Wilderness Shumba
Wilderness Shumba is a luxury tented lodge located in the heart of the Busanga Plains in northern Kafue National Park
Wilderness Shumba is the most luxurious and upmarket camp in Kafue and has a wonderful position looking out over the beautiful Busanga Plains in the far north of the park. Run by Wilderness Safaris, the camp has a sophisticated bush feel and provides a high level of food, service and guiding. The Busanga Plains are well worth visiting if you have the time. Safaris in Zambia are often dominated by the South Luangwa and Lower Zambezi National Parks, for good reason as they are both magical, but Kafue offers a totally different landscape and game viewing experience, especially on the Busanga Plains where you have chance to see roan antelope and cheetah.
Rooms
Accommodation is for 14 guests in six tented suites one of which is a two bedroomed family unit which can accommodate four guests. Each suite is under canvas with a thatch roof and gauze to the front and sides, offering fantastic views. The suites are spacious and luxuriously furnished with a king or twin beds, en suite open plan bathroom with twin basins, inside and outside showers and flush toilet. All tents have an outside sunken lounge with comfortable cushions which is a great way to relax and enjoy the view during the day!
Central Areas
The camp is raised off the ground on wooden platforms with elevated walkways between the tented suites and central areas. The main open plan lounge, bar and dining area is under thatch and this extends to an outside deck and sunken lounge. There is also a small swimming pool.
Facilities
Wi-Fi – Yes
Power for charging – Yes
Swimming pool – Yes
Habitat & Wildlife
The Kafue National Park is one of the largest parks in Africa, covering an area of nearly 22500 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
Activities include day and night game drives and guided walks (subject to local conditions). During the flood months of June and July game drives are limited to the miombo woodland with a 45 minute mokoro to the dry land, during this time boat cruises are a highlight on the plains when water levels permit.
Seasons
Wilderness Shumba is open from June through to the end of October each year. In June and early July the plains are still very wet, whilst from August onwards the plains are dry and game viewing is much easier.
Wilderness Shumba caters for children 6 years and older, though families travelling with children under 12 years need to pay for exclusive use of vehicle and children under 16 must be accommodated with an adult. Kafue is a slightly more specialist safari destination in general so it is perhaps not top of the list for families, however, the two-bedroomed family unit is ideal for those who do venture to to the area, and accommodates up to two adults and two children all under one roof.
Wilderness Safaris established the Children in the Wilderness programme (CITW) focusing on the children from villages close to the remote areas in which they operate, educating them in environmental awareness and training them in the life skills needed to care for and nurture their natural environment. Some of these programmes include operating annual camps for up to 30 children at a time in their lodges, running regular Eco-Clubs in rural schools, Youth Environmental Stewardship (YES) which mentors particular children who have shown a strong interest in their environment and scholarship programmes for primary, secondary and tertiary education.
The Wilderness Wildlife Trust is involved in conservation, anti-poaching, community empowerment and education. The Trust has many projects throughout Zambia (Game Rangers International and Zambian Carnivore Program), Botswana (Wildlife Research Increasing Capacity), Namibia (Desert Dwelling Giraffe Study), Zimbabwe (Hwange Elephant Movement Study and Painted Dog Conservation), Malawi (Mobile Response Unit) and Rwanda (Shoebill Arial Survey).
Wilderness Safaris also offers its guests the option bring a donation of supplies in partnership with Pack for a Purpose where guests may use the empty space in their suitcases for donations of much needed supplies for supported projects.
