Office Africa April 2016
Dear All,
The rains finally arrived and the South Luangwa National Park has `greened up’ and is looking lush and bountiful again. It is looking promising for an abundant season, with good herds of buffalo and above-average numbers of antelope and other herbivores to attract the predators to our special slice of paradise.
It is our 24th year of operation and we are as excited as ever about the forthcoming season.
We can’t wait to get the camps back to their beautiful selves,
and have all the hides and game-viewing loops open again.
For me that first sundowner with guests overlooking the Luangwa River in the fading light is my final signal that the camps are open and 2016 is under away!
Then the excitement begins for all of us as we get to share with our guests all the amazing happenings in our part of Eden; looking at how last year’s cubs and calves are doing;
how many males have left the prides;
whether Tyson is still the camp leopard;
whether Loggy is still the main croc at the hippo hide;
whether Tom and Jerry the young elephants are still frequenting Mwamba;
and whether Eleanor our resident Mother elephant has had another calf that she wants to introduce to us at Kaingo.
There is so much to look forward to in 2016! We also have some wonderful special offers to share with you, but first a little about our team for the year.
There are many constant members of our team, so many of whom have been with us since we started building in 1992, and a few new ones who will help us take the product forward in ever-improving directions.
Between the camps we have a total of seven of South Luangwa’s most experienced safari guides covering all game-viewing activities and airport transfers. These include:
Patrick Njobvu |
Sylvester Mbaama |
![]() Andrew Mweetwa |
![]() Yorum Ndhlovu |
and they are joined by Sanford Sakala, Nicolas Njobvu and Innocent Simango. Apart from Sandford (ex Wilderness Safaris) and Nicholas, the rest of the Zambian staff are long term members of the Shenton Safaris family.
Our trusty junior managers,
James Zulu and Paul `The Tailor’ Mulenga
who also assist with airport transfers.
All in all we have a very experienced and capable team ready to take care of your every need.
Garth and Liz settled in last season as our general managers and judging by feedback, have raised our levels of service in camp to new heights. By now most travel agents and direct guests will have been in contact with Liz as she handles reservations full time for Shenton Safaris. Her warmth and efficiency come across immediately. Garth has brought with him a great sense of stability and has brought the strong managerial presence and experience I needed in camp, to fulfill my in-camp duties when I have to be in town.
Garth and Liz share the front of house duties with Agata Pissoni who has joined us this year. I have known Agata since she first started coming to Kaingo with her family more than 20 years ago as a youngster. She is very familiar with the Shenton Safaris way of operating and the tourism industry in Africa. We are very excited that she is coming to work at her “favorite place in Africa”. With her Italian /Kenyan heritage she exudes vitality, warmth and has a natural flair for the bush and people.
At 30 with an background in art, Agata knows what she is about and brings to life everything around her.
Our English Executive Chef, Ruth Thackray, who was such a huge success heading up our kitchens in 2015, is back again this year to continue her incredible work with our chefs, bringing such beautiful food to our tables.
At Mwamba Bush Camp we have Craig and Lyndie Reiche, and feel sure we have the perfect management couple for our bush camp. Having spent the last three years as managers at Sabi Sabi in South Africa, Craig and Lyndie bring a wealth of experience and enthusiasm to Mwamba. Craig will be adding his vast photographic, bush and practical knowledge to the pool and together they will ensure our guest service and camp management at Mwamba is second to none. We greatly look forward to working with them.
We have started home-schooling Saphire and Jayabella this year with our travelling teacher Kia, and this will enable us to be back in the camp as a family more than usual this year, which we’re all very excited about.
We have a number of fantastic offers to entice our friends, old and new, to enjoy Kaingo’s and Mwamba’s uniqueness. But before we introduce those specials, I would like to update you on some of the innovations to Kaingo Camp:
– This year we have invested in a 10 kW centralised solar power system for Kaingo, using the latest Lithium-Ion batteries, which will further improve our carbon footprint, as we integrate the office and fridges into the new power solution. This system has enough power to enable us to put fans in the chalets at Kaingo. They will bring welcome respite from the heat that comes hand-in-hand with the incredible sightings that the hotter, dryer part of the season brings when the game from the back country travels down into our riverine area.
– We are installing a plunge pool alongside the lower deck, to allow for quiet cooling off between activities when the breezes have stopped,
– You will have access to Wi-Fi in certain areas of the camp, allowing you to keep in touch with your home or office. However, it is always our aim to immerse you so entirely in our wilderness, that you’ll forget all about the office for your time with us!
The hide at Mwamba Camp overlooking the Last Waterhole.
And finally, on to our special offers; because we live and work in such a special place, we have come up with some exciting offers to entice you to book an extended stay at Kaingo and Mwamba:
Stay for 7 nights, Pay only for 6
We believe that this is a wonderful way to keep you around for longer, thereby ensuring that you reap full benefit from all that Shenton Safaris has to offer and to make sure you can really enjoy the different areas and experience all our different hides.
And this is not all, because we also realise the importance that most of our guests place on the integrity of their group, we offer that:
For all groups of 4 or more full-paying guests,
we guarantee a Private Vehicle, valued at $522 per day,
for the duration of your stay!
And, for those groups of 4 full paying guests,
that stay for 7 nights or longer,
we offer you a free camp out valued at $1,500!
We also have some Family Friendly offers, whereby we hope to introduce the younger generations to all that Kaingo and Mwamba have to offer.
For those of our friends not already travelling to us this year, we hope to have tickled your fancy with at least one of our specials and we hope to see you all soon.
Please contact your Agent or our Reservations Office to book, or to learn more.
Until next time,
Salani Bwino
Derek, Jules and the Shenton Safaris team.