The hippopotamus is one animal you won’t miss. As you cross over the bridge into the park there are usually between 30 and 70 hippos lounging in the river below and most of the dambos and lagoons will reveal many. There is estimated to be at least 50 hippos per kilometre of the Luangwa River!

Zebra can be seen running in small herds of about a dozen. The difference between Zambia’s zebras and those in the south and east of Africa are in the stripes. Here they are evenly spaced as opposed to broad light stripes with a faint shadow stripe in-between.

Thornicroft’s Giraffe, unique to Luangwa Valley should be easily spotted.

The park has 14 different antelope species, most of which are easily seen on game and night drives. Watch out for the elusive bushbuck, preferring to inhabit densely covered areas. The common duiker is not that common near the Luangwa river but inhabits the back country of the Luangwa Valley. The largest of the antelope is the eland, usually near the Nsefu sector of the park. The most numerous antelope is the impala, these gregarious animals can be seen in herds all over the park. Not to be confused with the Puku, of similar size but a much fluffier buck with a rich orange coat and also prolific.

Perhaps the most beautiful is the Kudu, with its majestic spiral horns and delicate face. Although fairly common, they’re not always easy to find due to their retiring habits and preference for dense bush.. Reedbuck, roan, sable, hartebeest, grysbok, klipspringer and oribi are all here but not prolific in the central tourist area of the Park. They tend to stay deeper in the remote parts towards the Muchinga escarpment.

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 bushbaby.

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.

Lions are as plentiful in the Luangwa as anywhere else in Africa, but when a kill is made away from the central tourist area, the pride may stay away for several days and may not be seen by visitors on a short stay. Very often they roam in prides of up to thirty.

Of the other carnivores present but not often seen is the caracal, wild dog, serval and side striped jackal.

The Luangwa river also has an extraordinarily high number of crocodiles. It is not uncommon to see several basking on the riverbanks or even floating down the river tearing at a dead animal.

Night drives are fascinating in the Luangwa. Not only for the chance of seeing a leopard but for the many interesting animals that only come to life at night. Genets, civets, servals, hyenas, and bushbabies as well as owls, nightjars, the foraging hippos, honey badgers and lion.

The Luangwa River is the most intact major river system in Africa and is the life blood of the park’s 9050km2.    The Park hosts a wide variety of wildlife birds and vegetation. The now famous ‘walking safari’ originated in this park and is still one of the finest ways to experience this pristine wilderness first hand. 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.

Wildlife in South Luangwa

Kasaba Bay Aerodrome is currently owned and operated by the Department of Civil Aviation.  Other laterite airstrips are at Kasama and Mprokoso. There are currently no aviation refuelling facilities in the area, the nearest being at Ndola on the Copperbelt. Chartered flights are available to Kasaba and Nkamba Bay.

Whilst the National road network is gradually being improved, journeys can be long and arduous to this corner of Zambia, particularly on the unpaved portions. The most direct route from Lusaka is via Serenje, Mansa and Kawambwa on paved roads, then to Mporokoso on a good gravel road, and finally from Mporokoso to Sumbu on a poor gravel road.

A longer route, but with better gravel roads, is via Nchelenge from Mansa on a paved road, thence to Sumbu via Kaputa on a good gravel road which runs through Mweru Wantipa National Park. Finally, there is a route via Kasama to Mporokoso, but this is in poor condition. Access to the lake via Mbala and Mpulungu is by paved road all the way, but there is no link yet between Mbala and Sumbu.

There are no reliable, regular road or lake transport services to Sumbu or the Lodges in the National Park. However, the Lodges have their own boats and vehicles available for short-distance transfers, and there are companies which have vehicles for hire.

A ferry service between the major international ports on Lake Tanganyika is operated by Tanzania Railways, using the historical MV Liemba with a capacity for 500.
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Hotels & Lodges -Where to stay
There are three lodges in secluded bays along the Park’s shoreline, Nkamba Bay , Kasaba Bay and Ndole Bay. . Camping is possible at Ndole Bay.

Bushbuck, warthog and puku often frequent the beaches. The rare blue duiker is one of the Park’s specialties along with the shy swamp dwelling sitatunga. Other varieties seen in the park are the spotted hyena, side-striped jackal, serval, impala, waterbuck and reedbuck This side of the Lake is teeming with crocodiles, so swimming is obviously not advisable. Some reach up to six meters in length. Hippos often emerge at night around the lodges to ‘mow’ the green grass.

Birdlife in the park is still prolific with many migrants coming down from East Africa and up from South African regions. The flamingo is one of the more spectacular migrants while some of the lakeshore inhabitants include the skimmer, spoonbill, whiskered tern along with many different storks, ducks and herons. Commonly encountered species around the lake include the grey-headed gull, lesser black-backed gull, white-winged black tern, whiskered tern, African skimmer, and of course the ubiquitous fish eagle. The palmnut vulture and Pel’s fishing owl are also occasionally seen.

The Balancing Boulders are shrouded in myth and are of great significance to the local Tabwa people. On the Nundo Head Peninsula a large boulder balances upon three smaller ones and is the scene of annual ceremonies in which a white chicken is sacrificed to honour the God Nundo.

Further east at Kabwembwa, just outside the Park there is a sacred place where the Spirit of the Lake resides. Local fishermen throw offerings into the water here whenever they pass as a sign of respect.

Nsumbu is famous for it’s excellent angling off the shoreline and some of the better catches are the large Nile perch, goliath tigerfish, vundu catfish, lake salmon and the tasty yellow belly or ‘nkupi’.

Occasionally the much sought after golden perch is caught. The Zambian National Fishing Competition takes place here every year around March or April and some world records have been set here.

The western boundary of Nsumbu National Park is buffered by Tondwa Game Management Area, an IUCN Category VIII Multiple Use Management Area of 54,000 ha. The much larger Kaputa Game Management Area (360,000 ha) is also contiguous with the National Park to the north-west and south-west therefore, with the National Park, completely surrounding Tondwa. Sumbu National Park and the two Game Management Areas thus form important parts of a network of Protected Areas in Zambia.

The Park is dissected from west to east by the sizeable and perennial Lufubu River, which also demarcates the eastern boundary of the Park up to the river’s discharge into Lake Tanganyika. Nkamba and Chisala Rivers are ephemeral and smaller than the Lufubu, draining Tondwa Swamp into Nkamba and Sumbu Bays respectively, the former through an attractive valley with abundant wildlife in relation to other parts of the Park.

Much of the park is covered by combretum thicket, but along the lakeshore there are many strangler figs and ‘candelabra’ trees along with the strange and interesting boulders balanced on top of one another.

Safaris in Sumbu Parks, sightseeing
Getting there and accommodation, hotels, lodges

The Park is placed on the southern border of the Kafue Flats, an extensive floodplain of the Kafue River between Itezhi tezhi dam in the west and Kafue Gorge in the east. The area covers 33kms from the Kafue River  to the low wooded hills

It iconsists of the shallow  Chunga Lagoon which fluctuates well in size with variances in river levels. The varying vegetation makes it a fascinating park to visit with floodplains, woodlands and termitaria

It is well known for the large herds of Kafue lechwe, unique to the Kafue flats. Additional antelopes are the blue wildebeest, kudu, oribi and buffalo. Waterbirds are especially plentiful.

The Kafue Flats floodplain, in the northern section, floods from the Kafue River, and here you’ll discovery thousands upon thousands of the endemic Kafue lechwe, among three subspecies of lechwe found in Zambia. More than 30 000 of them make the flats their home and move seasonally according to the flood level.

At high water levels, big herds may be seen along the upper floodline and in the open grassland further south. As the floods fall back the herds move north into the grassy floodplain. They feed on grasses and herbs in water up to a meter deep and are frequently viewed wading or swimming in the Chunga Lagoon. Mating happens mainly between December and January. Males fight over small territories known as leks and then mate with various females.

In the Termitaria Zone, trees and shrubs grow only on the big termite hills and the rest of the area is covered with grasses and herbs, which often becomes waterlogged during the rainy season. There are lots of small grayish mounds which are rearly vegetated. The magpie shrike is one of the birds to be seen in the isolated trees of this zone and the surrounding grassy plains are grazed by buffalo, zebra, wildebeest and oribi. Very much in evidence is the ‘candelabra’ tree. The southern area is mainly woodland dominated by Acacia albida and Combretum trees and free from flooding. Bushbuck kudu, baboon, bushpig and vervet monkey inhabit this area.

The Gwisho Hot Springs take place along a geological fault here, surrounded by lush vegetation and vegetable ivory palms. The water rises by convection from depths of over 1 km with temperatures drifting from 60° to 90° C. This place has high concentrations of sodium, chlorine, calcium and sulphates in the water. A distinctive rock known as a ‘fault breccia’ occurs along the line of the fault and can be seen at Gwisho or the Lodge.

Sebanzi Hill is an archeological site which has been excavated. It was the location of an iron age village, inhabited for most of the last century. Look out for The Baobab Tree with a hollow trunk large enough for several people to sleep in. Historically the tree was said to boast exceptional powers which would protect travellers from wild animals. There is an odd rocky outcrop called Drum Rocks not far from the lodge, which brings out a resonant sound when tapped. They are also part of local superstition that passers-by had to stop and greet the rocks before proceeding.

Birdlife
There are no life-threatening animals in the park aside buffalos and visitors are encouraged to walk about. Motorcars are not allowed to leave the roads. Lochinvar is well renowned as a superb bird sanctuary featuring many different waterfowl, raptors, woodland species and migrants. 428 species have been recorded.

The floodplain is a wide almost flat area, with black clay soils, sloping almost imperceptibly towards the Kafue River.

Flora is made up of grasses, sedges and herbs adapted to an annual pattern of flooding. Mosr plants grow up with the rising waters to become emerging aquatics with high floods. A few isolated winterthorns Acacia albida and palms Borassus aethiopum occur on the river banks. Hundreds of wattled cranes are found feeding on vegetable matter dug from the soft mud and the large marabou stork scavenging on fish. Around Chunga Lagoon you’ll find the greater and lesser flamingo, the pink backed and white pelicans, African skimmer, Caspian tern, Baillon’s crake and the red knobbed coot.

Lots os duck species are abundant in this environment; the black duck, fulvous duck, whistling duck, pintail, garganey, southern pochard, pygmy goose, yellow billed duck and the Cape and European shovellers. Waders include avocet, the Mongolian, Caspian and Pacific golden plovers, whimbrel, turnstone, sanderling, little stint, spotted redshank, black tailed and bar tailed godwits and six species of sandpiper. Over 50 raptors occur including the black sparrowhawk, osprey, secretary bird, African cuckoo hawk and the peregrine falcon to name a few. Other interesting sightings include the white-bellied and black bellied korhaans, yellow throated sandgrouse, narina trogon, and Denham’s bustard.

Conservation
The IUCN and WWF have specified the Kafue Flats a wetland of global importance under the Ramsar Convention. A sponsored management project in the area attempts to engage local people in conservation by redistributing tourist revenue and controlled harvesting of resources. The fishermen you may come across in the park are part of this unique ecosystem and in numerous ways the humans and wildlife here are interdependent.

When to take a holiday to Lochinvar tourist park
It is accessible all year round but care is required in the wet season after heavy rains. A four-wheel drive is not essential although advantageous in the rainy season.

Peak floods are come about in May at the end of the rainy season, while the water is at its lowest in October and November at the end of the dry season. Birdwatching is best during the wet season when migrants arrive from the north. The game however is easier to spot  in the dry season.

Accessing the park
Lochinvar safari park  is only a three hour drive from Lusaka and is also accessible by charter aircraft. The access road is via the town of Monze on the Livingstone – Lusaka road. Monze is 282 kms from Livingstone and 186kms from Lusaka. Just north of the grain silos at Monze, turn west along a gravel road signposted at Namwala, then after about 25kms turn right at the signpost to Lochinvar, a distance of about 48 kms. The park gates are open between 6h00 and 18h00 and park fees are payable on entry.

Accommodation

Lechwe Plains Tented Camp
The luxurious tent is positioned near the water’s border, enabling intimate views of thousands of Lechwe and 428 bird species that dwell in the channels and islands. The day’s adventures may include a cultural visit to the nearby fishing village or a morning out touring homes for the rare sitatunga, an aquatic antelope of astounding grace. Later perhaps a ride in a dugout canoe in search of a fish-eagle’s nesting site. The World Wildlife Fund operate a camping site next to the southern gate. Simple chalets are also available.

The magnificent Luangwa andKafue National Parks have some of the most prolific animal populations in Africa. Most tourism is concentrated in nine of the 19 parks – Sumbu, Kafue, Lochinvar, Luangwa, Mosi-oa-Tunya, Lower Zambezi, Kasanka and Sioma Ngwezi – the remainder, as yet, having fewer facilities. Herds of buffalo, elephant and antelope are easily spotted and there are plenty of lions and zebra. There are also rhinos, monkeys, baboons, wild pigs, hippopotami and crocodiles.