About Zambia

Zambia offers many wonderful travel opportunities. I've put together some good reasons to go on safari in Zambia, followed by some important considerations for travel here.

Birds: So much of Africa is a birder's paradise but Zambia leads the continent in maintaining this reputation. Some of its rarer birds are Wattled cranes, Shoebill storks, Black-cheeked lovebirds, Chaplin's barbets, and Pel's Fishing owls. Top destinations for twitchers are Liuwa Plains National Park, Nov-Dec and April-May for waterbird migrants; Bangweulu Swamps, Apr – May for Shoebill storks; and Luangwa National Park, Sept – Nov for Carmine bee-eater colonies (pictured). My backyard is my favorite place for bird watching. My sighting list is growing: bulbuls, bou bous, babblers, barbets, go away birds, drongos, flycatchers, sunbirds, lizard buzzards, pearl spotted owls, nightjars, rollers, glossy starlings, waxbills, orioles, doves, hoopoes, and coucals...

Wild Dogs: With a population dwindling to less than 3,000 in the whole of southern Africa, wild dogs are seen in Zambia more frequently than they are in Tanzania. I saw "the dogs" twice in two days in Luangwa NP. What a rush! Within Zambia, the dogs can be spotted in Kafue, Luangwa, Liuwa and Lower Zambezi National Parks. I have a friend's photograph of a dog running through a Liuwa Plains lagoon framed on my wall at home. She took it earlier this year.

Leopards: Zambia is a great place for seeing leopards, nocturnal cats, because it allows night game drives in parks such as the Lower Zambezi, Luangwa and Kafue. I saw a record five leopards on one night drive in Luangwa. It's difficult to top that.

Sable antelope: I have always hoped to see sable antelope in southern Tanzania, but Zambia's Kafue National Park finally granted my wish. I was leaving the Nanzhila Plains area of the park early one morning when a magnificent sable buck materialized out of the mists. We paused to scrutinize each other. He was coal-black with a white blaze on his forehead and with great, backward-curving horns. The male sable must take top prize as Africa's most beautiful antelope. (pictured)

Roan antelope: Another rare antelope that I have seen nowhere else but in Tanzania's Selous Game Reserve but with greater frequency in Kafue and Luangwa National Parks.

Lechwe: These are an aquatic antelope like sitatunga which are found in strong numbers in Zambia. Three subspecies occur here – the Red, Black and the Kafue lechwe. They are very handsome animals and can be very shy. Photographers take note: you get a lot of backend shots.

Indigenous species: Luangwa National Park has its own subspecies of giraffe called Thornicroft; of zebra called Crayshaw's; and of wildebeest known as Cookson's. The Thornicroft giraffe is darker when it matures, his patches turning a lovely deep chocolate brown; the Crayshaw's zebra have brown shadow stripes among the black and white; while the tawny-colored Cookson's is the best looking wildebeest of its kind.

Hippos: Should you seek the experience of being kept awake all night by a hippo grazing by your ear on the other side of your reed or canvas wall – no camp needs to worry about cutting the grass - then Zambia is your place, where the Zambezi, Luangwa and Kafue Rivers all support some of the greatest populations of hippos. The only other places I have encountered that many hippo are Kenya's Tsavo National Parks, and Tanzania's Selous Game Reserve and Katavi National Park.

Wildlife phenomenon: Northern Tanzania has its wildebeest migration in the Serengeti National Park. Zambia has its fruit bat migration in Kasanka National Park. Come late October through December, the rainy season, enormous numbers of bats arrive to roost in the park's evergreen swamp forest. At dusk the bats take to the air in their millions. Visitors view them from a tree-hide overlooking the swamp. I have always loved bats! When I lived in Dar es Salaam, a favourite activity at the end of the day was to sit on the veranda and watch the bats leave their roosts in the palm trees. Zambia also has its mini-wildebeest migration in remote Liuwa National Park when some 35,000 antelope return from Angola to birth on the Zambezi floodplain, also during the rainy season, November through March is best. (See the Liuwa trip report which follows.)

Excellent guiding: Zambia's wildlife guides must pass official guide training courses. As a result, the guiding standards are truly impressive. Furthermore, the history of Luangwa National Park centers on a few individuals who came to the valley beginning in the 1960s to apprentice with the legendary Norman Carr who, in his job as ranger for the new Luangwa National Park, saw the potential for photographic tourism and set up the first wilderness camps there. These first trainees of Norman run most of the valley's successful safari lodges and camps today. They still escort safaris periodically, and if you happen to sign on, you are in for a treat. You have a bona fide Bush Master at the helm.

Walking: Zambia contends that it is the true birthplace of walking safaris, for which it thanks Norman Carr. Norman established a series of small bush camps within a day's walking distance of each other, which served as satellites to a main lodge. This remains how Luangwa manages its safaris today, and it has proven to be a highly successful method of running safaris, ensuring diversity to the overall experience. Visitors begin at the "mother" lodges from which they make their way to the bush camps. The main lodges offer game drives in vehicles. The bush camps provide an opportunity to walk, although many of them also offer vehicle support as well these days. Combined with the expertise of Zambia's guides, walking here is among the best that Africa offers.

Night Safaris: Already mentioned are the increased chances of spotting leopard because of the availability of night safaris in Zambian national parks. Along with a whole lot of other exciting animals you might see, such as wild dogs, serval cats, civets, genets, porcupines, pythons, lions and owls. Because the night safari is a continuation of the game drive which departs late afternoon, you also get sundowners in the bush every night, a very addictive Zambian safari tradition and a sure way of never missing one of those famous African sunsets.

Tourist Numbers: Compared to East Africa's, Zambia's camps are tiny, often catering to twelve people tops. Combine this fact with the rule in Luangwa National Park that permits only four vehicles at a sighting at one time, and you get an impressive quality of wildlife experience which is worth what you pay for it. (More than you pay for your Tanzanian safari, although not by much these days!) The focus is currently on encouraging much greater numbers of visitors to Zambia so this might have to change, but right now, if you are tired of overcrowded safari circuits, Zambia is the place for you.

Genuine hospitality: There is a level of attention paid to each guest's needs that might be a reflection of shorter seasons (see below), smaller camps and a manageable number of visitors, which, when combined, don't leave the operators so jaded with their industry. But I also find Zambia a truly welcoming place, and Zambians a truly welcoming people, who offer freely of their time and information, and where operators in the parks work together to maintain high standards.

Considerations

Short safari season: Zambia's signature parks and camps open June through November. Outside of these times, accessibility is limited due to seasonal flooding of the major rivers and to tracks that have turned into quagmires. Compared to East Africa, this is a smaller window of opportunity for visitors. (This is also a reason why Zambia costs more.) The exception is South Luangwa National Park, where visitors fly in to enjoy what is called the "emerald season". Several (not all) accommodations remain open. Some all-weather tracks exist for game viewing but river travel along the swollen rivers is utilized more at this time. If you want to see large numbers of wildlife then the dry season, and later on in the dry season besides (August, September, and October) is still your best bet. But, if you want to enjoy a season when birds and wildlife are courting and breeding, when the bush is lush, and share Zambia with fewer people (even less than what it receives!) while paying less, then you should consider the rainy months of December through March – the "emerald season". Any of us who live in Africa tend to love its green and off-seasons the best. Photographers might want to consider November: the early rains have cleared the air of smoke and dust, the vegetation hasn’t grown high yet, nor have the animals dispersed from the water sources.

Fly-in and out-safaris dominate: Zambia's poor roads have contributed to a safari industry in Lower Zambezi and Luangwa National Parks which flies its visitors in and out and which tends to be, however pricey, the most economical method of transport. However, improved infrastructure opens up the option of heading off the beaten path in a vehicle on a trip that includes more than just the country's premier parks, either in a car self-driven and self-contained (meaning everything you need for camping is provided, right down to small refrigerator) or in one arranged by a ground operator which comes with a driver/guide and with all the logistics of the trip booked as well. You don't have to rough it by camping; you can go by road and stay in some very comfortable places. It isn't as easy to arrange vehicles as it is in Tanzania where road safaris are the bread and butter of the tourism industry, but some Zambian ground operators are now stepping in fill this niche.

Self-drive safaris: Kafue National Park in particular lends itself to self-exploration. You can pick up a self-contained Land Rover from suppliers in Livingstone, and work your way from the south to the north of the park. Or you can start in Lusaka and work your way from the north to the south. This is not for everybody nor should it be undertaken outside of the dry season or without help. You need to carry a GPS and a cell or satellite phone. Flying is definitely easier on the behind, but what fun it is for road warriors when they meet at the end of the day and discuss their rigs and route conditions.

Off the beaten path: While most off-the-beaten path destinations in Zambia have landing strips if you can afford to fly in by chartered bush plane, going by road is the best option. The Mutinondo Wilderness, a private reserve on the edge of the Luangwa escarpment where you can hike and ride horses is one example of a great destination outside of the parks. Unique accommodations such as Shiwa Ng'andu (a country estate built by a British aristocrat in the early 1900s) or Kapishya Hot Springs (on the same Shiwa estate) are others. Victoria Falls may be Zambia's most famous waterfall but it has many more dramatic ones. Kalambo Falls in Northern Zambia is the second highest in Africa and roughly twice the height of Victoria Falls. Ngonye Falls in Western Zambia is more impressive water. There is handy book about Zambia's lesser known falls called, appropriately, Guide to Little-known Waterfalls of Zambia by Quentin Allen (a talented artist too) and Ilse Mwanza, among other contributors. It makes an invaluable addition to books you should put together for a self-drive road trip. Zambia's major annual cultural festivals come under off- the-beaten path category since a good vehicle is required to get to them. The most famous is the Kuomboka of the Lozi people in Western Zambia, held typically in March and April; followed by the Mutomboko of the Lunda people in Northern Zambia, held at end of July; the Kulamba of the Chewa people in Eastern Zambia, held at the end of August, (and which provides the rare opportunity to see the masked dancers of a secret society); and the Nc'wala of the Ngoni people of Eastern Zambia, held in February. There are a host of other smaller cultural events besides. Arguably, those festivals which take place during the dry season (July and August) are easier to incorporate into a wildlife program since this is when the majority of people visit. There is the additional problem that the dates of many of these ceremonies are only known a few weeks in advance. But anything is possible with a little flexibility on your part and some well-tailored contingency plans. For example, you can combine the Kuomboka ceremony in Western Zambia with a visit to Liuwa National Park. (See trip report which follows.)

14-10-2009

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