Remote Africa Safaris' second camp in the North Luangwa National Park opened its doors in summer 2019. Besides its sister camp Mwaleshi, it is the only functioning safari camp in the remote North Luangwa Park.

Only four chalets accommodate a maximum of eight guests in camp. The chalets are very open and simply but pleasantly furnished with a view of the water. Each chalet has an open bathroom - Zambian style - with running water.

Meals are served in the main building and in the evening you can end the day at the fireplace facing the river. In keeping with the Remote Africa ethos, the camp is solar powered and built, primarily, from local natural materials and constructed with local skills.

Takwela Camp is situated in North Luangwa National Park on Remote Africa’s private land at the confluence of the Luangwa and Mwaleshi Rivers. The Mwaleshi flows permanently and is an important source of life in North Luangwa National Park.

The park is accessed by air from Mfuwe Airport or Lukuzi Airstrip (South Luangwa), which is situated approximately 10 minutes from Tafika Camp. Flight time from Lukuzi is 30 minutes, 45 minutes from Mfuwe to Mwaleshi Airstrip. Then a 45 minute game drive and short canoe crossing into camp which is situated on the eastern bank of the river.

North Luangwa is home to the same type of wildlife as South Luangwa, with several exceptions: The north has no giraffe, but the endemic Cookson's wildebeest, eland and hartebeest are more numerous; the latter two, however, are rarely seen. It's probably fair to mention that the concentration of game in South Luangwa is higher, this is made up for by the fact that North Luangwa is more remote - there's not another soul to be seen or another vehicle in sight.

During the 1960s, Zambia’s black rhino population, at almost 12,000 individuals, was the third-largest in Africa, with the North Luangwa ecosystem alone harbouring between 500-2,000. However, after two decades of heavy poaching, Zambia’s black rhinos were hurtling towards extinction. By 1998, several years after the last confirmed sightings, black rhinos were officially declared extinct in Zambia. Since 2003, 25 black rhinos have been translocated to the park, once again establishing a viable population of black rhino in Zambia with numbers now lying between 50 and 100 individuals.

Remote Africa is known for high-quality walking safaris. In Takwela, however, game drives are also offered. Lion, elephant, hippo and buffalo may be encountered on any of these walks.

The walks begin after breakfast at around 06:00. Guests return to camp between 09:00 and 10:00. A hearty lunch is served at 12, followed by a siesta and then an evening walk beginning at around 16:00. This walk is shorter than the first to ensure that everybody is back at camp before nightfall. Alternatively, you can go on a game drive in the late afternoon.

Mark and Delia Owens, both of whom carried out studies in Botswana's Kalahari and recorded them in the book ‘The Cry of the Kalahari', found a new purpose here. They lived year-round between 1987 and 1996 fighting off poachers more or less single-handedly. It is thanks in part to their unwavering dedication that poaching has now been stopped almost completely. Their experiences are described in the book ‘Survivor's Song'.

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