Join this tailor-made safari to Kafue National Park as you explore the park’s variety of habitats in search of memorable and wonderful wildlife sightings.
Kafue National Park is one of the remaining tracts of true wilderness in Africa and it offers some of the most rewarding wildlife viewing on the continent. Covering an area of more than 22,000 square kilometres, this park is the second-largest protected area in Africa. Such is the size of this enormous park that it encompasses an incredible range of habitats, and you will notice dramatic changes whilst exploring the Kafue in search of fascinating fauna.
In the north you can find the undulating plains and swamps of the Busanga. The plains in particular are well known for their prides of lion, but also cheetah which are rarely seen in other parts of Zambia. Spotted hyena and African wild dog can be observed here too. All the predators are attracted to this northern sector by the myriad of ungulates that tend to congregate in the Busanga region. Large herds of blue wildebeest and zebra move across these plains and wetlands, and these are joined by a great diversity of antelope. In fact, the Kafue National Park is home to a quite astonishing 19 species of antelope including oribi, eland, grysbok and Defassa waterbuck.
The centre of the Kafue is dominated by miombo woodland, and to the south it is typically sandy plains. However, this is all interspersed by the evergreen woodland that clings to the banks of the Kafue River and its various tributaries that carve through the park, creating a veined and intricate network. It is these forested areas that provide excellent habitat for leopard and during your time in the Kafue the chances are good of seeing these alluring felines.
In Kafue, the beautifully authentic and comfortable Musekese and Ntemwa-Busanga Camp will provide you with the perfect bases for hopefully countless opportunities to enjoy the wildlife and to experience the varying habitats of Kafue.
Suggested Itinerary
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Day 1:
Depart UK
This evening you depart the UK on overnight international flights to Zambia (via Dubai).
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Day 2:
Arrive Lusaka & transfer to Kafue National Park
On arrival in Lusaka, Zambia’s capital city, you are met and driven to the Kafue National Park. You arrive in the early evening as the drive will take around four to five hours as you stop along the way to stretch our legs. Once you reach Kafue National Park, you check in at your first camp, where you spend the next four nights.
Accommodation: Musekese Camp, 3-nights
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Days 3-4
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Start exploring Kafue National Park
For the next two days, you have a series of guided safari activities to explore the different habitats of the Kafue National Park and enjoy its varied and rich wildlife.
Vehicle safaris in the early morning and late afternoon will be your main way of observing this wild and remote region of Western Zambia and watching the animals in their natural environment. However, you cab also undertake other activities during your stay.
Boating safaris offer a completely different perspective on the park. There are few better experiences in Zambia than navigating the waters of the Kafue River and whilst on board you should be treated to a number of photographic and wildlife viewing opportunities. Amongst other species, you may see leopard, hippo, crocodile, African fish eagle and half-collared kingfisher.
Another staple safari activity in Zambia is the walking safari, and the Kafue National Park is no exception. Walks through the bush provide another completely different outlook and will allow you to admire more of the flora and enjoy some of the smaller wildlife found here. Walking safaris are also a great way to see the birdlife with notable highlights being kori bustard, secretary bird, grey crowned crane, Ross's turaco, pale-billed hornbill and (if you are lucky) Pel's fishing owl.
You return to camp during the day for your meals and at night you should see a spectacular array of stars if there is no cloud cover.
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Day 5:
Transfer to Busanga Plains
This morning you depart Musekese Camp and begin driving north to the Busanga Plains and your next camp. This transfer is effectively a vehicle safari as you keep an eye out for any wildlife that you come across, and you don't need to arrive at our destination until lunchtime. Later in afternoon, you have a game drive for our first opportunity to encounter wildlife on the plains.
Accommodation: Ntemwa-Busanga Camp, 4-nights
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Days 6-8
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Continue to explore Busanga Plains
Over the course of the next three days, you continue to explore the Busanga Plains by vehicle during the day and at nighttime. The wildlife of the Busanga Plains is as varied as it is numerous. Regional specials such as roan and sable antelope are common sightings here, along with thousands of red lechwe there is no shortage of game to view and photograph.
Busanga is also home to some of the largest herds of buffalo in the park, with numbers over 600, a sight to behold. The Southern Plains areas are home to wildebeest and zebra, along with herds of the diminutive oribi and secretive reedbuck. Of course the predators are here too, with a dominant lion pride, the ‘Papyrus Pride’ resident to the wetter plains in the north and both the Moshi and Lufupa prides utilising the areas to the north and south of Ntemwa-Busanga camp. Leopard are prominent as well, especially along the treeline of the plains, the same area that offers cheetah sightings from time to time and occasionally wild dog sightings.
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Day 9:
Return to Musekese
Following another vehicle safari on the Busanga Plains and some lunch, you return to Musekese on a game drive and this is where you will stay for your final night in Kafue after an unforgettable safari.
Accommodation: Musekese Camp, 1-night
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Day 10:
Return to Lusaka & departure
Today you return to Lusaka by road, arriving in time to connect with your onward flight.
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Day 11:
Arrive UK
