Zambia
An exclusive safari destination, Zambia offers great big game viewing, walking safaris and excellent water based activities away from the crowds. This true wilderness experience is underpinned by the walking safari, which is reputed to have started in the South Luangwa National Park. The main national parks for game viewing in Zambia are South Luangwa, Kafue, North Luangwa and the Lower Zambezi. However, with over 30% of the country reserved for national parks and game management areas, Zambia has other national parks that include Liuwa Plains, Bangweulu, North Luangwa, Kasanka and Lochinvar. Accommodation is mainly in small intimate camps and lodges that offer a more personalised service than the bigger lodges.
The guiding is also of a high standard which greatly enhances the experience. Zambia is endowed with abundant water resources that include lakes like Tanganyika, Mweru, Kariba, Bangweulu and Ithezhi tezhi and rivers like the mighty Zambezi, Kafue, Luangwa, Lungwebungu and Luapula. This allows for incredible water based activities like canoeing, fishing and boating. The Victoria Falls is the most popular attraction in Zambia and is a sight to behold.
One of the Seven Wonders of the World, the Victoria Falls is considered the largest waterfall in the world. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, this magical spectacle is a sight to behold and is a must see for all visitors to Southern Africa.On the Zambian side of the falls, the Knife Edge Bridge allows you to get close to the falling curtain of water and gives a great view of the Eastern Cataract. There is a pathway that leads to the boiling point which is a huge whirlpool at the base of the falls. The Zambian side also has the famous Devil’s Pool which is just above the main falls. For the daring,swimming right above the falls in Devil’s Pool gives a true meaning to the adage‘living on the edge’
There are so many activities that one can do in and around the falls including white water rafting, flight over the falls in a helicopter or microlight, canoeing, fishing, bungee jumping, zip line, elephant back riding, sunset cruises and many more. The adjacent Mosi oa Tunya National Park provides the opportunity to see white rhino on game drives or on foot.
The town of Livingstone has a very good museum and lots of craft markets and is worth a visit while in the Victoria Falls area.
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Zambia’s premier wildlife offering. South Luangwa is one of the best wildlife sanctuaries in the world.It is also one of the most authentic wilderness experiences. The park has great concentrations of animals as well as a great variety. It is endowed with endemics like the Thornicroft’s giraffe. The park also has specials like the Cookson’s wildebeest which are unique to Luangwa and the Crawshay’s Zebra. The Luangwa River provides for excellent game viewing in the dry season. The park is also known for its night game drives and is one of the best places to view leopard in Africa. Other animals that can be seen in this park include elephant,lion,African wild dog,hyena,buffalo,waterbuck,puku,hippo and lots of antelope species. South Luangwa is the origin of the walking safari and most of the camps offer walking safaris which give a different dimension to game viewing.
Over 400 species of birds have been recorded including large flocks of Abdim’s storks, white storks, crested cranes and breeding flocks of yellow billed storks.
The park is easily accessible from Lusaka through the Mfuwe airport which is close to most of the lodges and camps in the park.
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Covering a massive 22 400 square kilometres, Kafue is Zambia’s largest national park, second largest in Africa and fifth largest in the world. It is almost the size of Wales and is half the size of Switzerland. Kafue was established in the 1950s and is one of the oldest national parks in Africa. Kafue is a park known for its diversity with the largest number of antelope species than any other park in Africa and diverse habitats of miombo woodland,floodplains,open savannah grasslands, swamps and marshes.
The Kafue national park is well watered by three large rivers, Kafue,Lufupa and Lunga Rivers. The park is home to elephant,lion,buffalo,leopard, African wild dog,hippo,hyena,sable antelope,roan antelope,wildebeest,puku,kudu,waterbuck, red lechwe, sitatunga, Lichtenstein’s hartebeest, zebra, blue duiker and yellow backed duiker among others. The Kafue National Park is also reputed to be the best place to see cheetah in Zambia. More than 400 species of birds have been recorded including Zambia’s only endemic bird, Chaplin’s or Zambian barbet. Large flocks of crowned crane, wattled crane and pelican are usually seen.
The Busanga Plains in the north eastern part of the park are the highlight of Kafue National Park. The almost1000 square kilometre open grassland, which has water and small islands, attracts huge numbers of animals. The mist in the mornings with silhouettes of animals in the background give an eerie feeling that adds to the magic of the plains. The plains can also be seen by hot air balloon
The best time to visit the park is during the dry season which runs from May to October.
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The newest national park in Zambia, the Lower Zambezi National Park covers an area of about 4000 square kilometres.The park consists of the Zambezi escarpment on the northern side which is mainly miombo woodland,the river bank which has a mixture of winter thorn trees, fig trees and ebony trees and the mopane and baobab trees that make up the flood plain. The park is also surrounded by a game management area(GMA)which makes for a large conservation area. On the Zimbabwean side of the Zambezi River is the Mana Pools National Park ensuring that animals have an even bigger area to roam.
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