Zambia Holidays Top Five Safari Destinations
Zambia is Africa's best kept secret as far as safaris go. The country is
a virtual unknown in comparison to other more traditional destinations but Zambia
holidays can be every bit as good and in some cases even better.
This top five list of the best national parks and game reserves in the
country gives you a taste of what to expect. It has been compiled from Zambia
travel safari reviews at the African Safari Journals website, forums, travel magazines,
industry expert opinions and my own twenty year plus African safari experience.
Some experts have branded the Luangwa National Parks as one of the greatest
wildlife sanctuaries in the world because the density of game you can find here
mixed with the isolation and pure unadulterated wildness of it is almost without
compare.
Because it is reasonably undiscovered except to the locals in the know and a
select few foreign visitors, it hasn't been overrun by masses of tourists yet
and you can experience a safari here as it should be and some say that is the
best Africa has to offer.
There are over 60 species of animal here with the unfortunate exception of rhino
because they were poached into extinction, and over 400 different kinds of birds.
They all rely on and are drawn to the winding Luangwa river which is crowded
with some of the biggest concentrations of hippo and crocodile you will find
anywhere in Africa. It has been estimated that there are 50 hippos per kilometre
of this congested river.
The South Luangwa was the birthplace of the walking safari and it is still a
very popular way to do Zambia tours from a quality collection of safari lodges
and camps. Night drives are another excellent way to see leopard which are
reputed to be more regularly seen in this park than anywhere else in Africa
because of the high concentrations of the predator. Lions and even rare
sightings like honey badger, civet and wild dog are likely to be seen.
To take the true Zambia holidays safari adventure a step farther, the northern
Luangwa
area is even more remote, wild and isolated than the south and the wildlife and
bird viewing experience is from the top draw. Definitely one for the safari
cognoscenti.
View South Luangwa safari reviews »
2. Mosi-oa-Tunya NP
Despite its hard to pronounce name this Zambia holidays park has something very special up its
sleeve.
That awe inspiring wonder of the world: The Victoria Falls. As far as
natural spectacles go, this is one of the best in Africa. Mosi-oa-tunya can be
literally translated as "the smoke that thunders".
And thunder it does, so much so that the spray from the water crashing over the
edge into the gorge below is enough to drench you to the bone as you go closer.
The water travels onwards into a frothing maelstrom known aptly as the "boiling
pot" before breaking into numerous rapids as it makes it way underneath the
Victoria Falls bridge which connects Zimbabwe and Zambia and then farther along
into Batoka Gorge.
The park comprises the Falls and a small strip of land 66 kilometres long on the
North bank of the Zambezi which is worth a short visit to see what are probably
Zambia's only remaining rhino (the rest have been poached into extinction). You
might also see a small scattering of baboon, elephant, sable, giraffe, eland
buffalo and impala.
3. Kafue NP Zambia Holidays
This is the largest Zambia holidays national park and is situated in the western part
of the country.
The Kafue river provides the life-giving sustenance to a vast number of antelope
species like the red lechwe in their thousands, hartebeest, oribi, duker, sable,
roan, puka and waterbuck to name a few and the whole rouges gallery of predators
are accounted for here too. The only animal that you won't find on a Zambia
safari here is the giraffe.
It is advisable to go further north to the Basenga floodplain because game
spotting is much better there due to thick woodlands obscuring views in the
south. This floodplain sometimes retreats in the dry season trapping hapless
hippo and crocodile in an ever shrinking mud bath.
Some of the roads in the park are not in good condition and are only drivable
using a 4x4 vehicle and most of the safari lodges and accommodation is in the
North.
With over 400 bird species recorded such as the wattled crane, goliath heron
and purple crested lourie birders will have a ball here and budding fisherman
can get tackle and rods from the lodges to land fresh water pike, barbel and
bream.
View Kafue safari reviews »
4. Lochinvar NP
Another Zambia holidays national park situated on the Kafue river floodplain, this wetland and
savannah dominated national park has fewer mammals but is a bird paradise.
There is a large amount of Kafue lechwe (about 30 000) living here and some
wildebeest and zebra herds but the only big game you will find is restricted to
hippo, buffalo, leopard and spotted hyena but if you are a birder the over 420
species of bird will more than make up for that.
5. Lower Zambezi NP
One of Zambia's newest parks and it is still reasonably undeveloped but the
beauty of this park lies in the ability to get close to animals like elephant, buffalo, hippo and crocodile on both sides of
the river using canoe or motor boats
which they seem to ignore until you are virtually right on top of them.
And being predominantly a water park there are an amazing amount of bird species
here like the fish eagle, kingfishers, parrots, hornbills and lovebirds and for
the anglers there are tiger fish, bream and Vundu (a sort of catfish that can
weigh op to 50kg) inhibiting these waters just waiting to be pulled out on a
Zambia holidays safari.
View Lower Zambezi safari reviews »
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