Flatdogs Camp

What an incredible trip. Spent 5 nights here as a solo traveler and the experience was amazing. This is literally the place where everyone knows your name. The staff makes you as comfortable as can be and they are always looking to ensure you're happy and well fed! The safari rides were super fun with incredibly knowledgeable guides. Woke up to hippos walking 3 feet away from my accommodation the first morning... food was excellent, loved my half outdoor shower and Dave and Anna made the experience so enjoyable. Highly recommend and I would return in a heartbeat!

Flatdogs is the ultimate authentic African safari experience. Jess and Adi run a warm, professional but personal camp where nothing is too much trouble. The camp itself is unique with fabulous tented camps set on the rive, with hippos and elephants making regular visits to camp! The food is excellent (one of the only a la carte menu camps) and they are always flexible with meal timings. The staff could not be more helpful and do everything to make your stay memorable. The game drives are sensational with an abundance of game and very knowledgeable rangers. A big bonus is the additional spotter at night. We saw multiple sightings of lion, leopard, elephant and buffalo, as well as lots of other game. Our party consisted of 18 family members celebrating a 70th birthday and the trip was a success from the youngest (9) to the eldest (78). Every effort was made to ensure a trip of a lifetime, including organising a concert from the local African church choir. The situation of the camp also allows easy access to visit the local school and textile shops in town. I could not recommend more highly!

I just recently returned from a 4-night stay at Flatdogs with a family member, and after traveling all the way from Zambia back home to the USA, the first thing I did was hop online to write a review. Flatdogs exceeded every expectation I had. If you are thinking about going to South Luangwa, do it. And stay at Flatdogs. To start with, the staff is beyond friendly and hospitable. The ownership & management team will go out of their way to get to know you and make sure you are comfortable, and that level of hospitality trickles right down to all the other members of the staff on premises. The friendliness & professionalism of the staff was a major factor in my happiness with Flatdogs. While there, I talked with other guests, some of whom had been coming to Flatdogs for more than a decade, and they told me they continue to come back because they experience the same hospitality year after year. We were assigned one guide for our entire stay (Chris), and he was simply terrific. He is friendly and incredibly knowledgeable with well over 10+ years of guiding experience. Being with one guide the entire time really paid dividends for our stay as we started to be able to reference earlier drives, locations, and experiences as we got further into our trip. It created a comfortable shorthand with Chris where he could then start catering future drives with us based on our past experiences. While on our drives, we saw everything you can think of - multiple close lion & leopard encounters (some on the same drive!), several great elephant encounters, lots of sightings of thorncroft giraffe, more hippo sightings than you can count, exceptional sightings of various birds, the first porcupine sighting of the season, etc. We saw buffalo chase away a couple lions. We saw a male leopard chase a female up a tree. We sat and watched a large pride of lions strategize but ultimately fail to do an end around on a few impala after dusk. Chris did a terrific job finding these animals, getting us the best views possible, and educating us about them throughout. We were in the vehicle with him for about 4 hours per drive, 2 drives per day, and he was a major contributing factor to why we loved our stay so much. BTW, for anyone on the fence about going to South Luangwa, you should simply go. We were there at the very beginning of the dry season when many roads still aren't open due to the water levels, and we still had absolutely no problem seeing so many different animals on each drive. It's a terrific park. I am not the most seasoned safari-goer, but I have been to 5-10 African game parks, and South Luangwa is currently my favorite by far. South Luangwa is not like other more well-known parks where you might see dozens of vehicles all on CB radio racing to see the same thing which ultimately results in a massive traffic jam around a couple animals. There are far fewer operators in South Luangwa, the pace is slower, and you have to work to find some of the animals. Ho

Unlike most guests that were there, we did not go for the game viewing, we just needed a quiet getaway in nature...and boy did they deliver! The game viewing was clearly amazing however, other guests were raving about their amazing sightings when we chatted around the pool! We stayed in a chalet, which was spacious, comfortable and stylishly kitted out with all the basics you need, including a braai which we will definitely use next time! Loved that it has the facility of self catering, restaurant delivery or eating at the restaurant...great to have such choice. Food at the restaurant was fresh, tasty and locally souced. We spent most of our time at the pools, a choice of one in the sun and one shaded...genius! The attentive service and genuine hospitality of this team is what made this so special, from the groundsman asking me my name and how my stay has been as I walked past, all the way up to the hands on management. A huge thank you to the whole team for an amazing few days...as my husband and I were driving out we were already talking about when we could arrange our next stay! Hope to see you soon Flat Dogs family.

Our hosts and all of the staff members were amazing and we were treated like Royalty. Our safari guide Chris was just fantastic, extremely knowledgeable and informative. We were lucky enough to see a leopard on our first drive!!! Our accommodation in the Treehouse was the perfect introduction to safari life. All of our meals were delicious, service impeccable and the overall property very well maintained despite recent rains. A never to be forgotten experience !!!!

Flatdogs is the most incredible place made 100% perfect by Ade, Jess and the rest of the team. The food is incredible, having meals at times of your choice was perfect and everything was beautifully homemade. All of the staff were so friendly and welcoming. We stayed in the treehouse which was out of this world. We had daily visits from giraffes, elephants and impalas and the lovely monkeys which were kept under control by the amazing Jared. He also did all of our washing and looked after us during our stay. Our guide Chris was phenomenal and we saw more than we could ever have wished for. He was so knowledgable and kind and had the ability to spot and listen to all of the animals and fill us with all different types of knowledge. Thank you to you all for making our stay so special and memorable.

The most amazing place to stay for our first family safari experience. Can not fault in anyway and were so sad to say goodbye to the Crocs Nest and the amazing team at FlatDogs. Special mention to our most amazing, friendly and knowledgable guide Malama, Kennedy our friendly face every time we returned from our safari trips and Dave who lead us through our stay. Highlights 1. Proximity to park, literally at the gate of the park within minutes 2. Delicious and varied food menus 3. Friendliness of all staff 4. Knowledge and awareness of guides 5. Beautiful setting on banks of Luangwa River 6. High speed internet of importance to 3 teenage daughters 7. Reasonably priced drinks and the amazing sundowners each evening on safari

Wonderful food, the service of the camp team amazing, the view of Lungwa river incredible, the tents are perfect size, our guide Chris Mwale one of the best that we have had in Africa explaining all in detail and knowing exactly where to find the wildlife our spotter Dany a wonderful one!!

Flatdogs Camp is an incredible place - we spent five days there and wished we could have been there longer. The tents are large, comfortable and clean, the food is excellent, the facilities all you can ask for - but the best thing is the setting at the Luangwa river, where hippos, antelopes and large groups of monkeys roam around at the camp, hyaenas whoop in the distance, and you have a perfect view of the sunset over the river. The guides are unbeatable, for both walking safaris and game drives. And the park itself of course hard to match. Go there!