Kafue National Park
Kafue National Park
Kafue National Park is one of the largest in Africa, covering 8687 square miles (22,400 km2), making it two and one-half times the size of South Luangwa National Park and half the size of Switzerland.
Kafue has the largest number of different antelope species of any park in Africa. However, game is more difficult to see here than in South Luangwa, since much of Kafue, especially the southern area, is clothed with a double-canopy forest. It is seldom visited by international travelers.
The southern and central parts are open all year while the northern area is only open during the dry season, June-October/ November. Game is especially difficult to spot in the rainy season.
Game drives in this park are sometimes a combination of riding in a vehicle and walking, according to the wishes of the group.
On daylight game drives in the south of the park, you may spot elephant, impala, warthog, hippo, sable antelope, Burchell’s zebra, wildebeest and buffalo. Night game drives produced sightings of impala, oribi, hundreds of spring hares, greater kudu, buffalo, serval, bushbuck, duiker, spotted hyena, Burchell’s zebra, elephant, Defassa waterbuck and bushbabies.
Lake Itezhi-Tezhi, formed as the result of a hydroelectric dam constructed at the southern end of the Kafue Flats, provides fishing, bird watching and boating opportunities for visitors.
The Busanga Plains and marshes in the north have a greater number and variety of wildlife species. Wildlife is easier to spot here than in the dense woodland savannah in the south. This region is characterized by mopane and miombo forests, rock hills, open plains, marshes and riverine forests. The Kafue River runs through the northern part of the park and along its east central border.
Large herds of rare red lechwe may be seen on the Busanga Plains. Sitatunga may be found in the Busanga Swamps on the northern border of the park. Buffalo, elephant, puku, wildebeest, impala, roan antelope, sable antelope, kudu, waterbuck, leopard, lion, hyena and cheetah are also present. The Kafue Flats are an excellent location to spot many of the park’s more than 400 recorded species of birds.
There is little to be seen on the four-hour, 170-mile (275 km) drive from Lusaka, so those with limited time may wish to charter a plane. Mobile tented safaris are an excellent way to explore the park. Guests may be driven in from Livingstone or flown by charter to the Nanzhila region in the south of the park.
