Welcome to Flatdogs Camp

Flatdogs is pleased to announce that we are the first ever winner of a South Luangwa Eco-award since the scheme’s inception in 2008. After 3 years’ of efforts and investment, we are silver medal winners! Find out more here – www.slcszambia.org

The South Luangwa National Park is one of the great wildlife wonders of the world. It is nine thousand square kilometers (3,475 square miles) of pristine wilderness in Zambia’s Eastern Province.  The South Luangwa has been visited by wildlife enthusiasts from all over the world since its creation as a National Park in 1972.

The Luangwa offers a safari experience unmatched by any other destination, allowing year round access, open game viewing vehicles, walking safaris and night game drives. However, due to the remoteness of the Park and the difficulties of operating so far from anywhere, the cost of a safari has been prohibitive to many people.

In May 2000 Flatdogs Camp opened and the Luangwa Valley and all of its magic is now open to everyone!  Our safari guides are of the highest standard, having passed the challenging South Luangwa Guide Exam, and they are ready to show you the incredible diversity of mammals, both large and small, as well as our trees, birds, insects, tracks, spoor and even fish if you ask them to!!
Jess has fifteen years of tour operating experience and is more than happy to help you put together an itinerary that won’t cost you an arm and a leg and will be more fun than you can shake a stick at!  Flatdogs Camp is designed for kids of all ages and the only thing we take seriously is your enjoyment…

Flatdogs’ Philosophy

After so long in tourism in the Luangwa we know that we need to look after the hospitality needs of several different types of traveler.  In the last ten years we have built up a loyal following of international fly–in guests who feel that our accommodation and way of doing things (not to mention price!), suits them better than possibly better known ‘luxury’ lodges.  Our guests can take their meals when they would like them, they don’t have to eat dinner with a group of strangers, if they’d prefer to talk to their partner or family in their native language, and NO gold taps!

We also understand that we’re all really the ‘visitors’ here so our camp is kept as natural as possible. As a result, large numbers of game find themselves quite at home wandering through camp. Birdlife is prolific in our riparian woodland habitat – there’s nothing quite like being woken under canvas by the dawn chorus… The riverfront has not been developed in an effort to minimise disturbance to the ecology, but visitors remain free to sit quietly under shady trees along the riverbank and watch the game in the National Park just across the water.

Safari activities are taken in the same game-viewing areas as other lodges in the Luangwa, and although we are not actually inside the park we are as close as it’s possible to be to it! We have decided that we would prefer more people to be able to experience the magic of the Luangwa Valley, so we keep our prices lower and attract a better class of person to enjoy our Safaris!

We have made Flatdogs the only truly ‘family friendly’ camp in the Luangwa. This means we have a pool, plenty of space for children and a children’s menu in the restaurant at children’s chow times. Children are not merely tolerated at Flatdogs….. we actually like having them! A nanny/watchman service is also available for when it’s grown ups’ playtime.

For those who enjoy the more sociable aspects of life in the bush, the restaurant offers an á la carte menu of excellent food, while ice-cold beers and a tempting range of cocktails are available at the bar.  We also have an Internet café, book swap and a curio shop supporting local artists & artisans.  There is a swimming pool to be dipped into when reading becomes too tiring…  We offer a little piece of true Africa with a few of the trimmings of the modern world!  But don’t panic – we are blessed with lots of room so you can choose to sit by the river and listen to the hippos honking and real birds twittering if you prefer.  Flatdogs is all about the freedom of choice!

What We Ask

Although Flatdogs is recognized as a self contained empire, we have adopted the Constitution of Zambia as our rule book. Anyone found breaking the laws of Zambia will be expelled from Flatdogs!

Any guest who flouts the guidelines for safety and behaviour within Flatdogs will also be shown the door, as will anyone who has been found breaking the National Park Laws whilst inside the Park. Our purpose is to provide you with a safe and enjoyable environment from which to experience the African Bush at close quarters. Those who feel they know how to handle this without our help and expertise are invited to book elsewhere and suffer the consequences.

The use of illegal drugs anywhere on the property is forbidden.  Any firearms are to be unloaded and left in the care of the management.  All pets must be kept on a leash at all times.  Management accepts no responsibility for clients’ pets becoming part of the food chain or unwittingly acting as a bait or lure.

Now that cell phone reception has arrived in the Luangwa (of all places!), we request that guests take a 4 hour break from the modern world whilst in the bush and do not take mobile phones on any game-viewing activity.  Besides being desperately annoying to other guests, who knows how your ring tone will affect that elephant peaceably feeding right next to the vehicle?