This unique, peanut-shaped country, once known as Northern Rhodesia, offers visitors an authentic African experience complete with adrenalin pumping adventure sports, a variety of fascinating cultural activities, and an abundance of indigenous wildlife, which finds refuge in Zambia’s vast national parks. Spend your evenings enjoying the spectacular site of the world’s largest waterfall, the Victoria Falls, while sipping on sundowners after an exhilarating day of whitewater rafting down the rapids of the mighty Zambezi River. If that sounds a little too adventurous for your taste, take a houseboat cruise along the exquisite Lake Kariba while watching wild elephants drink at the riverbank as you try your hand at catching the elusive tiger fish. However you choose to spend your time in this unique country, you are bound to leave with a heavy heart and a desire to return again soon to this exceptionally beautiful Southern African country.
At the southern tip of the Great Rift Valley lies the South Luangwa National Park, one of Africa's premier wildlife sanctuaries. It's a place of primeval forest and lush savanna, stretching for hundreds of miles and encompassing the Luangwa River basin, its adjacent highlands and a mosaic of different habitats extending outwards from the central river. The brooding Luangwa River meanders through the luxuriant valley, supporting thousands of hippo and crocodile and sustaining the park. South Luangwa has one of the greatest game concentrations in Africa. Elephant, a wide variety of antelope, buffalo, kudu, zebra, Thornycroft's giraffe and wildebeest occur in great numbers, as well as over 400 bird species. Lion, wild dog and hyena are also common and the park is famed for its excellent leopard sightings.
The Luangwa experience differs with the seasons: in the dry winter months from June to September you can stay at small seasonal safari camps in glorious seclusion; the more sophisticated lodges, close to the main gate at Mfuwe Bridge, remain open longer. Many visitors spend a couple of nights spinning off a few rolls of film here in the south, where animals are relaxed and used to vehicles, then head into the wilderness. Delightful camps occupy prime sites on ancient oxbow lakes, amidst shady ebony groves, and offer day and night game drives in open vehicles. The standard of guiding is exceptionally good - walking safaris were pioneered in Luangwa and it still sets the pace. Expert guides lead you through the bush, giving you the opportunity to observe the game at close quarters and gain fascinating insights into the ways of the wild - a magical experience.
As previously described
As previously described
