About 30% of Zambia’s 752 614 square kilometers is reserved for wildlife. There are 20 national parks and 34 game management areas in the country. South Luangwa, Kafue and Lower Zambezi rank among the finest game parks in the world.
Found in the centre of western Zambia, Kafue National Park is the oldest and largest of Zambia’s national parks. It covers a massive 22,400 km2. First established as a National Park in the 1950’s by the legendary Norman Carr, Kafue is one of the largest national parks in the whole of Africa. Despite its size and prominent location only two hours drive from Livingstone, it remains little-known and largely unexplored with vast tracts of its virgin bush still untouched. Thanks to its size and variety of habitat types the Kafue holds a fantastic diversity of wildlife.
In recent years the Park has seen a well-managed growth in the number of Safari Camps and Lodges that operate in and around the Park. This new interest has brought with it more visitors and investment to the area, notably in infrastructure with a number of well-graded roads and airstrips.
The dominant vegetation type of the Kafue is called ‘Miombo’ which is typified by a semi-deciduous woodland comprising a number of three dominant genera of tree (Brachystegia, Julbernadia and Isoberlina), interspersed with seasonally flooded areas, often adjoining the main rivers and tributaries, locally called ‘Dambos’. These Dambos are a huge feature of the Kafue with most holding water well into the dryer months, creating lush fodder and a hive of activity for the grazers.
Open plains, large and small, are found throughout the Kafue, often dotted with thousands of small termite mounds, many of which are rubbed smooth and shiny by the bottoms of warthogs. These mounds are the perfect stooping haunts for a number of bird species, notably Sooty Chat and in the wetter areas the Pink-throated Longclaw.
In the more wooded area the mounds are larger, thanks to a different species of termite. These larger mounds can reach enormous proportions and some are hundreds and even thousands of years old; almost all are topped with evergreen trees and shrubs, notably the Candelabra Tree (Euphorbia ingens), and the Jackalberry Tree (Diospyrus mespiliformis) which provide browse and cover for a whole host of game throughout the year.
Thousands of red lechwe can be found as far as the eye can see, often in the company of some of Africa’s most relaxed herds of roan antelope and large herds of buffalo. As a consequence of this rich environment birdlife is equally prolific, with flocks of pelican, egrets of many species and the most numerous gatherings of open-billed storks which spiral skywards in their thousands in the late afternoon.
Busanga is one of the few known breeding sites for the endangered wattled cranes and it is not uncommon to see large aggregations of these rare birds, sometimes in mixed flocks with the iconic crowned cranes which scour the Busanga in search of food in mega-flocks. Busanga is mostly known through local knowledge, but also international wildlife documentaries, for its predator sightings, notably lion. The Busanga lion prides are well known by the guides at the few safari camps situated on the plains and nobody can give you a better insight into the dynamics of this fascinating population.
Cheetah, wild dog and even leopard are sighted throughout the season too.