Puku Ridge

Puku Ridge Camp was the second of my three camps in South Luangwa NP. It was also the smartest and most luxurious of the three. The camp is owned by Sanctuary Retreats - a company that owns luxury properties in Africa and operates expedition cruise in Asia. Ideally it should be saved for the last but my agent was unable to find availability for that. Built on a rocky hillside in the central part of the NP, it overlooks the Kakumbi Floodplain teemed with wildlife including the puku antelope which the camp is named after. It is small and intimate camp and has been constructed to blend into the local surroundings. The oversized tent has it all - a king size bed with mosquito net, indoor and outdoor shower, bath tub, small lounge, writing desk and private deck with full view of the floodplains. Tea /coffee is brought to the rooms during the morning wake up call.

interior of my luxury oversized tent

 The main bar/dining area has a high thatched roof, under it is a simple concrete bar and high bar stools. In front of this is the lounge area and below it is the dining area. It affords dramatic view of the plain and the two waterholes that lie far below. These waterholes are floodlit at night. The dining style and quality here is akin to fine dining in any good city restaurants. There were plenty of wonderful sightings from the game drives as well - leopards and large herds of buffaloes and elephants. Puku Ridge Camp is without doubt a luxurious and high quality camp that delivers but I somehow feel that the operation and management reminiscent that of a big chain group. Nothing wrong with that but I personally would prefer an owner run and manage camps more.