Lower Zambezi National Park

This Park is still relatively undeveloped, its beauty lying in its wilderness state. The diversity of animals is not as wide as the other big parks, but the opportunities to get close to game wandering in and out of the Zambezi channels are spectacular. The Park lies opposite the famous Mana Pools Reserve in Zimbabwe, so the whole area on both sides of the Zambezi River is a massive wildlife sanctuary.

The River’s edge is overhung with a thick riverine fringe, including ebony and fig trees. Further inland is a floodplain fringed with mopane forest and interspersed with winterthorn trees and huge acacias. The hills which form the backdrop to the Park are covered in broadleaf woodland.

Even though the Lower Zambezi National Park covers an area of 4092 square kilometers, most of the game is concentrated along the valley floor. There is an escarpment along the northern end which acts as a physical barrier to most of the Park’s animal species. Enormous herds of elephant, some up to 100 strong, are often seen at the river’s edge. ‘Island hopping’ buffalo and waterbuck are common.

The major predators in the Lower Zambezi are lion, leopard and spotted hyena – and in our experience it’s an excellent park for game viewing. The varied terrain (with many large trees) seems to suit leopards, whilst the large herds of buffalo attract large prides of lion. Wild dogs occur, and generally also den in or near the park, although sightings tend to be sporadic.

The Lower Zambezi’s antelope species are dominated by large herds of impala, but there are also good populations of kudu, eland, zebra, wildebeest, waterbuck, bushbuck and the odd duiker or grysbok. In the river, crocodile and hippo are always present and the large water monitor lizard, which occurs frequently in the park.

Lower Zmabezi National Park is also a great birding safari destination with 378 species including many species of eagle, heron, stork and bee-eater. Kingfishers alone, the pied, giant, woodland, malachite and brown-hooded kingfishers are extremely common. Similarly, the river is frequented by darters, cormorants, egrets and storks, and fish eagles are often perched in the trees overlooking the water. Lower Zambezi boasts a beautiful landscape and great diversity of wildlife making it a perfect park for a Zambia Safari.