KAFUE NATIONAL PARK SAFARIS

The Kafue National Park lies in central-western Zambia and covers an area the size of Wales. Despite the Park’s proximity to Lusaka, it has remained relatively underdeveloped and undiscovered allowing for a truly wild and diverse African Safari experience. The Kafue River and its tributaries supply water to a diversity of habitats, ranging from woodlands to wide open grassy plains known as “dambos” where huge numbers of antelope are attracted by the good grazing.

The outstanding Busanga Plains situated in the north-western section of the Park, is a vast floodplain fed by the Lufupa River system. This are of well watered grasslands attract masses of plains game which in turn attract the predators. Game viewing in this area is unrivalled with an incredible array of antelope including sable, eland, impala, duiker, sitatunga, wildebeest, waterbuck, and red lechwe to name a few. Large prides of lion, up to twenty strong, solitary leopards and cheetahs are the prime predators. It is not uncommon in the Kafue National Park to see lion chasing after red lechwe in water about half a metre deep.

In the south of the Kafue National Park the Kafue River runs into the Itezhi Tezhi Dam covering an area of 370 square kilometres. This massive dam is surrounded by a diverse range of vegetation from double canopy teak forests to “Miombo” woodland to vast grassy plains dotted with massive baobab trees. Game viewing in the south is more difficult than in the north of the Park due to the thick forests and woodlands, however, boat cruises on the dam provide excellent game viewing and bird watching.

Bird watching in the Kafue National Park is exceptional, especially along the rivers and open grasslands. There are reportedly over 400 species of bird most notably goliath herons, fish eagles, cormorants, spoonbills, waffled crone, and Pel’s fishing owl. Fishing in the hippo and crocodile filled rivers and lakes is also excellent.