Tusk & Mane Kutali Camp
Light-footprint fly-camp · Kulefu Island, near Jeki airstrip · Tusk & Mane, Luke Evans and Kyle Branch
High-end
Inside the park
Owner/family-run
Owner-run and deliberately simple, on the island where the long-closed Kulefu camp once stood. If you want to move through this park on foot and by paddle rather than in a vehicle, this outfit and its two sister camps are the specialists.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Walking and canoeing, not driving, are the core activities
- Built to be dismantled, with a genuinely light footprint
- Combines with Chula Island on four-night canoe circuits
- Pay for six guests and the camp is exclusively yours
- Fly-in about 30 minutes from Lusaka, Mfuwe or Livingstone
Cons
- Walking and canoeing need a minimum age of 14
- No verifiable 2026 rate; the published figure dates from 2022
- Only fly-in access, via Jeki airstrip
- Camping-style facilities only, built to be light and simple
What's here
- Campsite
Arranged from the lodge:
- Game drives
- Boat trips
- Night drives
- Birding
- Fishing
Read from Tusk & Mane Kutali Camp'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 Tusk & Mane Kutali Camp
About $700 pppn all inclusive. That figure dates from 2022 and we could not verify a current 2026 rate. Ask the camp 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 Tusk & Mane Kutali Camp
Is Tusk & Mane Kutali Camp good for families?
Kutali takes children of all ages on an exclusive-use booking, which the operator offers when a group pays for six guests. On a standard shared booking, walking and canoeing, the camp's core activities, have a minimum age of 14, so check which booking type suits your family before you book.
Can you self-drive to Kutali Camp?
No. Tusk & Mane's camps are fly-in only, reached in about 30 minutes from Lusaka, Mfuwe or Livingstone to Jeki airstrip. Flights run daily from June to October, with seat rates available outside that window, so confirm current scheduling for your dates.
What is the current rate for Kutali Camp?
Tusk & Mane does not publish a current rate card for Kutali; the figure in circulation dates from 2022 and could not be verified for 2026. Contact the operator directly at info@tuskandmane.com or luke@tuskandmane.com for a quote, and ask what it includes.
How many nights should you book at Kutali Camp?
The operator recommends a minimum four-night stay split between Kutali and its sister camp on Chula Island, since the two combine on the same canoe circuit. Maximum group size is ten clients per safari, and paying for six books either camp exclusively.