Kafue National Park

Kafue is Zambia’s oldest park and by far the largest. It was proclaimed in 1950 and is spread over 22 400 square kilometres - the second largest  national park in the world and about the size of Wales.

From the astounding Busanga Plains in the North-western section of the Park to the tree-choked wilderness and the lush dambos of the south, fed by the emerald green Lunga, Lufupa and Kafue Rivers, the park sustains huge herds of a great diversity of wildlife. From the thousands of red lechwe on the Plains, the ubiquitous puku, the stately sable and roan antelopes in the woodland to the diminutive oribi and duiker. The solid-rumped defassa waterbuck, herds of tsessebe, hartebeest, zebra and buffalo make for a full menu of antelope.

Large prides of lion, solitary leopards and cheetahs are the prime predators. There is a host of smaller carnivores from the side-striped jackal, civet, genet and various mongoose.

Birdwatching - especially on the rivers and the dambos is superb. Notables include the wattled crane, purple crested loerie and Pel’s fishing owl. Over 400 species of birds have been recorded throughout the park.

The Luangwa Valley

The Luangwa Valley is one of Africa’s prime wildlife sanctuaries, with concentrations and varieties of game and  birdlife that have made it  world famous. This is the  landscape of the ‘Real Africa’,  with herds of antelope  sheltering under thorn trees,  or roaming the plains,  predators skulking in the  shadows and primordial  drama in every vale.

The ‘Valley’ lies at the tail end of the Great Rift Valley, that continental fault which runs from the Red Sea down the length of East Africa. This accounts for the spectacular escarpment scenery in East Africa as well as the African Lakes.

As the Rift reaches Zambia, it divides; one arm to the east encompasses Lake Malawi and the western arm becomes the Luangwa Valley, which stretches some seven hundred kilometres at an average width of about one hundred kilometres.

In the west, the Muchinga Mountain range forms the limit of both the Valley and the parks. In the east is a similar, though less well defined escarpment. The Valley floor is about a thousand meters lower than the surrounding plateau.

Down the centre of the valley flows the Luangwa River, fed by dozens of sand rivers that come down during the rainy season. The Luangwa carves a tortuous course along the floor and when in flood rapidly erodes the outer bends, depositing silt within the loops. Eventually the river cuts a new course, leaving the old course to silt up, forming ‘ox bow’ lagoons. These lagoons are very important to the ecology of the riverine zone and account for the high carrying capacity of the area.

The countryside is spectacular in its rugged beauty, the vegetation thick and, near the Luangwa River and its many tributaries, a lush riverine forest occurs that is green all year round. Flanking the rivers western banks are the North and South Luangwa National Parks separated by the 30km Munyamadzi corridor. To the east, between the two main parks is another small and as yet undeveloped Park called Luambe. Further east on the rocky uplands beyond the flood plain is the Lukusuzi National Park.

Lower Zambezi National Park

 The Park lies opposite  the famous  Mana Pools  Reserve in  Zimbabwe, so  the whole area on  both  sides of the river is a  massive wildlife sanctuary.
 The Lower Zambezi  National  Park  covers an area of 4092  square  kilometers, but most of  the  game is concentrated along the valley floor.There is an escarpment along the northern end which acts as a physical barrier to most of the parks animal species. Enormous herds of elephant are often seen at the rivers edge. Buffalo and waterbuck are common. The park also hosts good populations of lion and leopard.