Earlier this month I was fortunate enough to be invited by Wilderness Safaris to experience their camps in South Luangwa and Kafue National Parks in Zambia.
Most visitors to Southern Africa first consider Kruger National Park in South Africa, Etosha in Namibia or the Okavango Delta and the Chobe region of Botswana as a safari destination. I have only made it as far as the lower Zambezi and was incredibly intrigued by the rest of the country and what it has to offer the intrepid explored. I had no idea what was in store!
My journey started early on Friday morning from Cape Town through Johannesburg and on to Lusaka flying South African Airways. As with many Southern African countries there are no direct flights from Cape Town, you do have to connect via Johannesburg. I arrived in Lusaka at 1pm to be greeted by a blast of hot air, the temperature already sitting at 36 degrees Celsius (97 degrees Fahrenheit) in October. Formalities done, we boarded the charter flight from Lusaka to South Luangwa that was to be about an hour in duration.
The first highlight of the trip! On reaching South Luangwa our pilots lowered the aircraft and we were soon skimming over the Luangwa River, close enough to make out the hippopotamuses in the water and huge Nile crocodiles lining the sandbanks. Banking left and right we followed the river for about 10 minutes before veering off and landing on the Kalamu Airstrip. Because it was quite late in the day and we only had one night at Kalamu we opted to go straight on game drive.
The first thing I noticed was the colours, rich greens contrasting with the black soil that I was later to discover is known as black-cotton soil. This soil covers vast stretches of national park land, and is the reason that Zambia is a very seasonal destination. Once the rain hits this soil it turns into a cement-like mud that makes in virtually impenetrable by even the best 4×4 vehicle. The water then collects and the whole area is turned into a floodplain, practically inaccessible.
Large sausage trees dominate the landscape with some of the largest pods I have ever seen! Around every turn we spotted something new: various species of antelope, a troop of yellow baboons and some magnificent elephants. Next highlight of the trip – our first sundowner stop in Zambia! We pulled over to a spot on a steep bank only to find about 20 hippo calling and cavorting in the river below. It was probably one of the most incredible sundowner experiences I have ever had – a gin and tonic never tasted as good!
On our way back the third highlight of the trip! We found a leopard and her cub walking through the grass plains just outside of camp. They were a bit nervous, but we were able to get a fairly good view of them both. Our game viewing was off to a very good start indeed!
Kalamu Camp is one of Wilderness Safaris newest addition to their portfolio and is situated in the Luamfwa Concession in the southern region of the South Luangwa. And if you’re wondering yes I did get quite tongue-tied working my way through these Zambian names!
Although the Luamfwa is not a private concession it is too far south to be accessed by other game drive vehicles. Essentially there is only one other small walking-tours operator in the area, but otherwise the guests have this entire region to themselves. It is an exceptionally seasonal camp operating mainly between May/June and October/November, depending on the rains and the water level. The camp consists of only 4 tented suites and is completely broken down and rebuilt each season. You would be forgiven in thinking this camp is rustic – each suite is beautifully appointed and the attention to detail is prevalent throughout. My favourite feature in the main area of the camp is the mist generating fan!
After a rather restless night of listening to the elephants and hippo nosh at the vegetation around my tent I awoke early morning to catch the sunrise. Unfortunately there was no time for a game drive. We gulped down some fantastically strong Zambian coffee and said our farewells before heading back to the aircraft for our 2 hour flight to Kafue.
The charter aircraft flight into Kafue is nowhere near as dramatic, but highlight number four was yet to come! Waiting on the airstrip was a four seater helicopter that was to be our transfer from the airstrip into the Busanga Plains and on to Shumba Camp, our first stop. As there were eight of us we split up and the first group headed out while the rest of us went to have a look at Lunga River Lodge, about 5 minutes from the airstrip. Lunga is one of the more basic camps offering boating as well as game drives. This is a particularly good camp to use in dry season when there is no water on the Busanga Plains.
To give you an overview Kafue National Park covers an area of about 22,500 square kilometres. Wilderness Safaris are the only operators in this national park and own four camps in the northern sector. The northern sector is where one would find the Busanga Plains which covers an area of about 750 square kilometres. These open plains play host to a number of antelope including puku, red lechwe & roan as well as herds of zebra and buffalo. Cheetah and lion abound, and on the fringes of the plains you can very well spot a leopard roaming.
Back to our trip…
We had returned to the airstrip to meet the helicopter and as there were a few nervous passengers I delightfully accepted the front seat next to the pilot. For the first time I was at a complete loss for words as we flew over the canopy tops, spotting vulture nests and soaring with the eagles. The woodland opened up onto the Busanga Plains and we experienced our first sighting of roan antelope from the air. Absolute exhilaration!
There are three camps in the Busanga Plains; namely Shumba Camp, Busanga Bush Camp and Kapinga Camp. Shumba and Kapinga are the premier camps offering lavish tented suites with private cushioned decks overlooking the plains and Busanga is slightly more rustic, although not without its own charm! Kapinga is situated in the fringe of the woodland forest and was my personal favourite – the main area is beautifully constructed around the surrounding trees and the décor is just gorgeous. This is the area where one is most likely to find the leopard, although we were not fortunate on this particular trip. For more detailed information on these camps please feel free to contact me.
We did however spot two male cheetah on our first game drive, and the general plains game was plentiful. The birding was phenomenal! Cranes, fish eagles, kingfishers a-plenty, and many others to keep the twitters in our group delighted! It seems the more time we spent in the region, the more species of animal and bird we encountered. Who knows what we would have found had we more time! I was particularly eager to track the pack of wild dog that were seen earlier roaming the plain, but unfortunately time was against us. We finally said our goodbyes Monday morning, enjoying another breathtaking helicopter trip to the landing strip, before boarding our charter flight back to Lusaka.
Shumba Camp Busanga Bush Camp Kapinga Camp
Zambia is not a safari destination for the faint of heart. It is wilder than most and a spirit of adventure is a prerequisite! Season falls over the winter months and temperatures can drop considerably, rising to the high 30’s as one approaches mid October. Tsetse Fly are prevalent in the country as is malaria so precautions are necessary. The roads can be muddy and difficult to traverse in the early part of the season, and heavily rutted towards the end. I would not be far wrong in saying guests can get a little mucky on game activities, but that’s all part of the adventure!
Having said that it is a truly beautiful destination and well worth adding to your list of safari experiences! Hopefully I’ll get a chance to go back and explore it in greater detail. Watch this space!!
