In Conversation with Gareth Jones from Chikunto Safari Lodge

To understand Chikunto, though, you have to understand its origins. They’re to be found in 2004, when Jens met Regula in South Africa. It was a romance that led to years of African travel and the germ of an idea: to own a small lodge of their own. It took another 15 years for the germ to come to fruition, after a decade and a half of exploring Botswana, Namibia, Malawi, Zimbabwe and more. It was in Zambia, though, where they happily broke down one evening outside the South Luangwa National Park and had to spend a night in a nearby camp. ‘Whilst there, they met Josefat, another larger than life character whose second home is round the camp fire. They got chatting, they swapped ideas about creating their own private safari camp and, in 2015/16, they started a company and began hunting for locations.’

That’s when the parks authorities began to drag their feet, only to stump up the best that the South Luangwa National Park has to offer. But before trading, of course, comes the building. When I suggest to Gareth that building a safari lodge in the middle of a national park, miles from any major town or city, on a flood-prone site on the bend of a seasonal river that rises and falls significantly throughout the year may have been a tricky exercise, he quickly disillusions me. ‘Yes, at the beginning there was virtually nothing. We had a greenfield site and had to use drones to get the lie of the land. Our ethos was to build a place that wouldn’t flood and wouldn’t be too obvious on the landscape. We want our guests to feel secluded – that’s why we have always only had 5 suites – and to be connected to the bush, not to your neighbour.’

But from a construction point of view, he goes on to say, ‘it was actually all done very quickly because of Jens’s experience. The whole team was local, as opposed to the commonly-used practice of hiring in South African labour, creating a stronger connection with the local community than there is elsewhere in the safari industry.’ That’s an ethos that remains in place to this day, with a team of 26, all but 3 of whom are Zambian and whose experience and connection with the park and the land is second to none. ‘Guiding is obviously a huge part of what we offer but it’s about much more than simply putting the car in the right place to view game. It’s about working out what our guests want, empathy, relationship dynamics, soft skills. That’s what we offer.’

What Chikunto aren’t keen to be is just another tick in a box. That’s why they incentivise their guests to spend a minimum of 4 nights on the Big Bend, so as to properly decompress and form a connection with the place. ‘We’re an experience-driven place, we’re not a week in Bali. That means that spending time with us, with the animals, with an environment as raw as ours is, is really important. It sounds twee, but it’s true. We get people away from the froth.’

So, what can guests expect from a stay at Chikunto? Judging by the virtual background on Gareth’s Zoom account – he splits his time between Ireland and Zambia but the background remains resolutely Chikunto – rather a nice time. It sits somewhere between a lodge and a camp, Gareth says, with the creature comforts of the former and the intimacy and natural authenticity of the latter. ‘If lodges were supermarkets,’ Gareth chuckles again, ‘we’d be M&S.’ There’s an atmosphere of discreet luxury, with an open-sided thatched main space filled with leather armchairs, a cracking looking bar and a lap pool that overlooks the river. They’re purposefully small – with the 5 suites I mentioned earlier – and position themselves as a disruptor, up and coming in an otherwise traditional market.

Game-wise, South Luangwa is, quite simply, spectacular. Endemic species like the Thorneycroft giraffe and Crawshay’s zebra happily plod around the Big Bend – visible from the terrace with drink in hand – and, given that the river is seasonal, the greenery and birdlife on offer during wetter periods are remarkable. In fact, during peak water levels, the only way to arrive at Chikunto is by water and the water-based safaris – alongside classic game drives and walking tours – have seen scores of repeat guests return year on year. Then there’s the fact of the park’s informal name: home of the leopard. Visitors can expect to see these elusive cats more often than not, sometimes from Chikunto’s new photo hide that overlooks a waterhole, sometimes from the lodge’s wonderful sleep our star platform. ‘We have an ethos of continuous improvement; that’s what these investments are about, as are the introduction of an edit suite and an extension to the waterhole. We want to keep things fresh and to keep doing new, exciting things.’