Zambia’s Wild West really is one of the great wilderness areas in Africa and is teeming with a stunning diversity and abundance of wildlife. Why not join this wonderfully remote tailor made safari?
The national parks situated in Zambia’s eastern regions garner most of the attention, but for this tailor made safari, you venture in the other direction to the country’s Wild West. The expansive plains, woodlands and thriving wetlands found way out here are home to no end of magnificent wildlife and the sightings here are equally, if not more, rewarding than those in the rest of Zambia. Your itinerary focuses on the two best national parks in the west – Kafue and Liuwa Plain.
The enormous and pristine Kafue National Park has largely escaped any form of development. It encompasses an incredible array of different habitats, which in turn supports a fantastic variety of fauna. During your time in the Kafue you can hope to encounter lion, cheetah, leopard, African wild dog, African elephant and a myriad of ungulates. In fact, the Kafue is home to a quite remarkable 19 species of antelope.
Liuwa Plain National Park offers the ideal combination with Kafue as it is one of the few wildlife locations that is even more remote. Liuwa Plain is one of Africa’s least visited parks, but despite this its wildlife experience is often second to none. Travelling in November and December coincides with one of the best times to see the second-biggest wildebeest migration in Africa, which happens in this secluded part of Zambia. In addition to this, you can observe prides of lion, solitary leopards and cheetahs, packs of wild dog and clans of hyena.
Suggested Itinerary
Day1: Depart UK
Depart the UK on an overnight flight to Lusaka.
Day2: Arrive Lusaka & fly to Kafue National Park
After arriving in Lusaka, you continue by onward charter flight to Kafue National Park. You fly over the undulating plains before descending and transferring to your accommodation in the Kafue. If times allows, you can head out on your first vehicle safari of the trip.
Over the next three full days you have a series of guided safari activities to explore the different habitats of Kafue National Park and enjoy its varied and rich wildlife.
You explore by vehicle, by boat and on foot to discover this park from as many perspectives as possible and maximise your opportunities for wildlife viewing. Some of the species that you can hope to see include leopard, lion, hippo, African fish eagle, oribi, crocodile, spotted hyena, Ross’s turaco, grysbok, African wild dog and many more.
You return to camp during the day for your meals, and at night you should see a spectacular array of stars if there's no cloud cover.
Day6: Fly to Liuwa Plain National Park
After breakfast, you transfer to the airstrip for your charter flight over to Liuwa Plain National Park. After touching down at Kalabo airstrip, you're met by your guide and transferred to your mobile tented camp, which is pitched in the prime location for hopefully witnessing the wildebeest migration.
Accommodation: Liuwa Plain mobile tented camp 4-nights
Days7-9: Explore Liuwa Plain National Park
Over the course of the next three days, you explore Liuwa Plain National Park and hopefully observe the wildebeest migration, as well as the predators it attracts and the other intriguing wildlife that can be seen here.
The main way for you to cover ground in this park is by vehicle safari, and this is your primary activity for observing wildlife. There's a delightful assortment of carnivores that you could see, such as cheetah, African wild dog, lion and hyena. Other species you may sight are plains zebra, tsessbe, eland, oribi, side-striped jackal and banded mongoose.
Once again, you return to camp for your meals during the day, and you can also enjoy the wildflowers that will be in full bloom as well as the big skies.
Day10: Fly back to Lusaka & depart
This morning you take a charter flight back to Lusaka in time to check in for onward overnight connections back to the UK.
Day11: Arrive UK
Key info
Our trip ideas are offered to inspire you and can be tailored to suit your requirements.
Duration and price including flights from/to UK: 11 daysfrom £6,895 pp
Duration and price excluding international flights: 9 daysfrom £6,295 pp
Kafue is one of the world’s largest national parks. It’s has a rich variety of wildlife and a profusion of game who are attracted by the diverse habitats, which range from woodland opening onto wide, grassy dambos. The vast, rolling Busanga Plain, fed by the Lufupa River, attracts large herds of red lechwe and buffalo.
Find Out More about {acc:title}
Where: North Western Province
Ideal for viewing: Cape buffalo, defassa waterbuck, lion, red lechwe, sable
Excellent for: Walking safaris, Vehicle safaris, River safaris
Liuwa is a pristine wilderness. Its wooded areas offer excellent birding, especially during the October rains when the remote grasslands are a carpet of wild flowers. And the rains bring herds of wildebeest, mingled with zebra, from across the Angolan border for Africa’s second largest migration.
Find Out More about {acc:title}
Where: Western Province
Ideal for viewing: African wildcat, serval, steenbok, tsessebe, wild dog
Excellent for: Walking safaris, Vehicle safaris, River safaris, Birdwatching
Suggested accommodation is shown below.
Please
contact us
for further recommendations.
Taking its name from the local Kaonde name for the monkey-bread tree, Musekese is a small camp situated on the Kafue River, with superb views over the floodplain. Four chalets are surrounded by the sounds of the bush, with leopard coughing at night, hippo snorting and the eerie call of the scops owl.
Find Out More about Musekese Camp
