AREA & ACTIVITIES

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 mekoro 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.