Visitors Book

Paul Smyth, September '08

We have just returned from a holiday of a lifetime in Zambia. During our stay we encountered amazing people and places but unfortunately Kapani would have to be at the bottom of the five camps we stayed at. Although the camp itself was well appointed and comfortable, Paul and I felt that we had "gate crashed" a party and were therefore feeling like uninvited guests. We sat in the main dining area overlooking the Lagoon enjoying our pre dinner drinks. On finishing our drinks we moved up to the main bar area and stood like "lemons" as the other guests settled at various tables. At which point we introduced ourselves and asked could we sit anywhere. We were at this point welcomed and given a table. The fact that there seemed to be two large groups staying at the camp, who obviously knew each other well, to me, would be even more reason to make sure that couples such as ourselves felt inclusive. I would have to say that we were very fortunate to know the people that joined us at our dinner table (having met them at a previous camp).

Our guide joined us for dinner which was enjoyable for the first evening but became more difficult as this arrangement continued over our stay. Having said that our guide, Siad, over the couple of days was truly amazing and was by far the best guide we had on the trip. We encountered the most amazing animals, sights and sounds. He really opened up a world that we had never seen before. Bravo to him. We also had the pleasure of meeting Diane and she was very charming. We will remember Kapani for the animals and as I said earlier, our guide, but not a lot more.

To us the experience of the holiday was not just about ticking boxes in relation to the wild life but also about the people. We left all the other camps wanting to stay longer because we had made new friends and on hugging and saying good bye to them you wanted nothing more then to hopefully return and see them again in the not too distant future. This is very true of our next camp, Luwi, what a fantastic experience. Not as many animals but the staff get a 100% thumbs up from us. All of the staff presented themselves as a very friendly group of people and we enjoyed their company every minute of every day of our stay and we will return to see them in the future.