Family Zambia & Malawi

On arrival in Lusaka meet your representative who will be standing by at Kenneth Kaunda International Airport to assist you with your onward flight to Mfuwe International Airport in Zambia’s Eastern Province. Here you will be welcomed by your guide who will be waiting to transfer you to Robin’s House on the banks of the Luangwa River, an hour’s drive from the airport to South Luangwa National Park.

Settle into your tastefully-decorated en suite room and then step out onto your wrap-around veranda and take in the views. You are in one of the continent’s last unspoilt wildernesses, the lush riverine forests and spectacular escarpments of the Luangwa Valley marking the point where the Great Rift Valley divides in two.

Robin’s House is a handsome Zambian villa that has been lovingly renovated and converted into a guesthouse. You and your family determine your daily routine, with a personal housekeeper, chef, valet and a private safari guide to look after your every need. Relax over an alfresco lunch overlooking the river in the shade of an ebony tree, with an afternoon game drive extending through sundowners into the night.

Enjoy an early start to your day, with breakfast at dawn. With its thick vegetation and raw, rugged beauty fed by dozens of impermanent rivers that flood during the rainy season, the concentration of animals around the Luangwa River is among the most exceptional in Africa.

Set off on foot or by boat from the lodge, pausing for mid-morning coffee-and-cake beside a lagoon, and then return to Robin’s House for lunch at midday. Cool off in the swimming pool; have a siesta. Afternoon tea marks the start of your late-afternoon game drive, with spotlights piercing its darkest shadows and drawing you into its nocturnal world. The density of leopards in South Luangwa is among the highest in Africa.

You choose where and how you want to spend your time. Select classic morning-and-afternoon game drives, or request the company of a professional scout, and set off on an all-day walking-safari, with a picnic in the open. Opt for a boat or a canoe safari, with the river playing host to thousands of water birds, and see herds of elephants along its banks, as well as countless hippos and crocodiles. Alternatively, get to know the local community with a visit to neighbouring Kawaza Village; or simply stay put at Robin’s House, and while away the afternoon with a book, with a romantic dinner later under the stars.

After breakfast, transfer to Mfuwe International Airport for your hour’s flight to Lilongwe. On arrival, meet your representative who will be standing by to assist you with your connecting flight to Monkey Bay. Here you will be met and transferred by road to Pumulani Lake Lodge.

Nestled in the hills of the Nankumba Peninsula in Lake Malawi National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Pumulani Lake Lodge features 10 air-conditioned villas with distinctive grass roofs designed to reflect the African sun, each boasting a generous main bedroom with an en suite bathroom opening onto a private deck. Settle in and freshen up after your journey, and then slide open the glass doors from your lounge onto your terrace and allow yourself to be quietly absorbed by the views. Pumulani means ‘rest well’ in the local Chichewa language, a perfect summing up of your next three days.

Shoals of tiny fish are swirling colourfully through shafts of diffused sunlight in the waters above you, some tangerine-coloured, others blue, while gliding past you out of the shadows come a tiny pair of golden mbunas…

You are diving in one of the deepest lakes in the world, an evolutionary showcase, its remarkably clear waters home to a spectacularly colourful group of small fish, the African cichlids or mbuna. There are 300 known species in Lake Malawi alone and this is as memorable a wildlife encounter as anything Africa has to offer.

Spend the morning zigzagging across the lake, either wake boarding or water skiing behind one of Pumulani’s two speedboats, or work up an appetite for lunch with a guided walk into the hills, relishing the sheer beauty of it all, and then returning to a waiting kayak and a gentle paddle back to the lodge.

Pumulani is perfect for families, welcoming children of all ages, with the clear fresh waters of the lake ideal for swimming: no waves, currents or salt. With the sun dancing lightly across its surface, there is a clarity to this lake that is utterly beguiling. David Livingstone famously called it the Lake of Stars and it is easy to see why. As the day draws to a close, embark on an enchanted sunset cruise aboard the lodge’s traditional dhow, and ease into sundowners across its open waters as the horizon turn to a fiery gold.

After breakfast, and a final farewell swim, transfer back to Lilongwe's Kamuzu International Airport for your connecting flight and onward journey home…