ZAMBIA | TAKWELA CAMP
Takwela Camp AT NATURE’S PACE...
WRITER: JENNIFER COPPINGER PHOTOGRAPHY: REMOTE AFRICA SAFARIS, PATRICK BENTLEY, SCOTT RAMSAY
iving in the 21st century certainly comes with its perks: extensive travel opportunities, advanced health care and access to cutting edge technology. What I mean is that by the next century people will be living on Mars and will be shooting off to sip cocktails at the edge of our galaxy—or at least this is what we’re led to believe—so much change, so much development, so much progress. And along with all of the perks comes a high-paced lifestyle with which everyone is expected to keep in step, no matter the gruelling pace. Sometimes it’s hard to believe that there are still wild places on Earth that exist as they did a hundred years ago. Zambia holds many of these natural jewels, with the Luangwa Valley being a particularly prized and precious place. The Valley supports an array of wildlife including the highest population of Zambia’s carnivores, Africa’s highest population of hippo, while also boasting 469 different species of birds. The far-flung and more remote North Luangwa, being strictly seasonal for tourism and much harder to access, is largely undiscovered. Very few bush camps enable entry into this wild space, but Takwela Camp, the latest addition to the Remote Africa Safaris portfolio, is one of them. Takwela is a small bush camp nestled amongst leafy riverine forest on the edge of the North Luangwa National Park, looking over the confluence of the Mwaleshi and Luangwa Rivers.
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TRAVEL & LEISURE | ISSUE 17 | NOVEMBER 2020–APRIL 2021
Solar powered and built out of natural materials using local skills, Takwela is as close to the natural experience as you can get without skimping on all of the comforts you would expect from an authentic safari adventure. Listen to the night sounds of the bush—a hippo grazing near the chalet, the rasping grunt of the territorial leopard and the gentle churring of a nightjar—while safely tucked between cotton sheets and
