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 SOUTH
LUANGWA
NATIONAL
PARK
Experts have dubbed South Luangwa as one of the greatest
wildlife sanctuaries in the world, and not without reason. The concentration of
game around the Luangwa river and it’s ox bow lagoons is among the most intense in
Africa.
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
If you’re staying at one of the
Valley’s lodges, the guides will ensure you have every opportunity to see all that
the valley has to offer of its wildlife, birds and varying vegetation and habitats. If
you’re in your own vehicle, be sure to get a map of the park from the Crocodile Farm
at the park entrance and follow the loop roads graded in the park, past dambos bursting
with hippos, crowned cranes, grazing
antelope
and scurrying baboons. Further out on the plains you’re bound to see the large
elephant herds, reaching up to 70 in number.
Buffalo are abundant and spread throughout
the valley.
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.
See the
South Luangwa
Conservation Society Website for updates on the conservation efforts of
Luangwa's Wildlife Heritage.
Birdlife
Birdwatching is superb in the Valley. Near the end of
the dry season, when the river and oxbow lagoons begin to recede, hundreds of large
waterbirds can be seen wading through the shallows. The red faced yellow billed storks
move along with their beaks open underwater, disturbing the muddy liquid with their feet
until the fish flop into their mouths. The pelicans tend to operate in lines
abreast, driving the fish before them into shallows before scooping them up into their
beak pouches. The striking 1.6m saddle bill stork makes quick darting movements
into the water. Then there’s the marabou stork, great white egrets, black headed
herons, open billed storks and the stately goliath heron that can stand in the
same position for hours before pouncing. Of the most beautiful are the elegant crowned
cranes, with their golden tufts congregating in large flocks at the salt pans.
Around the same time, just before the rains
set in, in November, the palearctic migrants from Northern Europe and the intra-African
migrants arrive to exploit the feeding opportunities that the warm rainy season brings.
These include the red chested cuckoo, white storks, European swallows. Swifts, hobbies
and bee-eaters, as well as birds of prey such as the Steppe eagles and
Steppe buzzards that come all the way from Russia. A special sight is the hundreds of
brightly coloured carmine bee-eaters nesting in the steep sandy banks of the river.
The ever-present sounds of the birds in the
Valley takes some getting used to. An early caller is the ground hornbill, looking
like a well-dressed turkey, but emitting the sound of a deep base drum. The melodious
Heuglin’s robin, the shrill cry of the fish eagle and the background
cooing of doves and larks.
With about 400 of Zambia’s 732 species of
birds appearing in the Valley, including 39 birds of prey and 47 migrant species, there is
plenty for the birdwatcher to spot, whatever the season.
For an enhanced experience of the bush, one
would do well to develop an interest in the varying
vegetation in Zambia. Some magnificent trees grow in the Valley and it certainly adds to the richness
of one’s experience to begin to recognise different tree species and figure out the
implications of them growing in that particular area.
Among the more common trees in the valley are
the mopane, leadwood, winterthorn, some beautiful specimens of baobab, large ebony
forests, the tall vegetable ivory palm, marula and the magnificent tamarind tree.
Getting
there
Mfuwe Airport recently achieved international
status and various airlines were looking at scheduled flights from abroad
Domestic flights operate
about ten times a week in peak season (June-Oct) from Lusaka. Check with any travel agent
for schedules.
Charter planes from outside the
country can now fly direct without clearing customs at Lusaka and there are a number of
charter companies in Zambia, that can fly to and from Zambia’s top destinations. All
lodges do transfers to and from the airport. Zambian
Airways has scheduled
flights from Lusaka to Mfuwe. Air Malawi has
scheduled flights from Lilongwe to Mfuwe
While you await your flight or before you head
off to the bush, don't miss a visit to Jake's Moondog
Cafe just outside the airport. An excellent bush bar with ice cold beers and
great food. Next door is the famous Magenge Crafts
Shop with an impressive collection of fine arts and crafts made by the local
artists and craftsmen in the valley.
Driving, one can approach
from three sides. The usual route is from Chipata. This is a good road if a little
corrugated and the 123km drive takes about two hours to Mfuwe, just outside the Park.
If travelling in a robust 4x4 from Lusaka, it is possible to take a short cut from the
Great East Road at Petauke, up alongside the Luangwa River to Mfuwe. Only to be attempted
well into the dry season. A good overnight stop along the way is at the
Luangwa River Bridge at Bridge
Camp.
The Northern access is from Mpika on the Great North Road or Lundazi, near Zambia’s
eastern border with Malawi. Just below Mpika, there is a road running down the Munyamadzi
Corridor between North and South Luangwa Parks. It is passable but only in 4WD and
preferably with two vehicles as help is a long way away. The mountain pass down the
escarpment is quite formidable, very rocky and bumpy but the view over this, the tail end
of the Great Rift Valley, is quite spectacular.
When to Go
Seasonal changes are very pronounced in
Luangwa. The dry season begins in April and intensifies through to
October, the hottest month when game concentrations are at their height. Warm sunny days
and chilly nights typify the dry winter months of May to August. The wet season
begins in November as the leaves turn green, and the dry bleak terrain becomes a lush
jungle. The rainy season lasts up until the end of March and the migrant birds arrive in
droves. Each lodge stays open for as long as access is possible, depending on its location
in the area. See below in brackets.
Where
to stay
Click
here for a comprehensive list of all lodges and
camps in South Luangwa with links to their
websites
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