Background Information

Kafue is Zambia’s oldest park and by far the largest. It was proclaimed in 1950 and is spread over 13,400 square miles – the second largest national park in the world and about the size of Wales. Despite the depravations of poaching and lack of management, the park is still a raw and diverse slice of African wilderness with excellent game viewing, bird watching and fishing opportunities. Much of the park consists of woodland, which opens out at intervals into wide, grassy areas known as “dambos”, grazed by sable, hartebeest, wildebeest, buffalo and zebra. From the astounding Busanga Plains in the northwestern section of the Park to the tree-choked wilderness and the lush dambos of the south, fed by the emerald green Lunga, Lufupa and Kafue Rivers, the park sustains huge herds of a great diversity of wildlife.

Wildlife includes thousands of red lechwe on the plains, the ubiquitous puku, the stately sable and roan antelopes in the woodland and the diminutive oribi and duiker. Large prides of lion, solitary leopards and cheetahs are the prime predators. There is a host of smaller carnivores from the side-striped jackal, civet, genet and various mongoose. Bird watching, especially on the rivers and the dambos, is superb. Notables include the wattled crane, purple crested loerie and Pel’s fishing owl. Over 400 species of birds have been recorded throughout the park. The Kafue and Lunga Rivers offer superb fishing opportunities, especially good bream, barbel and fresh water pike. Most lodges have fishing tackle, rods, boats and bait available.

Climate

Kafue’s tropical location means there’s not much deviation in daytime temperatures throughout the year, except for the spike in October just before the rains arrive. The region’s Dry season (May to October) sees the groundwater slowly dry up and the days remain warm. The Wet season (November to April) gets hot, with afternoon downpours the norm.