South Luangwa National Park is for many people the best park in Africa and it was here that walking safaris were pioneered.
The concentration of game around the Luangwa river and it’s ox bow lagoons is among the most intense in Africa.
The 9050 square kilometre Luangwa park is acknowledged as one of the top 10 game parks in Africa with a wide variety of wildlife birds and vegetation.
Five days in this wonderful park (which is home to over 15,000 elephant, dense populations of hippo, leopard and lion, as well as the endemic Thornicroft’s giraffe and Cookson’s wildebeest) should be split between a traditional safari (in a lodge or tented camp) and a more adventurous walking safari (staying in rustic bush camps).
A place in Africa with a special appeal …. for its remote location, lack of crowds, wildlife and “wild-ness”
South Luangwa Park
Near the north-eastern border of Zambia lies the Luangwa Valley – twice the size of Wales it supports one of the greatest concentrations of wildlife to be found.
The ‘Valley’ lies at the tail end of the Great Rift Valley, which accounts for the spectacular escarpment scenery.
As the Rift reaches Zambia, it divides; one arm to the east encompasses Lake Malawi and the western arm becomes the Luangwa Valley, which stretches some seven hundred kilometres at an average width of about one hundred kilometres. The Valley floor is about a thousand meters lower than the surrounding plateau.
Landscape
The Luangwa River which meanders down the middle of this is the lifeblood of the wildlife. It is a dynamic river which constantly changes its course forming ‘ox bow’ lagoons as it winds through the flood plain. These lagoons are very important to the ecology of the riverine zone and account for the high carrying capacity of the area.
The changing seasons add to the Park’s richness ranging from dry, bare bushveld in the winter to a lush green wonderland in the summer months. There are 60 different animal species and over 400 different bird species. The only notable exception is the rhino, sadly poached to extinction.
Animals in South Luangwa park
The park has 14 different antelope species, most of which are easily seen on game and night drives.
Of the primates, baboons and vervet monkeys are prolific. More scarce is Maloney’s monkey. Present, but unlikely to be seen except on night drives is the night ape, and the nocturnal bush baby.
Hyenas are fairly common throughout the valley and their plaintive, eerie cry, so characteristic of the African bush can be heard on most nights.
South Luangwa has a good population of leopard but they are not that easy to spot and tend to retreat when they hear vehicles. Many of the Lodge’s game trackers are skilled in finding leopards on night drives however, and often visitors are rewarded with a full view of a kill.