Mchenja Camp

Highlights

• Five safari rooms beneath an ancient ebony grove on the banks of the Luangwa River
• Open-air en-suite bathrooms with soaking tubs that face the river
• A two-bedroom, two-bathroom family room, with children of all ages welcome
• Game drives, night drives and walking safaris in the park where the walking safari was born
• A night under the stars on a sleepout, plus sundowners and cultural visits
• Combines seamlessly with other Zambia safaris and Time + Tide's sister camps in the valley
• A pool overlooking the Luangwa for the hot midday hours

Information

• Lodge type: Luxury bush camp
• Location: South Luangwa National Park, Zambia
• Lodge size: 5 safari rooms (4 one-bedroom, 1 two-bedroom family room)
• Recommended stay: 3-7 nights
• Malaria risk: High — South Luangwa is a malaria area; antimalarial prophylaxis is recommended
• Getting there: Fly Lusaka to Mfuwe Airport (70–80 minutes on Proflight), then a 2.5-hour game-drive transfer to camp

Experience Luxury in the Heart of the Zambian Bush at Mchenja Camp

Mchenja Camp is Time + Tide's five-room luxury bush camp in South Luangwa National Park, set in a grove of ancient ebony trees on the banks of the Luangwa River. Mchenja is the local word for ebony, and those great dark-leaved trees are the camp's signature, throwing deep, cool shade over the rooms and main area even in the full heat of October. The camp opens from 20 May to 15 November, the dry months when game crowds the river and the walking is at its finest.

This is the comfortable end of the Luangwa bush-camp spectrum. Feather-top beds, river-facing baths and a pool sit alongside everything that makes a small camp special: a handful of guests, guides who know every lagoon and leopard territory, and the sense that the valley belongs to you.

It works beautifully in two ways. Pair it with Time + Tide's simpler bush camps to finish a walking-focused safari in comfort, or make it the centrepiece of a longer stay alongside Chinzombo, Kakuli, Nsolo or Luwi, with local inter-camp road transfers included in the rate. The 2.5-hour transfer from Mfuwe Airport is a game drive in its own right, so the safari starts the moment you land.

Rooms And Suites

Mchenja's five safari rooms are four one-bedroom rooms and one two-bedroom, two-bathroom family room, each built with grass walls, large picture windows and an open-air en-suite bathroom. The bath faces the Luangwa River, so a midday soak comes with hippo grunts drifting up from the water below.

• Feather-top beds, made up as a double or twin
• Soft cushions, light curtains and fan-cooled bedrooms
• Open-air en-suite bathroom with a river-facing soaking tub
• Solar power with charging stations
• Wi-Fi in the rooms only

Keeping the Wi-Fi out of the main area is a sensible touch: the conversation round the fire stays on the afternoon's leopard rather than the inbox.

Cuisine And Wine

All meals are included at the camp, together with standard drinks — soft drinks, beer, spirits and house wine. Dining moves around with the day: in the main area overlooking the river, by the campfire after the night drive, or out in the bush on one of Time + Tide's private dining experiences, with sundowners poured wherever the afternoon activity happens to end.

Reserve wines, premium spirits and champagne are available at an extra charge for anyone marking a special occasion. Let us know about dietary requirements when you book and the kitchen will plan around them.

Facilities

The main area gathers the dining room, lounge, bar and campfire under the ebonies, all looking out over the Luangwa River, with a pool alongside for the long, hot middle of the day.

• Swimming pool overlooking the river
• Lounge and bar
• Riverside dining area
• Campfire area
• Solar power and charging stations
• Laundry, included in the rate

Activities

Two activities a day are included at Mchenja, chosen from game drives, walking safaris and cultural visits, and the menu goes well beyond that.

• Game drives — morning and afternoon, in open vehicles through some of Zambia's most predator-rich country
• Night drives — a South Luangwa speciality, with leopard the prize in the spotlight
• Walking safaris — on foot with a specialist guide in the valley where the walking safari began
• Sleepout — a night under the stars, out in the bush
• Sundowners and cultural visits — drinks on the riverbank and time with the communities of the valley

Big-cat tracking is the headline here, and late in the season the riverbanks fill with nesting carmine bee-eaters, one of the most colourful sights in Africa.

Mchenja Camp FAQs

Where is Mchenja Camp and how do you get there?

The camp sits on the banks of the Luangwa River inside South Luangwa National Park, eastern Zambia, and is run by Time + Tide. Guests fly from Lusaka to Mfuwe Airport, a flight of roughly 70 to 80 minutes, then reach camp on a game-drive transfer of about two and a half hours. Road transfers between Time + Tide's South Luangwa camps are included in the rate.

Is Mchenja Camp in a malaria area?

Yes. South Luangwa National Park is a malaria area, so antimalarial prophylaxis is recommended for every guest at this Time + Tide camp, children included. See a travel clinic well before departure to choose the right medication, pack a good insect repellent, and wear long sleeves and trousers from dusk onwards to keep mosquito bites to a minimum.

When is Mchenja Camp open, and when is the best time to go?

Time + Tide opens this South Luangwa camp from 20 May to 15 November, the Zambian dry season. June to August brings cooler days and comfortable walking. September and October are hotter, with game crowding the shrinking river and lagoons, and late in the season carmine bee-eaters nest in the Luangwa riverbanks.

What activities are offered at Mchenja Camp?

The camp offers morning and afternoon game drives, night drives, walking safaris, sundowners, cultural visits and a sleepout under the stars. Two daily activities, chosen from game drives, walking safaris and cultural visits, are included in the rate. South Luangwa is the birthplace of the walking safari, and walking with a specialist guide is the highlight for many guests.

Is Mchenja Camp suitable for families?

Yes. Time + Tide welcomes children of all ages here, and one of the five safari rooms is a two-bedroom, two-bathroom family room, ideal for parents travelling with children. Age limits apply to some activities, such as walking safaris, so confirm which activities suit your children's ages when planning the trip.

What is included in the Mchenja Camp rate?

The Time + Tide rate includes accommodation, all meals, standard drinks (soft drinks, beer, spirits and house wine), Mfuwe Airport transfers, local inter-camp road transfers, laundry, service charge and two daily activities. Reserve wines, spirits and champagne, flights, entry visas, spa treatments, gratuities and personal expenses are charged separately.

In Conclusion

Mchenja Camp is the stay to choose when you want South Luangwa's walking-safari heritage with a river-facing bath waiting at the end of the day. Five rooms, an ebony grove, leopard country on the doorstep and Time + Tide's guiding behind it make this one of the finest small camps in Zambia.

Why go: intimacy and wildlife. With only five rooms, you share the Luangwa with a handful of other guests, and the combination of walking, night drives and big-cat tracking shows the valley from every angle.

How we do it: we build the camp into a tailor-made itinerary, usually three or four nights here paired with another Time + Tide camp, the Lower Zambezi or Victoria Falls, with your Proflight connections from Lusaka arranged around it.

When to go: June to August for cool walking weather; September and October for the dry-season peak, when game crowds the river. The season runs from 20 May to 15 November and space is limited, so plan early for the best months.

Uyaphi.com has been planning African safaris from Cape Town since 1999 — 27 years of matching travellers to the right camps, in the right season, in the right order. No booking fees, no credit-card surcharges. Tell us when you'd like to travel and we'll build your Luangwa safari around you.