Nov2017 Ready for OPENING! November 26, 2017 Within seven months we build our Lodge amidst the impressive scenery of South Luangwa National Park, Zambia. We are very proud and want to say THANK YOU to all our workers and thoose who supported us achieving this exciting goal! Looking forward WELCOMING YOU IN 2018!
Nov2017 Furnishing November 19, 2017 Light and natural colours in the furnishings plays a major role and creates the desired ambience.Nice to see how things finally come together.
Nov2017 Main area deck November 6, 2017 Path ways, restaurant, bar and lounge - The wooden deck has been mounted.
Oct2017 Tent assembly October 17, 2017 We assemble the tents on the platforms and start the interior installation.
Oct2017 Tent platforms ready October 3, 2017 The platforms are ready to set up the tents. Next week we travel to Sambia again and together with the Engineers from the tent company we will mount them on site...
Sep2017 Main area substructure... September 23, 2017 ...is going in. The guys are busy mounting the steel bars on the poles and puting the sqare tubes on top so that we can proceed with installing the decking.
Sep2017 What a week... September 15, 2017 Tomorrow we have to leave and travel back home to Germany and Switzerland. Everyone will remember the two weeks behind us....and next time we will install our tents. :-)
Sep2017 Furniture delivery September 12, 2017 Delivery of the first part of furnitur ordered from a local manufacturer located in the Luangwa valley.
Sep2017 Art from our Carpenters September 13, 2017 Beautiful frames and doors, even with Chikunto branding. :-)
Sep2017 Poles at main area September 10, 2017 Now we are moving further and concentrating on the main area decking. First task is the pole positioning with the right measurements. Work is happen partly in the shade under our great new roof.
Sep2017 Painting September 8, 2017 ...as one of the last steps of preparation before the tents will be mounted on the platforms.
Sep2017 Thatchers work September 4, 2017 The skull of the last roof has been done and the thatchers are working on the last section of the main area roof.
Sep2017 The Planks came in September 2, 2017 Supplying, cutting, mounting. Hand in Hand from early morning to the evening.
Aug2017 Back again August 26, 2017 We are back to work in Zambia. After bying some material in Lusaka we want to finish the tent platforms on site within the next three weeks. Making Regula happy with her new office, done! Bush shower and hot water supply, done! :-)
Aug2017 Roof work in progress August 12, 2017 In August we concentrate the work on finishing the decking of the tent platforms and of course, the roofs will be done by the carpenters and thatchers.
Jul2017 Time to relax July has been a taff month with a lot of work for the zambian, swiss and german workers. But inbetween there is always time for a break, to sit down, enjoy the nature and relax...
Jul2017 Tent platforms July 29, 2017 The atmosphere at the mounting ceremony of the first angle steel was tense, as everyone wanted to know wheter zambian pole positioning fits together with the german manufactured steel work. Perfect, well done guys! :-)
Jul2017 Water July 25, 2017 After a challange with our first borehole luckily another five days later the Chikunto water was flowing...
Jul2017 Power July 20, 2017 Within two days we had power on site. Cool drinks from the fridge have been the much-deserved reward.With power every task is getting easier and after power distribution on site concurrent work on different tasks becomes possible.
Jul2017 Trucks arriving July 18, 2017 Trucks arriving on site. A very special moment for everyone of us. Now we have the necessary equipment and material to proceed...
Jun2017 Main area progress June 27, 2017 Today the pole set for the roof has been finished! Everybody is proud and happy to reach this stage in time. The shape of the main area is slowly coming out of the ground now... :-)
Jun2017 Truck down June 25, 2017 Alfred, our DYNA truck is down. The driver reported the vehicle losing power as the gears could not engage. He discovered that the clutch plate is gone. Although it's a setback, with the Zambian villagers we managed to bring him back to life, even on todays Sunday! So work will go on!
Jun2017 Workshop June 18, 2017 The workshop is coming out of the ground. Here you see the pit for car maintenance and the room at the end of the workshop where the waterworks and power station with the battery banks will be installed.
Jun2017 Tent pole grids done June 15, 2017 Finishing pole position for tent 3 and 4 with all poles put in place.
Jun2017 First pole set! June 7, 2017 The first pole has been placed into the ground for one of the coming guest chalets. A milestone of construction period and special moment for the involved team members. :-)
May2017 Construction started Working on site preparation for construction phase by selecting and marking places for solar plant, main area, guest chalets, workshop, etc. Check out our gallery if you want to see more...
May2017 Transportation In two parts of the world, Zambia and Germany, we are working parallel on transportation of construction material to our site...
Apr 2017 Packing the bags... April 3, 2017 The first load is ready for transport. Perfect weather and many helping hands. The job was done in a short while. Now we hope everything will reach our place in Zambia. ...in two months time we will know it.
Apr2017 Preparation done April 2, 2017 The necessary wood has been organized, the brick work has been done. Now we are well prepared to start construction on site.
Mar 2017 Mopani pole challenge... March 26, 2017 Eliza and the truck got stuck when Josephat was out for additional poles. The guys around pushed the vehicles out with a smile. Thanks to them! Then, of course, one of the truck tyre bust because of the heavy load. Finally they managed it after being helped with a spare tyre from another gentleman who has a similar vehicle.
Mar2017 Selecting gum poles March 17, 2017 The not so heavy gum poles for the roof structure have been choosen by Josephat and the carpenter. Afterwards the guys carried them to our storage plot.
Mar2017 Lodge equipment March 01, 2017 The orders for equipment we need to import from Germany to Zambia has been placed. Amongst them is technical staff for water treatment, solar system for power supply and other construction material. From the local suppliers in the meantime we organised tools as saws, shovels, picks and wheelbarrows. The start of construction phase is getting closer...
Feb 2017 Finalizing architectural work The architectural work is almost done. We are now busy organising material, negotiating with suppliers and placing the first orders. Most of our technical equipment will come from Germany and South Africa. But even at this stage we are keen on integrating local Zambian companies into our project. We will involve the people from our host country as much as we possibly can.
Jan 2017 Block (brick) production January 31, 2017 Our dedicated team moulding the first Chikunto bricks. Despite the downpour and delays, our team was always in good spirits.
Jan 2017 Team at work Janaury 7, 2017 Another team at work! Piling the painted poles and having breakfast. The work continues...
Dec 2016 Car park enhancement - Welcome Alfred! December 21, 2016 To be well prepared for future transport challenges from and to our site, we purchased a small truck in Lusaka. Josephat transferred the Toyota Dyna to Mfuwe after a time consuming three-day wire transfer issue with our Zambian bank. But this is now finally done!
Dec 2016 Cutting Mopani trees Just before the heavy rains started we went out tree cutting.The strong and termite resistant Mopani tree poles will be used as stilts for the tents and main area.
Sep 2016 Concession agreement signed - finally :-) September 8, 2016 Finally! After a very long negotiation process with the Zambian authorities of more than a year and a half and what felt like driving on a never ending road, we have finally signed a concession agreement with the Department of National Parks & Wildlife. What a milestone! On to the next step, getting the Environmental Project Brief! :-)
Oct 2016 New family member - Eliza October 20, 2016 Welcome Eliza, our second Land Rover that we bought from a former German tour operator in Malawi. Eliza will be very useful during the lodge construction phase for transporting staff and material, and she is the second car in the Chikunto Land Rover family.
May 2016 Site visit with the family After being moved from site to site by the Zambian authorities, they once and for all approved a site location for our lodge! We brought the children with to view the site and we were all very happy with the so called Big Bend site. It is 20kms north of the main park entrance and rich with wildlife!
Oct 2015 Meet the architect During Jens' visit in October 2015 he arranged a meeting with an architect from South Africa. There was a kind of understandment from the spur of the moment and we are happy that he is now on board and took over the responsibility for lodge and interieur design.
Aug2015 Looking for site options Decisions, decisions...so many options, located both inside and outside of the national park...
Apr2015 Founding Chikunto Safaris April 7, 2015 The first real milestone successfully done! Our company is officially registered in Zambia. Now we can continue with our journey and make it real. An incredible achievement!
May2014 Falling in love with Luangwa Valley When we travelled from Chipata on our motor bike early May 2014, we came across the Luangwa Valley for the first time. The road from Chipata led us over a mountainous range and the view was a fascinating, beautiful valley with it's amazing wilderness. We still can't get over how fascinating the South Luangwa valley is.
Apr2014 Getting in touch with Zambia We first travelled to Zambia in April 2014. From Namibia, we crossed the border with our motor bike at the Caprivi strip at the only one place in the world where four countries meet at one point.