a tigerfish & husband caught 4 tigerfish (and we are not fisher-people). One tip - try to only do fishing w/2 people & the guide. Any more than that and you spend more time riding in the boat than actually fishing. Canoeing was fun and exciting. No hippo or croc encounters (saw many of them, but from a nice distance). We did quite a few game drives & a walk or two with James - he was an amazing guide. Learned so much about animals and he even found the honey badgers i really wanted to see. The game in the Lower Zambezi was awesome. We found a pride of 13 lions sleeping and watching them was amazing. The surprise for me was the somewhat aggressive elephants. No incidents, but we did have to stop the car a few times to let the elephants investigate and decide to head elsewhere. We saw plenty of animals; impala, puku, warthogs, hippos galore, elephants, lions, leopards, giant owls, storks, eagles, crocs, baboons, honey badger, civet, genet, and some i am probably forgetting. The location of the camp is great - right on the river. Elephants and hippos walk through camp at times.
The staff at Sausage Tree was great. Extremely friendly & always willing to help. George & Alan were great dinner companions with entertaining stories. I very much enjoyed my stay at Sausage Tree and would definitely recommend it!

We had a fantastic trip to SST in July. There is already a comprehensive review by someone else so I won't go into too much depth.

To cut a long story short we spent 3 nights there. Initially in room or tent 2 from memory but fortunately for us we got transferred into the family tent. Given we have 3 kids it was a little awkward juggling them in two tents for the first night. Particularly with elephants wandering through the camp!

Loved the much larger family tent. Shame it was winter and therefore too cold to take advantage of our own private plunge pool. Next time we will come in sept perhaps?

The staff we fabulous. Food was great. Quick (though more than satisfactory) brekkie and them up and at it. Few of tried our hand at fishing. Tigers, bream and catfish. Also daunt a 5m crocodile! Thought we had better release it though as we weren't brave enough to land it!
Others did game drives. While the variety of game is not as good as Kenya where we had come from there was enough to see.

All up a very relaxing spot with a marvelous view out over the hippos with the constant cries of the fish eagle in the background. Hard to believe you wouldn't enjoy such a camp.

Landing at Jeki airstrip, you immediately feel like you're entering another world, with its dirt 'runway', and a modest hut the only building in sight. Fortunately we found Gilbert & Sam from Sausage Tree Camp offering us the most wonderfully warm welcome. We felt immediately at ease. For the next 40 mins the transfer to the Camp was nothing short of amazing; a 20 min drive through the scrub & bush, already stopping for close-ups with elephants & baboons, followed by a 20 min speedboat transfer up the mighty Zambezi under the African sun, seeing hippos and more elephants.

Upon arrival at STC we were warmly greeted, given immediate refreshments, and had an outline of the Camp & what to expect, all whilst seated in the camp's lovely communal dining/drinking/relaxing area which literally overhangs the banks of the Zambezi. Shown to our 'tent' (that word REALLY doesn't do it justice!) by our Muchinda/housekeeper who would look after us throughout our stay, we found our accommodation to be thoroughly decadent, with its outdoor showers, personal bar, day-bed on a deck overlooking the river, and exquisite furnishings. And yet it still managed to retain a bush/safari feel - this was no regular luxury sterile hotel room. Wonderful.

Life in STC is nothing short of utterly relaxing. Have tea watching the hippos. Snooze in the sun. Spend an hour watching the vervet monkies playing (and watching you) in the trees right above & next to you. Have aperitifs by the fire in the evening as the scenery over the Zambezi takes on its magical moonlit nighttime air. And then enjoy a fine 3-course meal. The food is without doubt one of the best features of STC, we couldn't fault it. Cuisine EASILY as good as you'd find in many fine-dining restaurants in major world cities. For me this contributed a lot to the overall feeling of being spoiled & pampered at STC.

And they certainly do this with style & professionalism. All the staff in the Camp remember your name. There is a consistently high level of attentiveness, without ever feeling intrusive. Much of this atmosphere can be attributed to the managing couples, Merle & George, and Nicky & Alan. I've already mentioned the food, for which Merle is responsible. George is the most gracious dinner companion and all-round genuine host. As is the ever-present Nicky, whose seemingly constant smile is perhaps only out done by that of Gilbert?! And Alan's passion for and knowledge of the Lower Zambezi is both incredible and addictive. They all play their roles with such a genuine & friendly enthusiasm, that I felt I'd made new friends.

Of course, I must also mention the main reason why people travel to the Lower Zambezi - the scenery & its animals. Nothing short of SPECTACULAR. STC offer various ways to experience the amazing landscape; we went on both canoe and jeep safaris, which were absolutely fabulous, perhaps the quintessential Africa you might imagine. Constant picture opportunities, with all different types of animals. And SO MANY of them! To see them in the wild like that is something which I'll never forget, and which I'm already desperate to do again.

My stay in the Lower Zambezi National Park, even though only 2 nights, was without doubt one of the BEST and most incredible experiences I've ever had, with STC being thoroughly vital to this. Yes, there are cheaper & more basic places available, but I'd say forget them. Beg/borrow/save the extra money and treat yourself to a stay here, you won't regret a second spent there nor a penny spent on it. An incredibly brilliant way to see one of the most special places in the world. Don't hesitate - GO!!!

Oh, and they will thoroughly appreciate any current magazines you might happen to bring with you!

My wife and I stayed for 2 nights in mid-Aug 10, having flown in from Lusaka (ex-Kafue) to Jeki Airstrip, then travelled up river by power boat for 40 mins or so (a fabulous way to arrive, having had your very own mini boat-borne safari en route. Location is stunning and right on the river, with super views at whatever game chose to wander/swim by (including herds of Elephants). Game was omni-present and we had to be driven to our Room twice in 2 days, due to Elephant & Buffalo. Room was much bigger, grander and stylish than we expected (cynical toad that I am), and not over looked by anything or anyone. Delightful place to lounge after lunch and bird watch (pool was a good spot too, but a bit exposed to midday sun). Game drives were very productive & better than we had hoped as the immediate area round the Camp is quite thick bush, but it varies quite drastically as you go further from the river. Watching a pride of Lions with cubs intent on nothing but mayhem & play for over an hour was a complete joy, especially as Alan had the same camera as me & a passion for trying to get the perfect shot. Night drives were exceptional too, and we found so many Mongoose(s), Leopards, & Porcupines. Tried the Canoe trip (down one of the channels,as main river is far too powerful & staggeringly fast) to try and slay the ghost of hippos past, so a bit of a test of steel & nerve. Exciting - definitely, but whilst it challenged, we never felt really scared - more thrilled at what we saw & experienced & took some great photos. Food was divine & huge credit to the Backroom staff, no doubt aided and abetted by Nicci (a serious Chefesse in her own right), who we first encountered, with Alan, in 2005 in Namibia !! Pinnacle of this Visit was our last luncheon in the middle of the Zambezi. Surprise or what ! Magical experience & again superb food (4 course meal with Wine etc) under canvas on table and chairs resting on a mid-stream sand bar into which we all gradually sank. Many giggles, laughs (or was it hysterics) and hundreds of Photos taken. Then to truely cap it off, & just before we departed down stream in a power boat to Old Mondoro, we had the Elephants crossing the river right infront of us, with snorkles raised, shepherding a 6 month old calf. "Sweet" and "cute" were not the words to describe the scene. A fabulous place, stay, trip, experience, so massive Thanks to ALL the Staff (Sorry we are not going to single one out, but you know who you are). We will be back one day & I WILL try and catch a Tiggerfish. Recommended especially to those that like their safaris in some (quite a lot actually) comfort & style, & Birders (we're not, but hear it is highly rated on that score).