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Write a User ReviewZambia’s Big Hitter
There is accommodation for every budget, from luxury lodges where you can gaze out at wildlife heavy plains from an infinity pool, to basic, self-catering camps. I stayed at lively, riverside Flatdogs camp, where I pitched my tent amongst the monkeys on a platform in the trees.
To experience the bush in intimate detail a walking safari (the first African walking safaris were dreamt up here by conservation pioneer Norman Carr) is a must. Your chances
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of coming across game are high, and your guide and armed ranger will give you a detailed (and nerve-wracking!) briefing of what to do in case of a Big Five encounter.
A wonderfully wild location with a host of African animals
There’s such an abundance of animals in South Luangwa it could almost be called crowded. I’ve always had amazingly diverse safaris here, and not just to see the usual suspects (of which there are plenty). At the smaller end of the scale, I have been delighted to see honey badger and civet cat, a porcupine sniffed around our door one night, the elephant shrew fascinated me, as did the snake dangling in the tree by the camp kitchen. Also incredibly rewarding are night drives which open up a whole new world under the sensitive glare of the spotlight. Highlights were following an elephant family in the moonlight and a staggering four leopard sightings in just one evening. Equally as wonderful was sitting at a lodge studying the peaceful Luangwa River; bushbuck came to drink, baboons played around, magnificent birds fluttered in, and hippo and croc lolled around doing even less than me.
Africa’s best night drives
My abiding memory of South Luangwa are the routinely superb night drives, which yielded an incredible number of leopard, genet, civet and white-tailed mongoose sightings, along with some great one-offs, such as honey badger and porcupine. I also really enjoyed the fact that you can choose between game drives and guided walks: the latter offer a rare opportunity to see the likes of buffalo and elephant on foot, and to absorb the sights and sounds of the bush without the constant roar of a car engine as distraction. The Luangwa River, for which the reserve is named, is also an imposing presence, supporting hundred-strong huddles of hippos in isolated pools as the Dry season kicks in, as well as large breeding colonies of the stunning southern carmine bee-eater. Overall, this is an excellent reserve, and close to the top of my ‘must revisit soon’ list.
Home of the Walking Safari
I love South Luangwa. Despite its vast size (9000 sq km), it has relatively few visitors so provides a real wilderness sensation. Yet, the chance to take guided walks and night drives gives it an intimacy rarely provided in most African national parks. Other than black rhinos, the Big 5 are here in abundance but, with some of the most knowledgeable guides in Africa to explain in minute detail the lives of seemingly all creatures great and small, you might find watching little bugs just as interesting. Night time in South Luangwa brings a whole new bush scene, from tiny but beguiling elephant shrews to prickly porcupine to leopards stalking for a kill – I’ve seen more leopards here than anywhere else, often when I’ve been on foot. Its topography has been carved out by the vast Luangwa River leaving oxbow lagoons and flood plains in its wake. If you stay at Tafika or the Time+Tide lodges, I strongly recommend visiting Kawaza and Mkasanga villages, both brilliantly supported by the camps, to see the human side of life in the bush.
Walking in the valley
The game viewing in South Luangwa is fantastic. If you love leopards, like I do, you’re in for a treat. There are few places where these notoriously shy big cats are so habituated. A highlight for me was watching the flirtatious rituals of a mating pair over two days – something I haven’t witnessed anywhere else in years of African travel. Also very special were the herds of elephants that crossed the Luangwa River daily at dawn. There’s always lots going on; mothers helping their tiny babies, so they don’t get pulled away by the current, adolescents playing in the water and the matriarch rounding them all up before moving on to feed.
I’ve enjoyed many excellent walking safaris in South Luangwa. It’s a good opportunity to slow down and look at footprints, insects, and everything else that is easily overlooked from a vehicle. However, it’s the thrill of tracking large animals, such as buffalo, lion and elephant, on foot and approaching these Big Five heavyweights quietly from downwind, that makes walking safaris in the valley so memorable.