Lower Zambezi National Park National park

The park and its history
The Lower Zambezi National Park, declared a national park in 1983, lies opposite the famous Mana Pools Reserve in Zimbabwe. As a result the entire area on both sides of the Zambezi River is an immense wildlife sanctuary. The park in Zambia provides the opportunity to get close to the game wondering in and out of the Zambezi channels - one of the main attractions of this national park. A further attraction is its remote location. There are no tarred roads and you are very unlikely to encounter another tourist. This is Zambia’s newest national park and it is still relatively undeveloped. It’s beauty lies in its state of absolute wilderness. The diversity of animals is not as wide as you will find in other big national parks in Zambia, but the opportunities to get close to game wondering in and out of the Zambezi channels and 'island hopping' are spectacular.

Lower Zambezi National Park covers an area of 4,092 square kilometres. Most of the wildlife is concentrated along the escarpment valley floor which acts as a natural barrier to most of the wildlife in the national park. This game reserve is completely surrounded by a much larger Game Management Area (GMA). There are no fences between the park and the game management area and so wildlife and people are free to roam across the whole area.

Ecology
The edge of the Zambezi River is overhung with a thick riverine fringe. Further inland is a floodplain which is edged with mopane forest and interspersed with winter thorn trees. The escarpment hills forming the background to the park are covered in broad leaf woodland. The park slopes smoothly from the Zambezi escarpment down to the river. In the main it straddles two woodland savannah ecoregions distinguished by the dominant types of trees - miombo, mopane, southern miombo woodlands on higher ground (in the north) and Zambezian and Mopane woodlands on the lower southern slopes. At the edge of the river is floodplain habitat.

Wildlife
Sadly the black rhino died out around the time the national park was declared, in 1983. But there are still huge herds of elephant, at times over 100, often seen at the river’s edge with buffalo and water buck. Lower Zambezi National Park also hosts good populations of lion and leopard. Many of the bigger mammals like elephant, buffalo, kudu, hippo, waterbuck, zebra, crocodiles, impala and warthog can be found below the escarpment. Nocturnal animals like hyena, porcupine, civet, genet and honey badgers can be spotted on night drives. Most large mammals also congregate on the floodplain, including buffalo, elephants, lions, leopards and many antelope, crocodiles and hippos.

Bird life
The bird life, especialy along the river is known to be exceptional making the Lower Zambezi National Park a paradise for photographers and bird lovers. Birdlife includes the white fronted and carmine bee-eaters which nest on along the cliffs, the elegant crested guinea fowl, red winged Pratincole, black eagle and the vast swarms of quelea. In the summer season the stunning Narina Trogon makes its home here. Other special species are the trumpeter Meyers parrot, horn bill and Lilian's lovebird. Many a fish eagle can be seen and heard for miles around the Zambezi River area.

What to do

• Fishing is great along the Zambezi River and lodges offer fishing with rods and simple tackle is provided with day long canoing and boating trips. Healthy tiger fish and bream catches are common as well as Vundu, a member of the catfish family that can weigh up to 50 kilograms.
• Canoeing the Zambezi River allows you to float down the river at your leisure and safari operators will pick you up in a speedboat at the end of the day to bring you back. Highly recommended is overnighting at very comfortable bush camps on the banks of the Zambezi River after a day of canoing. The river has a strong enough current to take you down the river with little effort. River guides will take you down remote channels between the islands where your opportunity to get close to game are very high. Hippos are always in sight and elephant, zebra, puku, impala, buffalo, kudu and baboons can be seen browsing on the banks from the laid back comfort of your canoe. Various canoeing trips of various levels and durations are also recommended. All gear is carried in support canoes and camps are erected on islands on the river along the way. Everyone gets involved in setting up camp and cooking. These trips are cheaper, a little less comfortable, but the thrill of the wilderness is that much more intense.
• Game drives and walking safaris offered by the lodges and camps provide game viewing opportunities and beautiful views of valleys, escarpment and river. Day and night drives offer a less taxing view of the wildlife here.

When to go
The best time is mid-season from June to September, but all lodges and canoeing operators are open from April to November, except for Kayila lodge which is open all year. Fishing is at its best in September and October.

Getting there
Tourist numbers are few because this park is inaccessible by road, unless you have advanced 4x4 driving skills. Even then you can only accces the park by road at certain times of the year. Visitors to the area arrive either by boat on the Zambezi River or by light aircraft flying from either Livingstone or Lusaka. Existing lodges and canoeing operators provide the best access to the park and this is not the best national park for self drive safari expeditions. Safari operators offer pick-ups from either Lusaka or Chirundu. The Chongwe River seperates the western boundary of the park and this area can be accessed from Chirundu along a rough road then crossing the Kafue River by pontoon just beyond Gwabi Lodge.