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The 10 best safaris in Africa – South Luangwa, Zambia and Norman Carr Safaris makes the list!
New Camp pictures are now on the website and can be downloaded in high and low res
Abraham has made the final 3 in the Wanderlust World Guide Awards.
Abraham Banda of Norman Carr Safaris wins Safari Guide of the Year Award...
Norman Carr Safaris on Twitter - See bottom right of this page...
Image Gallery
Mchenja thatched tent |
Safari walk |
Leopard |
Video Gallery
If you do not already have it, download the free RealPlayer.
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Wildlife of the Zambian Luangwa valley (3m 58s) |
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Zambia Safaris with Norman Carr Safaris (1m 10s) |
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Norman Carr Safaris Lodge and Camps (3m 08s) |
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Zambia Safari Activities (5m 04s) |
Contact us for a free high-definition DVD of the above clips.
All video footage shot during a 5-day October safari in Zambia at Kapani and our camps.
Our History
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| Norman Carr MBE 1912-1997 |
Read more about Norman Carr >>
Our Projects
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South Luangwa Conservation Society
Kukumbi Clinic Project >>
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Latest News
Newsletter Archive and Subscription
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| August 2010 Special safari offer, Aubreys return and a lucky hyena |
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We are repeating our Super Saver Safari ($2,995 rack for 7 night itinerary including domestic flights) offer to fill some last minute holes. Valid from now until Nov 7th – the offer equates to a 25% discount and there is no single supplement. It fits perfectly with BA from Heathrow (assuming they are not on strike!) see details at the end of this message. |
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| July 2010 Return to the Wild and Canada at last |
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Forgive us for the long space between news – not only has it been madly busy here in camps but also all the computers decided to go into meltdown at once. Technology in the bush can be a challenge but with a borrowed Leatherman and a few choice words we have managed to get up and running (well, limping).....bring back fountain pens and carrier pigeons... |
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| June 2010 New camp photos, VCT, trees and Obama |
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It’s "mid winter" here in the valley, the days are warm and sunny, the evenings and mornings cool and crisp. Gameviewing continues to be spectacular – you can follow the wildlife news day to day on our facebook page and on twitter We have some great new photos of camps and staff which we are in the process of putting on to the website gallery – that should be ready next week but meanwhile here’s a sneak preview. |
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| June 2010 Abraham has made the final 3 in the Wanderlust World Guide Awards. |
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Thank you all for your support for Abraham in the highly prestigious Wanderlust World Guide Awards for excellence in guiding. Abraham has been selected from thousands and has made it to the final three. The awards ceremony will take place at the Royal Geographic Society in London in September and he will be there to collect his award. Typically modest he says he will be collecting the award on behalf of the whole NCS guiding team and staff. Norman - who first saw the potential in a very young Abraham, would be extremely proud. Abes personifies everything in which Norman believed; love for the wildlife and respect for the people of the Luangwa Valley, the ability and wish to share the wonders of this unique wilderness, the highest standards of ethics, a continued thirst for knowledge and the sharing of expertise with young aspiring guides and conservationists. Normans strongest guiding principal was the promotion of local talent. He knew that the only hope for conservation in the Luangwa Valley was to ensure that the existence of the wildlife was of benefit to local people. Abraham, who has also recently been welcomed on to the Board of Directors of NCS, and his team of guides are the realization of this vision. |
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| January 2010 Green Season Offers - Start 2010 with an Adventure... |
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Rivers and Rainbows - last minute discounts available.
SEVEN NIGHTS IN THE SOUTH LUANGWA AT ITS MOST DRAMATIC AND EXCITING
Four nights Kapani Lodge and three nights Kakuli Bush Camp - game drives, walking safaris and boating adventures Never has the South Luangwa been more beautiful or affordable! From just $2,385 per person all inclusive except flights.Available from January 20th to April 1st 2010. Reduced rate Proflight fares may also be available - don't miss out, spaces are filling fast |
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Green Season Birding Safaris - Brilliant Budget Trips
SIX NIGHTS AT KAPANI LODGE INCLUDING RETURN FLIGHTS FROM LUSAKA TO MFUWE
Includes airport transfers from Mjuwe, at least 8 - 9 hours gameviewing per day, all meals and drinks, and national park fees. From just $1,995 per person. Non birders are of course also most welcome, the game viewing at this time of year is incredible! Available from January 1st to April 30th 2010. |
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| December 2009 Abraham Banda Wins Safari Guide of the Year Award... |
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We are thrilled to announce that our very own Abraham Banda has been presented with the Guide of the Year Award in the prestigious new Zambia Tourism Awards, a competition designed to promote and reward excellence in tourism in Zambia. Many of you will already know Abraham who is not only an incredibly knowledgeable and inspiring safari guide, but also manager of Kapani Lodge and of the Kapani School Fund which has been supporting education in Mjuwe for more than 25 years. Norman Carr Safaris celebrates 60 years of safari excellence in 2010 and what better way to start the celebrations than for Abraham to win this fantastic award. He heads up our team of all Zambian safari guides each of whom shares in this honour. We have always believed our guiding team is the best in Zambia and this award supports that opinion, and means an enormous amount to the whole NCS team. |
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| Norman Carr Safaris on Twitter! See the right hand column to read the latest comments from Kapani! | |
| July 2009 Kids go Free, and New Safari Packages... |
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Kids go Free! For every full paying adult - one child stays free of charge! Only flights and National Park fees to pay. Offer applies from July 1st to October 31st 2009. No minimum stay, applies to children up to the age of 17. Children will stay in the same room as full paying adults. All accommodation, meals, drinks and game viewing activities are free of charge for each child travelling with a full paying adult. Offer applies to Kapani Lodge but if availability and child's age allows then bush camps may be included. Please contact us for more details. |
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We have just put together two new safari packages: "North and South Luangwa" combines a stay of 6 nights in our camps in the South Luangwa with 3 nights in the North Luangwa, at Kutandala, one of Zambia's smallest and most remote camps. See North and South Luangwa Safari for more details. Our "Two Rivers Safari" is a great value safari package, offering 9 or 11 nights in Zambia's top camps at unbeatable prices: 6 nights in the Luangwa Valley in our camps plus 3 nights in the Lower Zambezi at Chongwe River Lodge, plus the option of an extension of a further 2 nights at The Islands of Siankaba near Livingstone and the Victoria Falls. Please do contact us for more details. |
| June 2009 Sightings and Snares... |
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Impressive game sightings are nothing very new to us but every now and then one gets the chance to witness something a little out of the ordinary. Such was the case last week when the male lion in this shot, from the Luwi pride, was spotted with a hyena in its mouth. Much has been documented on the eternal feud between lions and hyena but rarely do you see such a concise example. This lion held the hyena in a “death grip” around its throat and neck for some 10 minutes or more before finally dropping it. The hyena was not yet dead, it appeared to recover many minutes later but only enough to drag its seemingly paralysed back legs off into the bushes. Nature can appear very cruel! |
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Despite the story above, reaffirming the lion as the “king of the beasts”, lions are as susceptible as any other species to the indiscriminate targeting of the poacher's snare. Wire snares, designed typically to capture small buck, are still being set by poachers both inside and outside the National Park. Unfortunately guides from both Kakuli and Mchenja Camps spotted lions carrying snares last week. Luckily their diligence in reporting and assisting with the de-snaring operation meant that in both cases the lions were saved and will recover very quickly. We usually contact the South Luangwa Conservation Society but in this instance they were unable to respond immediately so passed our call for help over to the African Wild Dog Conservation Trust lead by Matt Becker, who came to the rescue. We are very grateful to Matt and his team for their quick response and for the successful outcome in both instances |
| May 2009 Norman Carr Safaris Bushcamps Reopen... |
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Our four bushcamps are now all freshly rebuilt and open for the new season. One of the rooms at Nsolo was washed away by the Luwi River whilst the camp was closed over the green season. This room has now been rebuilt and is even better than before. Kakuli and Mchenja will only be booked as 8 bed camps this year rather than the 10 beds sold previously, partly as a reflection of the economic climate but mainly because we are keen to concentrate on maximising guest enjoyment in the bushcamps and we believe a large part of that is to have a private and exclusive feel in each camp. |
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| New Airline Serving Zambia and the Region... | |
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Zambezi Airlines have been running a limited domestic schedule since the middle of last year, but they have just expanded their services to include daily Johannesburg flights and they promise Dar Es Salaam and Mfuwe routes will commence in July. |
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| March 2009 New Species of Fish Discovered at Kapani... |
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Norman Carr's son Adrian has long suspected that we have some special Killi-fish in the Luangwa Valley and this was confirmed recently when a guest from Denmark visited with the intention of catching some specimens and taking them back for identification purposes. Killi-fish are quite remarkable. They live in temporary pools during the rains and lay eggs in the soil below which develop slowly over the dry season. When the rains come again the pool fills up, the eggs hatch and the Killi-fish lives a short while, completing its life-cycle and leaving the next generation of eggs behind. Jom Boklund has sent us this picture of the new species that he discovered in a pool just behind Kapani in February. It has only a "working name" so far and has not yet been officially named. |
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| January 2009 Management Changes at Kapani... |
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Steve & Kiri, the company's general managers, are returning home to New Zealand after an absence of over four yours, to spend some time with family and friends before embarking on a new adventure. We will miss them sorely and thank them for all their hard work. Christina, better known as Gid, who has headed up our reservations department for many years, with our Operations Manager Dave Wilson, will be stepping up to fill the shoes left vacant by Steve and Kiri when they leave Kapani. |
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| December 2008 Kapani School Project and Carbon Offsetting Update... |
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Our tree planting project has been picking up pace - there is now a plantation at Yosefe school and we recently organized a forestry workshop for adults to attempt to change the mindset on deforestation. A block of three classrooms was completed at Yosefe School, and we are now spreading our support to Mfuwe Basic school. |
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| Puku Calf at Kapani hand-reared by Pam Carr... | |
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A newly born Puku calf was found alone in the Kapani gardens last week. We watched closely all day to see if the mother would materialise but it became apparent that the noisy kafuffle heard in the middle of the previous night must have been the sounds of her demise, no doubt at the teeth of a local leopard. It is a little known fact that baboons do on occasion eat meat if an opportunity presents itself. Towards the end of a long day for the baby Puku, the baboons were paying a little too much interest and so he was bundled up and carried off to safety. Pam Carr has been hand rearing the calf for two weeks now. He has fully accepted his adoptive mother and is thriving. Pam has spent most of her life living in the bush and has reared numerous orphans, from lions to porcupines, so the youngster couldn't be in better hands. |
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| November 2008 New President Promises to Reduce Visa Fees... |
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| Following the recent death of the 3rd President of the Repubic of Zambia, elections were held recently. It was no big surprise that the previous Vice President and front-runner in the election, Rupiah Banda, was elected and subsequently sworn into office. In his acceptance speech President Banda singled out the tourism industry as being of vital importance to the country and we were very happy to hear him vow to reduce visa fees for visitors to Zambia. We will bring you more news on this when we have it. | |
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| August 2008 Return to the Wild... |
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For a number of years now we have been keen to offer a select few guests something rather out of the ordinary. Whilst most guests regard our bushcamps as just about the most remote experience they could contemplate, some of our guests and those of us who spend more time in these camps find ourselves hankering for something even more “out there”. We were therefore thrilled when some guests expressed an interest in camping out in the bush. They declared their interest long before their arrival in Zambia so we were able to make detailed preparations for this experimental safari. Last week a group of four guests accompanied by Abraham Banda, Dave Wilson and our top escort scout set out from Kakuli walking to Nsolo, with a night-stop in between. The story makes for a great read so if you have a spare minute please read Dave's account of this memorable safari. |
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| July 2008 Resident Leopard at Luwi Bushcamp... |
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We are experiencing a strange game viewing phenomenon at Luwi Bushcamp. There is a resident leopard close to camp who doesn't seem to realise that he is supposed to be a shy and nervous creature. Guests have watched him stroll past the front of camp in the evening light on several occasions. One walk has watched him kill a puku just yards in front of them and most recently he killed an impala in front of camp and then dragged it into a tree between rooms 2 and 3! |
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| Kakuli Camp to be Venue for 2009 Rivers & Rainbows Safaris... | |
| The newly designed Kakuli Camp will be the venue for our 2009 Rivers & Rainbows safaris in February and March. Having run these trips from Mchenja for the past two years we believe that Kakuli, with its extended possibilities for walking as well as boating at that time of year, will provide us with a better Emerald Season experience and we are already looking forward to this most exciting time of year. | |
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| June 2008 Kakuli Upgraded… |
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All four of our bushcamps are now rebuilt and fully operational. At Kakuli we have carried out a complete redesign and upgrade. |
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| March 2008 New Beach & Bush Package Launched… |
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Combining a bit of bush with a bit of beach has long been a favourite of many travellers to Africa. Until now Zambia has not been well positioned to add a beach experience to its safari packages. Now with direct flights between Lusaka and Dar-es-Salaam these combinations are a lot easier. We have combined with our favourite beach destination in Zanzibar, Fumba Beach Lodge, to come up with a great package that offers a few days on the Indian Ocean at the end of a safari in the South Luangwa. If you would like to know more about this package please contact us or alternatively click here to view the safari package showing more details. |
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| February 2008 High river brings wealth of new gameviewing opportunities... |
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Greetings once more, from Zambia’s Luangwa Valley. The hot subject in all the bars in Mfuwe of late has been the water levels in the river, nothing new for this time of year of course but always an interesting subject. Zambia experienced heavier rain than normal in November, December and January, but the river had remained relatively low until a couple of weeks back. The Luangwa River then rose about 3 meters in as many days and has been running pretty close to the top of its banks ever since. |
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| January 2008 Business as usual in the Luangwa Valley... |
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| Amid fears of a global recession, riots in Kenya and floods in Zambia, we are happy to report that business is as usual in the Luangwa Valley. Mchenja re-opens this week. With access only possible by boat we have been monitoring water levels carefully. The Luangwa is currently sitting some five feet or more below the top of the banks. | |
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