CEG Lodge & Campsite

CEG Lodge sits right on the T1, the main highway between Lusaka and Livingstone, near the Livingstone Turn-off just outside Kafue — you’ll spot the hand-painted roadside sign before you see anything else, and the campsite itself is only about a two-minute walk from the tarmac. One heads-up: the Google Maps pin doesn’t line up with the actual entrance, so don’t trust it blindly — watch for the sign and follow its arrow rather than the pin. Being right on the highway means you’ll hear the occasional truck pass at night, but in exchange you get a genuinely secure setup: a walled, gated compound with guards on duty 24 hours.

Ask for a campfire and the staff will go cut wood from the trees out back and set you up with as much firewood as you like, free of charge. Tents can be pitched anywhere on the grounds — there’s no assigned plot — and there are two sets of stone benches and tables scattered around the property, first-come, first-served.

Facilities are shared and fairly simple. The toilets are Western-style flush toilets. The handbasin had no running water when I visited, and the shower is a bucket-style overhead fitting — I was told hot water was available, but the gas had run out during my stay, so I ended up showering in cold water in the morning instead of at night. Worth knowing if you’re visiting in the cooler dry-season months. There’s one water point on site; I was told it’s drinkable, boiled mine first just to be safe and had no issues, but treat it as use-at-your-own-risk.

There’s no restaurant service or cooking equipment provided for campers, and nothing for sale on-site, so bring everything you need. The nearest supplies are back toward the highway — either at a fuel station or from the banana vendors who sell to passing cars near the Livingstone turn-off.

Because there’s lighting around the property, the sky right at the campsite isn’t fully dark and stars are hard to make out — walk a little further into a darker corner of the grounds and the view improves, though the patch of open sky is smaller there. In the morning I woke up to the calls of birds I didn’t recognize (turned out to be a small flock of guineafowl wandering the grounds) — a nice reminder that you’re properly in the countryside despite being right on a highway. I visited in mid-May, during the dry season but in the cooler weeks, and it got cold enough at night that I’d pack warmer layers than you’d expect.