Redcliff Zambezi Lodge
Riverside camp in the gorge country, being rebuilt · Rufunsa GMA, Mpata Gorge, downstream of the park · The Driman family, since about 2022
Mid-range
In the GMA
Locally owned
The far downstream option, in the Rufunsa game management area below the park near the Luangwa confluence. The Driman family took the lodge on nearly four years ago when it was rundown, and the restoration is still running: thatching is being finished now, then the bar and dining spaces. That is why you will not have seen it advertised. It began as a fishing camp and still suits fishermen, but it now also takes birdwatchers and international groups working their way from the far end of the park through to South Luangwa. What they say makes it different is the quiet: at times you can have whole stretches of the river to yourself.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Whole stretches of river to yourself, the real draw here
- Fifteen to twenty minutes by boat into the park
- Guides with twelve and fifteen years of experience
- Falls inside the ZIMOZA transfrontier conservation area
- Elephants frequent this stretch, with leopard tracks near camp
Cons
- No published rate card; contact the lodge directly
- Boat access only, plus a 4x4 to the departure point
- Capacity and exact facilities not published
- Online accounts of its current status conflict, so confirm before booking
Straight from the lodge
The people here
A camp this remote is its team, and Redcliff's has been in place a long time. Guests are taken fifteen to twenty minutes by boat into the park for fishing, safari cruises and sundowners, drifting back afterwards, and the guides also walk visitors to the village and bring them home by water.
- Three full-time guides, with others who step in when they can.
- Gregory has been guiding here fifteen years, with a break in the middle before he came back.
- Chilli has twelve years, and guests take to his easy way of talking.
- Jason joined four years ago.
- Moses is the chef, Lasiwe the barman, and Martin the housekeeper, who has been there, in the family's words, forever.
- The builders on site are all excellent boatmen, and some will stay on when the work winds down.
Told to us by The Driman family of Redcliff Zambezi Lodge, August 2026.
What is around the camp
There are a lot of elephants along this stretch at the moment, and the guides find leopard tracks around the camp. The area was heavily poached in the past. It now falls inside the ZIMOZA transfrontier conservation area, which covers part of the national park and the whole of the Rufunsa game management area, and there is a promise of reintroducing species including cheetah.
What's here
- Swimming pool
Arranged from the lodge:
- Boat trips
- Guided walks
- Birding
- Fishing
Read from Redcliff Zambezi Lodge's own website in July 2026. Anything not listed we could not confirm, which is not the same as it being absent.
What the park charges on top
The rate above buys you a bed. Lower Zambezi National Park charges its own entry fee for every day you are inside. Here is what that adds up to.
- Park entry$25 if you are with a licensed operator instead of self-driving.
- $30per person, per day
- VehicleUnder 3 tonnes, foreign registered.
- $15per vehicle, per day
Three nights means three days inside, so two adults sharing one vehicle pay $225 in park fees before anyone pays for a bed.
Camps inside the park bundle a bed-night levy and community fee on top, which together run $85 to $120 per person per night. That is the number that lands on your invoice, not the gate fee.
The full fee schedule for Lower Zambezi National ParkRates at Redcliff Zambezi Lodge
Rates on request. No published rate card. The lodge has not advertised yet because it is still being rebuilt; contact them directly.
What the rate covers is not confirmed. We do not know yet whether meals, drinks and activities are included, so read this as the bed only.
Every figure on this page is in US dollars.
Indicative 2026 rates from operators' own rate cards, gathered July 2026. Always confirm with the lodge. Two things shift the real comparison here. First, camps inside the park add $85 to $120 per person per night in bundled park and conservation fees, and most quote that separately. Second, camps in the Chiawa game management area carry no national park entry fee at all unless you cross into the park, which is why a GMA bed can work out far cheaper than the headline rate suggests.
Questions about Redcliff Zambezi Lodge
Can you book Redcliff Zambezi Lodge right now?
Accounts differ. The lodge's owners described an ongoing rebuild in August 2026, with thatching and the bar and dining spaces still being finished, which is why it has not been actively advertised. A public website and a set of five-star reviews suggest it is already taking guests, so confirm current availability directly with the lodge before planning a trip.
How do you get to Redcliff Zambezi Lodge?
You reach it by boat, with guests collected from the north bank; one route involves a 4x4 to a departure point about four hours from Lusaka, then a boat transfer. There is no airstrip, though the district council is working on improving the roads in the area.
What is the fishing and birding like at Redcliff Zambezi Lodge?
Strong, according to both the operator and independent reviews. Guests are taken fifteen to twenty minutes by boat into the park for fishing and sundowner cruises, and the lodge began life as a fishing camp. It also takes birdwatchers and groups travelling through to South Luangwa, and guides report elephants frequently along this stretch and leopard tracks near camp.
Who guides at Redcliff Zambezi Lodge?
A small, long-serving team: Gregory has guided here for fifteen years, with a break in the middle, and Chilli for twelve. The lodge is in the Rufunsa game management area, inside the ZIMOZA transfrontier conservation area, below the national park near the Luangwa confluence.