This was my first trip to Africa and I didn't know if I would ever be able to return, so I wanted it to be the best experience I could arrange. I was not disappointed. I did a lot of research about safaris and concluded that I wanted a more intimate African bush experience than the regular safari fare. The walking safaris seemed the type I was looking for and that led me to Zambia, the home of walking safaris.

I was after much more than just close-up photographs of the usual big African mammals. As a retired wildlife biologist I wanted to walk into the bush and experience the animals on their terms. To accommodate this goal I looked for a very remote area, with few camps and great wildlife. This led me to North Luanga Park and the Mwaleshi River. This million-acre park has only three camps, each about 20 miles apart. Access is by the Mwaleshi airstrip, a dirt clearing with a windsock. I choose Kutandala Camp because of its remoteness, its philosophy of adhering to the principles of walking safaris, and their reputation for excellent cuisine and rustic yet comfortable accommodations.

Rod and Guz Tether are the owners of this small four-hut camp on the banks of the Mwaleshi River. Huts are made from indigenous grasses with thatched roofs and smooth earthen floors, but they are spacious and comfortable, with great views of the Mwaleshi River. Flush toilets and warm showers are a plus. See the Kutandala web site for more on accommodation details.

The meals and service are just wonderful. I have rarely eaten so well, even when compared to some of the finest hotels I've stayed at. Guz does a terrific job of coordinating the meals and services at the camp, plus raising two small children and a baby! The additional pleasure of her family only added to the already comfortable and domestic feel of the camp. Several nights local guests arrived for a visit and I had some wonderful conversations with Claire, the head of the Frankfort Zoological Society of Zambia who just "dropped by" to stay a few days because "everybody knows that Kutandala has the best kitchen of any bush camp in Zambia." I would expand that to any in Africa. Candlelit dinners under the huge Mahogany tree were not only delicious, but had the added advantage of wonderful conversations with Rod, Guz and their guests.

But I was there mainly to experience the African bush and its wildlife. There are two bush walks everyday: one starting after breakfast at 0700 to about 11 or 1200 or so, then lunch under the Fig tree by the river, a leisurely afternoon siesta, then an evening walk for a couple of hours until sundown. Evening drinks by the river, which were interrupted several times to make an orderly retreat before the local bachelor elephants that like the thick grass by the camp. Candlelit gourmet dinners under the huge mahogany tree and recounting what we'd seen on the previous walks. Each day passed like a pleasant dream.

For about half my stay I was the only guest in camp, and I had a unique opportunity to be with one of the best guides in Africa. Rod obviously loves to impart his wealth of knowledge of the African bush and its wildlife, and at the end of my stay, I felt as if I had attended an intensive master class on African wildlife, taught by a patient and very knowledgeable instructor. There seemed no end to his depth of knowledge or his pleasure in the imparting of it.

Just before I left Rod asked me to write something in his guest book. Pressed for time, I tried to think of the many wonderful experiences that I'd had the previous week. There were just too many to write down. What was the irreducible kernel of my experience at Kutandala Camp? I thought for a moment, and then I wrote: "Thank you for giving me Africa eyes." The way I see the world will never be the same. At Kutandala Camp, I really saw Africa.

Michael L. Hoel