AREA & ACTIVITIES

Habitat & Wildlife
The Kafue National Park is one of the largest parks in Africa, covering an area of nearly 22,500 sq.kms. The north-eastern and southern sectors of the park are essentially covered by miombo woodland, whereas the north-western sector contains the Busanga floodplains which become accessible from late June to November. There are three major rivers, the Kafue River itself and its perennial tributaries, the Lunga and Lufupa. Although the terrain is generally flat, the beauty of the park is evident in its diverse habitats with floodplains, miombo woodland, thick riverine vegetation and open grassy areas called dambos.

The wildlife is impressive – in the miombo woodland areas, lion, leopard, wild dog, zebra, elephant, buffalo, Lichtenstein’s hartebeest, roan, sable, kudu and impala are found, whilst on the Busanga the most dominant antelope species are red lechwe, puku and the diminutive oribi, and aside from lion, cheetah and hyaena are the major predators. Hippo frequent the permanent water channels. The birdlife is fantastic, with over 490 species recorded including the endemic Chaplin’s barbet and large flocks of pelican, crowned crane and wattled crane. Tsetse fly are common.

Activities
Although activities at the camp were originally orientated towards walking safaris hosted by Phil or Tyrone, activities are now very varied with boating safaris and fishing on the Kafue River, game drives (day and night) by open 4×4 vehicles and the use of a blind/hide all possible in addition to walking. The game viewing is good in the area around camp, with elephant, buffalo and lion regularly seen. Leopard exist in good numbers, though wild dog and cheetah are only seen very occasionally. General game is good, including sightings of bush pigs, birding is excellent and night drives can be interesting. However, Kafue in general will always offer a little more of a wilderness destination with than a pure big-game extravaganza, and Musekese will most appeal to those looking for an exclusive bush adventure where the emphasis is on the guiding, hosting and the wilderness experience. Although it is not essential that guests are keen to walk, we feel that walking is an integral part of a stay at Musekese.

Seasons
Musekese is open from May to December, though the best game viewing conditions will be from July to October.