If one thinks of Africa’s great wildlife concentrations, what country usually comes to mind? Kenya, Tanzania … Botswana, perhaps? How often does the name Zambia crop up? Zambia is one of those places that most people pass over when planning a safari. Most associate this nation with the touristy town of Livingstone in the extreme south of the country, where visitors jostle for a glimpse of the Victoria Falls. The visit is usually brief, and guests fly in and out of Livingstone without seeing much else of the country. And yet the vast, largely untrammelled swathe of the country to the north probably has the highest concentration and best variety of wildlife on the continent, if not the world.
The capital, Lusaka, lies in the centre of the country. It makes the perfect launch pad from which to explore this African Shangri-La. From this hub one can choose any direction, like spokes on a wheel.
Striking out to the north-west, for example, the adventurer can reach the South Luangwa National Park in a day. This 10,000 km² park is the pride of Zambia, and not without reason. It holds the accolade of having the greatest concentration of animals of any park in the world. One of the reasons for this is the pristine Luangwa River that twists and turns lazily through the park’s virgin forests like a giant African python. The river is the lifeblood of an otherwise drought-prone region, and is home to 400 species of birds and 60 species of mammals. This is where the hippo is king. There are more hippos here than anywhere else in Africa. Not surprisingly, South Luangwa ranks as one of the best game experiences available.
Taking the south-western spoke out of the capital – and much closer than South Luangwa – is the Lower Zambezi National Park. If you are truly adventurous and keen for the wildest of wild experiences, then this is the place. The park lies on the Zambezi River opposite Zimbabwe’s Mana Pools, making it a huge wildlife sanctuary that is famous for its great herds of elephant. Since the park is so wild and remote, the few operators in the park usually offer to collect visitors in Lusaka. Otherwise finding the clutch of lodges and camps may be a bridge, or rather a pontoon, too far. Going west has more surprises. A little more than 100 km from Lusaka are the twin parks with the decidedly un-African names of Blue Lagoon and Lochinvar. Blue Lagoon has only recently been opened to the public, as it was originally a preserve set up by a retired environmentally-minded colonel of the British Army. Thanks to their long seclusion from the public, these parks are spectacular examples of pure nature.
Furthermore, unlike most parks in Zambia, they lie on an expansive floodplain that transforms every season from dry grassland to a watery oasis that rivals the Okavango. The wet season attracts thousands of migratory birds, making it an astounding birdwatcher’s paradise. The wetlands also attract herds of buffalo, zebra, sitatunga and lechwe. The populations of lechwe, normally in herds of 10 to 30 animals, can be observed by the several thousand here. Lechwe are the most water loving of antelope and thrive in these floodplain habitats with their seasonal dry grasslands. They frequently feed in shallow water and will submerge if threatened. The plains are also home to huge river pythons that are attracted by the concentration of lechwe and birds. They make for an unusual game viewing experience. Further west from the twin parks is Zambia’s oldest and largest wildlife park, Kafue. Like most of Zambia’s parks, it remains relatively unknown and unexplored. It has a diverse range of habitats and, like the other parks mentioned, is teeming with a huge diversity of wildlife. Kafue has more species of ungulates than anywhere else south of the Congo basin. This includes varieties like roan and sable antelope, as well as the extremely rare blue and yellow-backed duiker. It is also one of the best places to view leopard and, a rarity for Zambia, cheetah. The later are oddly found as happily ensconced among the dense Miombo woodlands as they are in their preferred habitat of flat open plains. Kafue boasts some of the highest concentrations of painted dogs anywhere in Africa as well as, it is said, the largest of Africa’s crocodiles.
What makes Zambia so special is that the animals roam on gigantic tracts of relatively unspoiled plains and forests, and all are less than a day’s drive from the capital city. Any visitor here will get the feeling that they alone bear witness to nature’s finest of spectacles. It is as if, like Livingstone himself, they are discovering the heart of Africa for the first time.
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