The border between Malawi and Zambia is at Mchinji and from there it is an extremely long haul to South Luangwa National Park. Better to overnight at Chipata, at Mama-Rula campsite. The owners are South Africans, Wynand & Andrea Bezuidenhout, and the standards are first class. Each campsite has its own private ablutions and kitchenette. The pub has ice cold drinks. US$ 7pp.

From Chipata it is only 130 km to the South Luangwa park entrance, but it is a bad road which took us about 2½ hours. We camped outside the park on the banks of the Luangwa River at Croc Valley Camp, under shady trees draped with hammocks, $8,50 p/p. The owners, Shaun and his partners, Louis Visser and Liesel, are South Africans, and it shows! It has a good bar and restaurant. South Luangwa offers some of Africa’s finest game viewing and even in the dry season, the sheer density of wildlife ranks it with the Serengeti, Okavango, Etosha and Kruger. Park entry $30 p/p for 24 hours, $15 p/vehicle.

South-bound, we travelled via Lusaka and headed for The Moorings, en route to Livingstone. Again we had lovely lawns with our own private thatched boma, and excellent ablutions, with hot showers. Camping US$5 pp.