Chundu Island

Our adventures at Chundu began immediately, and the fun lasted right up until the end. Our guide, Gerald, was waiting for us at the entrance to the Zambezi National Park, ready for the 45 minute drive to Chundu’s small ferry landing, and what eventuated during that trip made us like him immediately. We had the best giraffe sighting of our whole safari during that drive, and also saw zebras (we saw a baby zebra there a few days later), and other smaller game. It had been raining heavily earlier that day, and much of the dirt road had turned to mud. Gerald tackled it like a pro, and if he was freaking out on the inside, it didn’t show. He handled the situation with humour, even when our 4WD got stuck in knee-deep mud. The ride turned into one great romp that we enjoyed immensely. We stayed at Chundu over Christmas, and the team there did everything they could to make it a memorable one. There were lots of special festive touches (the food was delicious and plentiful, and our son rated the Christmas night bbq as his favourite meal while on Safari). The entire staff worked well as a team - everyone was likeable, friendly and eager to please. We felt welcome and at ease during our whole stay. The atmosphere was chilled and relaxed. The rooms were comfortable and well appointed. Possibly a little on the rustic side compared to most of our safari accommodation, but that’s not a negative. It was quite exciting to find fresh hippo tracks beside our room one morning after hearing them splash around in the water overnight, just outside our cabin. The WiFi didn’t reach the rooms (our teenagers weren’t too happy about this), but the WiFi in the common area was good, and the layout of couches etc in that space comfortable, with a nice outlook. Given it was quite rainy during our stay, we were lucky when it came to activities. We fished a couple of times - they weren’t biting, but for us that wasn’t the point of the exercise. We were just pinching ourselves that we were in the middle of the Zambezi River, enjoying a sundowner and good company while watching a spectacular sunset. (If fishing is important to you, consider bringing your own gear). We also canoed the Zambezi River, being dropped off upriver from Chundu with a professional canoe guide, as well as Gerald. This was a little confronting (you’re canoeing in hippo and crocodile territory, and it’s physically hard work), but we were so glad we did it. Gerald also took us on a morning bush walk around the island, which was interesting. He knew his stuff! And he took us on a game drive later that day, which turned into another adventure, and one of our most memorable, fun sundowners while on safari. (The 4WD broke down on the way to the picnic spot, and while waiting for back-up to arrive we improvised, with Gerald serving us G&Ts from the back of the 4WD in the middle of nowhere, which generated plenty of jokes about us becoming a lion’s sundowner. We knew we were in safe hands, and had a lot of f

This was a near perfect stay. We were made to feel like we were the only guests. Service was 100%, location is a dream and the villa was beautiful, clean and slick. Activities great also. One of those places where you can't hear yourself breathing - we were so relaxed