Sausage Tree Camp

Highlights

• Guaranteed private guiding: your own guide, vehicle, boat and canoe
• Seven river-view suites, each with its own plunge pool and butler
• Kigelia House: two en-suite bedrooms and a private pool for families or friends
• Day and night game drives in the central Lower Zambezi
• Canoeing the Chifungulu Channel, a stretch only a few operators may use
• Early-morning walking safaris with a National Parks wildlife officer
• Catch-and-release tiger fishing, spinning or fly
• Sundowner boat cruises past hippo pods and elephant crossings
• A 25-metre lap pool and a riverside gym

Information

• Lodge type: Luxury tented river camp
• Location: Central Lower Zambezi National Park, Zambia
• Lodge size: 7 luxury tented suites plus Kigelia House (two bedrooms); maximum 18 guests
• Recommended stay: 3–7 nights
• Malaria risk: Yes. The Lower Zambezi is a malaria area, so take prophylaxis on your doctor's advice
• Getting there: From Lusaka, about 30 minutes by light aircraft to Royal Airstrip, then a 20-minute drive and a 30-minute boat transfer. By road from Lusaka, allow about 5 hours including the vehicle and boat legs

Sausage Tree Camp Where Luxury Meets Adventure in the Heart Of The Lower Zambezi

Sausage Tree Camp is a seven-suite luxury tented camp on the Zambezi River in the central Lower Zambezi National Park, and one of the few camps in Africa that guarantees every guest a private guide. It opened in 1996 as Zambia's most luxurious bush camp and still sets the standard. White tented suites are spaced along the riverbank under sausage and mahogany trees, each with its own plunge pool and butler, and elephants wander the gaps between them.

Since mid-2023 the camp has been part of Green Safaris, the collection behind Tongabezi at Victoria Falls and Chisa Busanga in the Kafue. Potato Bush, its smaller sister camp next door, shares the fleet of game-drive vehicles, boats and canoes. The setting is the central section of a 4,092 km² park, close to where the Chifungulu Channel meets the main river. That is prime water for canoeing, and the Lower Zambezi is one of the finest places in Africa to watch game from the water as well as from a vehicle.

The style is bush chic rather than bling: teak, stone and white fabric, with a team that sweats the small details. Every outing, whether a drive, walk, canoe trip, cruise or fishing session, runs with your own guide at your own pace. Nobody else sets the agenda.

Rooms and Suites

Each of the seven luxury suites is a spacious tented pavilion facing the Zambezi. Inside are a lounge with a minibar, a king-size bed or twin beds, a smooth stone bathtub and an outdoor shower. Outside is a private deck with its own plunge pool. Fans and 24-hour power keep things comfortable. Wi-Fi works in the rooms, but there is no mobile signal anywhere in camp, and few guests mind.

The suites sit well apart along the bank in deep shade, so elephants, buffalo and the odd warthog wander between them. Your Muchinda, the camp's personal butler, handles everything from early coffee to a private dinner on your deck, and laundry is complimentary. Breakfast with a herd of elephants drinking below the deck is entirely normal here.

Kigelia House is the camp's two-bedroom option for families or friends travelling together. One en-suite bedroom has a king-size bed and the other has twin beds in delicate wooden frames. Both open off a shared lounge with deep sofas and a long dining table, which leads onto a broad private deck with its own plunge pool. The house sleeps four, comes with its own Muchinda, and is ideal for a Zambia safari where privacy matters as much as the game.

Cuisine and Wine

Dining at Sausage Tree is as much about where you eat as what's on the plate. Meals are served in the main area, on your own deck, or out in the bush. There are picnics on long game-drive and canoeing days, and lunches on a Zambezi sandbank with your feet in the water. For special occasions the team will set up a three-course dinner by moonlight on an island.

The kitchen cooks African-inspired fusion dishes, served with white linen, candlelight and the faultless timing you'd expect from a butler-run camp. Local drinks are included. Imported wines and spirits are charged separately, so ask us about the cellar if a particular label matters to you.

Facilities

The main guest area is a large open-sided building on the riverbank that houses the lounge, bar and dining room, fronted by a broad teak deck over the water. It is the best seat in camp for watching elephants cross, hippos squabble and fish eagles hunt. After dark it shifts to lantern light and a crackling fire, where the day's sightings get told and retold.

A 25-metre lap pool sits beside the river. It is long enough for proper lengths and well placed for watching buffalo, elephants and the occasional lion come down to drink. The gym also faces the Zambezi and has a spin bike, rowing machine, treadmill, kettlebells and yoga mats, for anyone who wants a workout with a better view than most.

Guests can also see the work of Conservation Lower Zambezi, the non-profit behind wildlife protection, environmental education and community programmes in and around the park. It is a worthwhile morning for anyone curious about what keeps this wilderness intact.

Activities

Every activity at the camp is privately guided, using your own guide, vehicle, boat or canoe. The core programme is included in the rate: day and night game drives, walking safaris, canoeing, boat cruises and tiger fishing in the Lower Zambezi National Park.

Day drives work the floodplain and woodland for lion, elephant, buffalo and plains game. Night drives switch the focus to leopard, civet, genet, porcupine and giant eagle-owl, all picked out by spotlight under a Zambezi Valley sky.

Canoeing is the signature. Green Safaris is one of only a few operators allowed on the Chifungulu Channel, the most beautiful stretch of the river. Trips run from one to seven hours, always with the current, with a picnic stop along the way, and no experience is needed. Boat cruises run year-round past hippo pods, basking crocodiles and elephants swimming between islands, and they end with floating sundowners. Canoeing and fishing depend on water levels.

Walks go out early to beat the heat, in small groups led by a professional walking guide and a National Parks wildlife officer. Lion are met on foot here often enough that the officer is not just for show.

Fishing is strictly catch-and-release, spinning or fly, for tigerfish and tilapia, and September to December is the peak. One fishing day is included, after which a daily angling licence is bought in camp. Birders do well too, with everything from waders on the sandbanks to wattle-eyes in the miombo woodland, and the dawn boom of ground hornbills to wake you.

Sausage Tree Camp FAQs

Where is Sausage Tree Camp and how do you get there?

Sausage Tree sits on the Zambezi River in the central Lower Zambezi National Park, Zambia. Most guests fly from Lusaka to Royal Airstrip in about 30 minutes, then take a 20-minute drive and a 30-minute boat transfer into camp. Flights from Livingstone take about 1 hour 5 minutes, and from Mfuwe about 1 hour 15 minutes. By road from Lusaka, allow roughly five hours including the boat leg.

What activities are included at Sausage Tree Camp?

Stays at Sausage Tree include privately guided day and night game drives, walking safaris, canoeing, boat cruises and catch-and-release tiger fishing in Zambia's Lower Zambezi National Park. Every activity uses your own guide, vehicle, boat or canoe. Canoeing and fishing depend on river levels, while boat cruises run year-round. One fishing day is included, after which a daily angling licence is bought in camp.

Is Sausage Tree Camp good for families?

Sausage Tree in Zambia's Lower Zambezi welcomes children aged nine and over. Its two-bedroom Kigelia House, with a shared lounge, private deck and plunge pool, sleeps four. Children aged 9 to 15 sharing with two adults pay half the adult rate. Guaranteed private guiding lets families set their own pace on drives, boats and canoes, and the whole camp can be booked exclusively for larger groups.

Is there malaria at Sausage Tree Camp?

Yes. Sausage Tree lies in Zambia's Lower Zambezi National Park, and malaria is present throughout Zambia. See your doctor about prophylaxis at least six weeks before travel, cover up at dawn and dusk, and use repellent. The camp provides mosquito nets and insect repellent, but medication is the main protection on any Lower Zambezi safari.

When is the best time to visit Sausage Tree Camp?

On the Lower Zambezi, game viewing is strongest in the dry months, from about June to October, when thinning bush and shrinking water pull animals to the river. At Sausage Tree, September to December is peak tiger-fishing season, and October is the hottest month. Boat cruises run year-round, while canoeing and fishing depend on water levels. The camp operates seasonally, so check your dates with us before you plan.

Does Sausage Tree Camp have Wi-Fi and phone signal?

Sausage Tree, on the Zambezi in Zambia's Lower Zambezi National Park, has Wi-Fi in the guest suites but no mobile phone signal anywhere in camp. Plan on staying in touch through the room connection only. Every suite has 24-hour power and a fan for charging and comfort. For most guests the lack of signal is part of the appeal.

In Conclusion

Sausage Tree Camp is the Lower Zambezi stay to choose when you want the full river safari, from drives and walks to canoe and boat, with nobody else in your vehicle. Thirty years after it opened, private guiding is still guaranteed, every suite still has its own pool and butler, and the setting on the central Zambezi remains one of the finest in Zambia.

Getting there is simple: a 30-minute flight from Lusaka, which makes the camp easy to pair with Victoria Falls, South Luangwa or the Kafue on a longer Zambia circuit. Plan on at least three nights. Four gives you time for a full canoe day as well as drives, a walk and a morning on the water after tigerfish.

Come between June and October for the best game, or later in the season if fishing is the priority. Book early for the dry months, because seven suites and one house fill quickly.

Uyaphi.com has been arranging tailor-made African safaris since 1999. That is 27 years of planning trips across Southern and East Africa, including the details that make a Lower Zambezi stay run smoothly: charter flights, camp-to-camp connections, and the right number of nights in the right order. Tell us when you'd like to travel and who's coming, and we'll build your Zambia safari around Sausage Tree.