There is something magical about this park, so much so that I wish it had a more alluring name.
But rest assured, this is one of the top wildlife parks in all of Africa. A short flight from Lusaka, the capital of Zambia and your most likely entry point, you will quickly discover the escarpment on the northern side of the park as you fly over the terrain. It acts as a natural barrier keeping a vast quantity of large game between it and the mighty Zambezi River. Traveling between Lower Zambezi Camps via boat on the Zambezi River (Jason Maynard)
The park is larger than the state of Rhode Island, but with GMAs (Game Management Areas) on either side of the official boundaries of the national park, the wildlife have a massive safe area to congregate. Activities in Lower Zambezi National Park include the traditional game drive; canoeing either on the Zambezi River itself or along one of the channels flowing around larger islands in the river; walking safaris or bush walks; spotlight game drives at night; and boating and fishing on the river. Canoeing the Discovery Channel of the Zambezi River (Jason Maynard)
The park has large herds of elephants and cape buffalo, alongside massive amounts of antelope such as puku, waterbuck, and impala. Lions, leopards, and wild dogs are the big predators. African Wild Dog with impala kill in Lower Zambezi National Park (Jason Maynard)
And over 400 species of birds can be found in the park. Southern Carmine Bee-eater (with its lunch) in Lower Zambezi National Park (Jason Maynard)
On my last visit to the park, I had the opportunity to stay at two different bush camps. A bush camp is usually not a permanent camp, but one that is only open during the prime game-viewing season (here, we are talking about May to early November). Bush camps lack certain amenities (you won’t find a swimming pool) but their location is key—they are generally located in some of the best game-viewing areas within the park. Kutali Camp tent along the Zambezi River (Jason Maynard)
As an example, let me tell you about one evening during my stay at Chula Island Camp. I had gone on an afternoon canoeing trip along the Discovery Channel where I slid past many, many hippos, a few crocodiles, and was able to see some nice animals along the bank: bull elephants and Lichtenstein’s hartebeest, among others. A bloat of hippos (Jason Maynard)Very Young Elephant in Lower Zambezi National Park (Jason Maynard)
After a sundowner, we loaded up to drive back towards camp. One of the guides using a spotlight saw a leopard and we stopped to observe as it searched for prey. Then a lioness comes from behind our vehicle, as she was keeping an eye out on the hunting leopard, probably hoping to steal a meal if the leopard got lucky.
We left them to continue on towards camp. Almost home, we spot another leopard with the light. It was creeping up on a large herd of impala. We shut down to watch but the leopard decides to take their time. After 20 minutes, our guide suggests we go on into camp for dinner; if the leopard is successful, we will probably hear it—camp was iust 100 meters from the impala herd!
While staying at Kutali Bush Camp, a hippo was grazing past my tent when I woke up. An elephant was in the camp that afternoon. And since we were in the heart of their territory, I was able to witness a pack of African wild dogs devour an impala. African Wild Dogs play Lady & the Tramp with impala leftovers (Jason Maynard)
So put Lower Zambezi National Park on your bucket list, try and stay at a bush camp like Kutali or Chula Island, and enjoy all that they have to offer. You won’t regret it.
Excellent travel advice and service
This is my second experience working with Adventure Life. I’m sold. Jess Heuermann is an experienced traveler and provides a lot of useful information when planning a trip. These are the questions I like to ask at the outset - What’s it like to go here, there, what would you suggest, what do people report, can we add any additional side trips? Jess took the time to answer my questions and seek additional information to share with me. Petchie Colina is outstanding in helping with travel logistics and final preparations. Adventure Life has excellent guides and offers private guides and small group adventures. We enjoyed the opportunity to talk with the guides and drivers to learn more about their countries, cultures and histories. A highlight was having the guides pick local restaurants where we could share meals together. Highly recommend.
Claire Cordon
5 days ago
Our six-day tour in Iceland went smoothly with one exception. We had asked for two rooms each night. Somehow we were booked with one room with three beds. It could not be fixed at the first hotel in Reykjavik because the hotel was fully booked. Once informed of the problem, however, Adventure Life rebooked for two rooms for the remainder of the trip. As an 85-year-old traveler, I appreciated that one could participate at different physical levels at many of the stops. Iceland is a great place to visit but on the expensive side.
Mary Warren
6 days ago
Jess was very easy going and answered all our questions. It’s not easy dealing with 6 people at once but she did an outstanding job!
Diane Foster
1 week ago
Kassandra and the Adventure Life team have been incredible! Kassandra was very knowledgeable and attentive to our asks while making sure we kept within our budget. This was our first experience with a travel agent and we were blown away by the booking/initial exploration service. We will use Adventure Life again.