Zambia
South Luangwa National Park
South Luangwa is one of the greatest wildlife sanctuaries in the world, agreed upon by
wildlife experts. The Luangwa Valley is home to an astonishing diversity of life, including
around 100 species of mammals, more than 400 bird species and over 2000 types of plants!
The concentration of animals around the Luangwa River and its lagoons is among the highest
in Africa.
The famous ‘walking safari’, originated in this Park, is still one of the finest ways to
experience Africa’s pristine wilderness on a first-hand basis. The changing seasons add to
the Park’s richness, ranging from dry, bare bushveld in the winter, to a lush and green
savannah in the summer months.
The Park is renowned for the abundance of its large mammals. Elephant, Cape buffalo,
impala, zebra, warthog and baboon are common sightings. The Thornicroft’s Giraffe is a subspecies found only in the Luangwa Valley. Larger carnivores in the park include lion, leopard,
cheetah, spotted hyena, and wild dog. The hippopotamus is also found in abundance. There
is estimated to be 50 hippos per kilometre of the Luangwa River!
Kafue National Park
Found in the centre of western Zambia, Kafue National Park is the oldest and largest of
Zambia’s national parks. It covers a massive 22,400 km2. Despite its size and prominent
location only two hours’ drive from Livingstone, it remains largely unexplored with vast
areas of its bush still untouched. Kafue is accessible twelve months of the year making it
possible for visitors to experience this magnificent place, all year round.
Kafue has the highest diversity of wildlife south of the Congo Basin. What makes this reserve
so special are the sightings of rare and unique species such as the aardvark, bush baby and
honey badger.
The Park is regarded as one of the best places in Africa to find leopard. The African wild dog
is a highly endangered species and a hard find in an natural environment, however the Kafue
has the largest population compared to any other national park in Africa. The Kafue River is
home to pods of hippo and some of the largest crocodiles in southern Africa.
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