Zambia Safaris Tailored for you by Experts
Zambia is one of the most stunningly beautiful countries, with so many areas that remain unexplored. It still epitomises the real, raw Africa with so much space and beauty and with the added bonus of a phenomenal amount of game. The regions are so diverse and different and offer such different experiences. Best known for its walking safaris (they operate proper walking safaris in Africa like nobody else does!), from one to five days (look at zambia walking safaris), but equally the game drives in open vehicles are fabulous, as you smell the scent of the wild sage bushes! Accommodation ranges from fly camps with a private guide, to a variety of tented camps in between to thoroughly indulgent and luxurious lodges and private villas. Zambia also has some of most knowledgeable guides! There are so many beautiful regions – but for those seeking something a little different, a pristine, primeval Africa, then the Liuwa plains must top our list! No tourists, wonderful wildlife including birds and with the most gorgeous wild flowers which covers the vast, open grasslands. The landscape is completely flat and the skies vast – here you really are in the middle of wild, remote and isolated territory. This follows north Luangwa, known for its concentration of wildlife and again, have the luxury of the area to oneself! The Busanga Plains are also so special, known more as a mini Serengeti with its large herds of wildebeest and zebra and fantastic birdlife! The Luangwa Valley is at its most dramatic in the Emerald Season, when the Luangwa River flows over into brimming lagoons. Boating into these lagoons, flooded ebony groves and flowing channels gives one a view of the Valley which is normally inaccessible during this season. This is our favourite time of visiting the south Luangwa, the flowers are in bloom, the animals are calving and again, few tourists, although many first time safari goers would probably want to visit this region in the dry season from June through October. Another area is the Bangweulu wetlands, just north of Kasanka – one of Africa’s most spectacular wildlife secrets with over 100,000 black lechwe and the world’s most visible shoebill storks. Kasanka is famed for having over 400 bird species, as well as rare species of antelope. Livingstone and the upper Zambezi and lower Zambezi are simply gorgeous to spend time either game viewing or simply relaxing, or trying a spot of fishing and canoeing! This country is equally good for families and couples alike! Call one of our experts from Zambia to tailor a safari of a lifetime just for you!
Highlights of Zambia
- Livingstone (The Zambian side of Victoria Falls) for beauty, white water rafting, canoeing, visiting schools.
- The Busanga Plains - also called Little Serengeti due to its amazing wildlife and birdlife and savannah plains.
- North Luangwa – Remote, gorgeous for walking, uncommercial
- South Luangwa – a range of luxury lodges and bush camps lie side by side and wonderful game viewing by vehicle and on foot.
- Microlighting over wildlife areas in South Luangwa
- Fly camping in South Luangwa
- Some of the finest guides in Africa
- Canoeing down the Lower Zambezi
- Fishing on the Lower Zambezi
- The Liuwa Plain – during April and May and Nov and Dec. Herds of 30 000 blue wildebeest, zebra, red lechwe, oribi and steenbuck and good hyaena populations. Led by a first class guide for 4 or 5 nights. An absolute must, this is one of the most beautiful and pristine regions and we can’t recommend it highly enough! If one has the budget, everybody should incorporate the Liuwa Plains as part of their Zambia safari.
- Game drives in the Kafue – taking over an entire owner managed lodge for yourselves
- Culture – Spend the night in a local village, learning all about their customs
- Private villas and houses in the south Luangwa and lower Zambezi and Livingstone – perfect for friends and famillies.
- Wet season boat safaris in the south Luangwa – our favourite time to travel and have the park to yourself! See the migrant bird species and myriads of animals during the calving season. Great for butterflies and trees and plants in flower.
- See the Shoebill Stork in the Bangweulu Swamps. This is another absolutely beautiful region and is a set departure.
- Special Photographic safaris
- Special art safaris
- Lochinvar National Park – beautiful remote park, nobody else there, amazing antelope and birdlife
- Family safaris to Zambia revolving around small children, teaching them how to identify tracks, bush cooking, learning about trees and plants and different cultures.
General information on Zambia: The Luangwa (North and south), Lower Zambezi and Kafue National Park, together with Lochinvar, offer visitors an extraordinary variety of both animals and birds; Luangwa has probably the most prolific animal population in Africa. The major highlight of Zambia is the fact that the camps that we use are all owner managed, which speaks for itself. We offer superlative walking safaris in both the north and south Luangwa regions, lasting from two days to two weeks, to the Busanga Plains and Kafue and the scenically beautiful lower Zambezi, Zambia has something to offer both the novice and most jaded of safari travelers!
The accommodation has come a long way; one can either choose from a fly camp (see our accommodation guide) to a lovely, comfortable tented camp with en suite loo and shower (this is the category that most of the camps are designed), to an utterly luxurious camp or lodge, with huge rooms and claw baths with stunning views across the river. We also have a selection of beautiful villas – perfect for families and friends traveling together!
South Luangwa: Here we have the largest choice of camps and lodges, some with hides from where one can take excellent photographs, to bush camps and luxurious lodges. We also offer fly camping for a night or two with your own private guide. This region is
renowned for its concentration of leopard as well as an all round, excellent diversity of wildlife. It is also known for Thornicroft’s giraffe, endemic to the region.
North Luangwa: Fabulous, remote and particularly good for walking again. Large concentrations of wildlife and just a couple of lovely, fairly rustic camps exist in this region. If one likes a sense of space and freedom, coupled with superb scenery, great walking, extraordinary guides, then this region is for you. Far from the madding crowds!
The Busanga Plains, often overlooked, is home to one of the greatest concentrations of wildlife and a mini Serengeti in itself with its wide open plains, large herds of wildebeest and zebra and numerous prides of black-maned lions as well as flocks of crowned cranes. It is also a region of extreme beauty.
Kafue National Park is also beautiful it and it does offer an amazing safari experience to those who are not first timers and are happy to work hard to find their game. One should see Sable and herds of Roan as well as good lion and leopard and wild dog. The birding is stunning and for bird watchers, Kafue is a must!
Lower Zambezi: As well as game drives and walking, there’s canoeing in Zambia, of course, on the lower Zambezi staying at one of the beautiful lower Zambezi camps which is family owned. Tiger fishing is unprecedented along the Zambezi, many a client has cast their rod to catch the eponymous Tiger. Quite aside from the fishing, this is one of the most beautiful areas in Zambia, as the camps are placed along the Zambezi River, affording the most amazing views. This is one of our favourite regions again!
Upper Zambezi – Livingstone or Mosi Oa Tunya- Begin or finish off your safari at Livingstone near Victoria Falls staying at one of the small and personal lodges on the banks of the Zambezi – or on an almost-private island (which could be taken over for a small group). Livingstone Island is unmissable: perched literally on the very edge of the Falls, a champagne lunch with the spray, rainbow and magnificence of the Falls as a backdrop is never to be forgotten. Canoe down the river and walk and have lunch on various islands.
Don’t forget that Zambia has some luxury, private, houses that invite relaxation, too.
Lochinvar National Park A lovely combination is to explore the magnificent Lochinvar National Park, one of the most beautiful and rarely visited in Africa (which makes it twice a joy . This is particularly good for birdlife and also rare species of antelope.
And lastly, for those that have seen most of Africa, the most beautiful region is that of the Liuwa plains in the far western corner of Zambia. One of the remotest and wildest regions in Africa, it is spectacularly beautiful. This notorious status is due to the wildebeest population – some 35,000 blue wildebeest that move between the western boundary and the centre of the plains. Many say this is the third largest migration in Africa. However the movement is not en masse. You tend to see large herds of up to 1000 wildebeest, with zebra and sometimes tsessebe amongst them. So why have so few people been there? It is extremely hard to get to, being cut off other than by boat for 4 months of the year (Jan – April), and the terrain is fairly rough. The bird life throughout the year is spectacular. It is home to large groups of crowned crane, sometime numbering several hundred and often mingling with the many wattled cranes that are never far from view. Bustards, both Denham and white-bellied, are common and secretary birds stalk the plains. The water birds are diverse in species and the sheer numbers are staggering. Flocks containing hundreds of pelicans, egrets, spoonbills, yellow and open billed storks gather at the pans, which are often a white carpet of water lilies. The waders run around the shores of these pans keeping any birder occupied for hours. In December the resident birds are joined by many thousands of migrants passing through. Other than wildebeest, there are zebra, tsessebe, red lechwe, oribi and steinbuck with (the less common) roan, eland and buffalo. The predators include hyaena, large packs of wild dog, cheetah and a single remaining lioness. These safaris operate in December, May and June. Please contact us for further details.
We also have a scheduled, set departure which visits south Luangwa, lower Zambezi and the Bangweulu Swamps. The Bangweulu wetlands, just north of Kasanka are one of Africa’s most spectacular wildlife secrets with over 100,000 black lechwe and the world’s most visible shoebill storks. Kasanka is famed for having over 400 bird species, as well as both the tsessebe and sitatunga species of antelope. The South Luangwa and Zambezi River add to the wildlife experience with the chance to see wild dog and explore the lush, colourful landscape at this time of year. May is the best time of year for this!
