The Lower Zambezi National Park is situated in the South Eastern part of Zambia on the banks of the Zambezi River, approximately 150 kilometres down stream from Kariba Dam and opposite Zimbabwe’s Mana Pools National Park. Much of the game crosses the river; they don’t need passports (!) and so the whole region is more like one massive wildlife sanctuary.

The Park was established in 1983 and covers an area of 4,100 square kilometres, with 120 kilometres of river frontage. Approximately 25% of the park lies in the valley between the Central African Plateau and the Zambezi River, the escarpment adds to the overall beauty of the region and ensures stunning sunsets.

The legendary Zambezi River, the namesake of this pristine wilderness is 2700km long, it first fertilises the Barotse floodplains, before plunging over Victoria Falls, shooting through narrow gorges to replenish the massive man made Lake Kariba before reaching the Lower Zambezi where it slows its pace. Here, a myriad of islands & gentle back water channels have formed, creating a home and feeding ground for an incredible amount of wildlife.

There is a large number of mammal species including elephant, hippo, buffalo, kudu, zebra, impala, bushbuck, duiker, klipspringer, lion, leopard, hyenas, African wild dog, serval, civet, genet, aardvark, chac-ma baboon and vervet monkeys, just to name a few. With the Zambezi River as one of the parks natural boundaries, the area also attracts an abundance of bird life estimated to include almost 400 species.

For the adventurous traveller, a canoe safari along the Zambezi shoreline is a great way to get close to nature. Paddling down stream towards Mozambique, passing great herds of game without feeling like an intruder, your guide explains how to dodge territorial hippos and how to deal with the elephants that visit your camp by night. A comfortable option is staying in one of the beautiful permanent tented camps along the River and spending your days canoeing, taking guided walks and game drives.

The best time to visit the park for wildlife viewing is the dry season (June to early October) when large numbers of elephant, buffalo, waterbuck and impala come to the river to drink and graze along its banks. During the rainy season (end October to March) much of the game moves away from the river.

The Luangwa Valley is one of Africa’s prime wildlife sanctuaries and it lies at the tail end of the Great Rift Valley, which splits as it reaches Zambia. The eastern arm encompasses Lake Malawi and the western arm becomes the Luangwa Valley, which stretches some seven hundred kilometers at an average width of about one hundred kilometers.

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 fill during the rainy season. The Luangwa carves its course along the Valley floor and when in flood it erodes the outer bends, depositing silt within the loops. Eventually the river cuts a new course, leaving the old course to silt up and form ‘ox bow’ lagoons. These lagoons are very important to the ecology of the riverine zone and account for the dense populations of game in 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. Nearby there are two small and as yet undeveloped Parks – Luambe and Lukusuzi National Parks.

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On safari you are likely to see a huge quantity and variety of game. It is estimated that there are at least 50 hippopotamus per km of the Luangwa River. Out on the plains are large herds of elephant and buffalo, zebras (here they have evenly spaced stripes unlike zebras in other parts of Africa), baboons and Thorneycroft’s Giraffe (unique to the Luangwa Valley). The Park is home to 14 different species of antelope including eland, the largest, the beautiful kudu and the Puku – not to be confused with the Impala.

Lions are as plentiful in the Luangwa and very often they roam in prides of up to thirty. Hyenas are fairly common throughout the valley and their plaintive, eerie cry, so characteristic of the African bush can be heard on most nights. The South Luangwa has a good population of leopard but they are quite elusive and other carnivores present but not often seen are the caracal, Painted hunting Dog, Serval and Side striped Jackal.

If you have the chance to get out on a night drive your chance of seeing leopard increase but you may also see genets, bush babies as well as owls, nightjars, the foraging hippos

BIRDING IN THE VALLEY

Bird watching is superb in the Valley. Near the end of the dry season, when the river and oxbow lagoons begin to recede, hundreds of large water birds can be seen wading through the shallows. The red faced yellow billed storks move along with their beaks open underwater, disturbing the muddy liquid with their feet until the fish flop into their mouths. The pelicans tend to operate in lines abreast, driving the fish before them into shallows before scooping them up into their beak pouches. The striking 1.6m saddle bill stork makes quick darting movements into the water. Then there’s the ugly marabou stork, great white egrets, black headed herons, open billed storks and the stately goliath heron that can stand in the same position for hours before pouncing. Of the most beautiful are the elegant crowned cranes, with their golden tufts congregating in large flocks at the salt pans.

Just before the rains set in, about November, the migrants from Northern Europe and the Arctic Circle arrive to exploit the feeding opportunities that the warm rainy season brings – red chested cuckoo, white storks, European swallows. Swifts, hobbies and bee-eaters, as well as birds of prey such as the Steppe eagles and Steppe buzzards that come all the way from Russia. A special sight is the hundreds of brightly coloured carmine bee-eaters nesting in the steep sandy banks of the river.
With about 400 of Zambia’s 732 species of birds appearing in the Valley, including 39 birds of prey and 47 migrant species, there is plenty for the birdwatcher to spot, whatever the season.