Highlights

• Prime hilltop vantage point with 360-degree views over rivers, streams, floodplains and forests
• Ten Vista Suites with private plunge pools, air-conditioning and outdoor showers
• Safari Lounge linking two suites for the most luxurious family retreat in Zambia
• Award-winning guiding team and red-light night drives unique to Zambia
• Infinity lap pool, spa, yoga deck and gym

You Should Know

• Children of all ages are welcome when sharing with adults
• Walking safaris are restricted to guests aged 12 and over, at the guide's discretion
• One Vista Suite is configured for differently abled guests
• Peak game viewing in July to October when the Luangwa River concentrates wildlife

The Details

Location

Originally built as the holiday home of Zambia's founding president, Dr Kenneth Kaunda, Chichele Presidential sits on the South Luangwa's prime vantage point, a hilltop with uninterrupted 360-degree views across rivers, streams, floodplains and forests. The lodge is deep inside the national park, a 90-minute road transfer from Mfuwe airport.

South Luangwa is home to Thornicroft's giraffe, Crawshay's zebra, Cookson's wildebeest, large herds of elephant and puku, and the predators that follow them.

Accommodation

Ten Vista Suites each offer private indoor and outdoor spaces, with a king bed swathed in fine linen, his-and-hers washbasins, a large indoor bath, indoor and outdoor showers, expansive decks and a private plunge pool. Clean hydroelectric power supports air-conditioning and wifi throughout.

A separate Safari Lounge with its own lounge and dining room inter-leads to one or two Vista Suites, creating a private family or friends retreat.

Design and Facilities

Tall arches, expansive decks and an infinity lap pool with a viewing deck anchor the main areas. The decor celebrates the lodge's presidential history, with a colour scheme drawn from its name, which means salt in the local Chewa language, paired with pepper.

Game Drives

Game drives use custom-built 4x4 open vehicles and head out for a few hours in the early morning and again in the late afternoon, returning to camp on a night drive. Chiawa Safaris pioneered the use of filtered red spotlights on night drives in place of blinding white lights, allowing close observation of leopard, civet, genet and other nocturnal species with minimal disturbance.

The guiding team has twice been voted Best Guiding Team in Africa by an independent panel of international safari specialists and won Best Safari Guiding Team in Zambia at the 2019 Safari Awards. Sundowners in the bush are a fixture of every afternoon drive.

Walking Safaris

The South Luangwa is the home of the walking safari in Zambia. Guests walk with an experienced guide and an armed National Parks scout through ebony groves, across dry tributaries of the Luangwa and into mopane forests, tracking elephant, giraffe, puku and the occasional leopard or wild dog on foot. Walking is restricted to guests aged 12 and over.

Dining

The dining experience is curated around the safari day, from pre-breakfast and brunch to high tea, gourmet dinners and surprise bush meals. The kitchen team is drawn from Mfuwe, Lusaka and Livingstone, and produce is hand-picked from Eden Organics, Chichele's own project supporting divorced and widowed women in the local community.

Menus add an African twist to Middle Eastern dishes at lunch, with Italian, Middle Eastern and Thai influences at dinner. Three-course dinners offer a choice of two starters, three mains and two desserts with freshly baked artisan bread. Barbecue evenings lean Zambian. Guests move around the property for meals: the historic main dining room watched over by a portrait of President Kaunda, fire-cooked meals in the boma, romantic dinners on the lawn, private in-room dining on the verandas and bush dinners under the stars. All food is Halaal-friendly and most dietary requirements can be met with advance notice.

Price Includes

• Accommodation in a Vista Suite
• All meals, including private dining
• Beverages, house wines, local spirits and laundry
• Professionally guided safari activities: day and night game drives, and bush walks
• Transfers between Chiawa Safaris camps and airfields
• VAT
• Excludes Park, Conservation, Community and Carbon Collection Fees of US$120 per person per night
• Excludes flights to and from Mfuwe, gratuities, visa fees and personal extras