Kafue National Park
Kafue National Park Basics
Features: It is Zambia’s largest national park and one of the largest in Africa. Kafue’s diverse wildlife consists of 158 mammal species, 515 bird species, 70 reptile species, 58 species of fish and 36 amphibious species.
Wildlife: Predators include lions, cheetahs, African Wild Dogs, hyenas and leopards a variety of herbivores include roan, sable, hartebeest, blue wildebeest, zebra, red lechwe, tsessebe, eland and buffalo. Over 500 bird species are present in the park. It also has a good population of African elephants estimating over 3,000.
Park Fees: Adult per day- $15
Size: 22,400 km2.
Distance: From Lusaka- 360km
Transport: You need a 4x4 to drive this park, as the road surfaces are uneven with bumpy surfaces. If you don’t want to self drive there are also airstrips inside the park.
Accommodation: There are lots of accommodation in the park from campsites to high end lodges.
Additional info: If you are camping, stock up in Lusaka as that will be the best place to stock up with supplies. Also make sure to fill up your car tank and get spare fuel. Be aware of the Tsetse flies, there are a lot in this park and they do bite. Make sure to wear neutral colours, avoiding white and blues which seems to draw them on. Also lots of bugs spray and anti malaria tablets as Zambia has a high malaria risk.
Kafue National Park, Zambia’s oldest and biggest national park was the first stop on our adventure in Zambia. The land of the lions, a place so vast and wild, it would take many months to fully see and explore this huge park. Accompanied by my partner Stephen (the best travelling companion being ex military) Although we didn't have many months, we had one week to get a taste of what this park had to offer. As we drove over the Hook Bridge on the Kafue River our adventure had begun, we were in for a wild week, much more wild than we had ever imagined.
A bit of background about the park before I continue on my adventures in the park. Kafue National Park was established in the 1950’s by Norman Carr a British conservationist. It covers a massive 22,400 km2 (size similar to Wales) making it one of Africa’s biggest national parks. It has 152 different species of mammals, and over 500 recorded species of birds. The landscape varies in the park, comprising of Miombo woodland and large and small open plains. One of it's most famous features lies in the North of the park, Busanga Plains. This open plains floods every year during the rainy season (November to April) and sits on an ancient lake bed. It is one of the most popular spots in the park for wildlife viewing as it hosts large herds of herbivores and many different predators such as lions, hyenas, leopards, cheetahs, side-striped jackals, carcals and serval.
Our mission this week was to find the Big Cats of Kafue, not an easy task in a park of this magnitude. The adventure that lay ahead of us in search of these animals was exciting. A park so vast and remote, off the beaten track delving into the bush. To become one with nature for our time here, touching into our primal senses to help us on our search of these cats. To truly listen to nature and its signals, its sounds, its smells and the behaviour of the animals in the park to help guide us.
August 2022. Travelling in our trusty 4x4 Toyota Hilux (named Xena after Xena the warrior princess) equipped with a rooftop tent. Xena would be our base for the next three weeks and our travelling companion so only fitting to name her. Our first campsite in Kafue National Park was Mapunga Bush Camp located in the middle of the park. We set off from the capital Lusaka that morning, stopping for supplies on the way. Spending time in a park this remote with no shops nearby means you have to be ready to be self sufficient.
We drove slow as we entered the park, our eyes wide not wanting to miss a thing. Taking in all the new sights, smells and sounds, our senses flooded with new information. My jet lagged eyes scanning the woodlands for any movement or strange shapes as we drove. Passing some impala and warthogs within a few minutes of driving through the park. Curious eyes stared back at us as we drove. We passed pods of hippos, their heads peering out from the water, looking majestic in the shimmering evening light. We reached our campsite Mapunga by late evening, and picked a spot along the Kafue River to park and set up our tent. What a place to spend our first night, under the magical starred filled African sky.
We spent the first couple of days self driving around areas in the centre of the park, navigating the bumpy roads, enjoying the new environment and sights. Easing ourselves into the adventure in a relaxed manner after all of our travelling to get there. Falling into the routine of rising before dawn and setting out for sunrise. The early mornings and nights were cold and fresh, layering up to keep ourselves warm. During the day the weather was hot and sticky, drawing pesky Tse Tse flies, my new mortal enemy. It was a fight every day to keep them out of our vehicle, trying to avoid their irritating bites. With very few cars on the roads we had the wildlife viewings to ourselves giving us very intimate moments with the animals. Driving past dense woodlands, open plains, rivers, lakes, the diversity of the park keeping us engrossed. We saw plenty of different species of antelope, elephants, hippos, and too many species of birds to count.
Coming back to the camp exhausted each night after long days of driving and searching. Sitting by the fire over a hot meal and a beer, talking about the days just passed. Recounting our favourite moments and listening to the sounds of the hippos echoing in the night. It really is a magical experience camping in a National Park amongst the wildlife. You feel even more apart of it and get true immersion into nature. Falling asleep in our rooftop tent each night, to the sounds of wildlife and the river flowing nearby.
On the third night I was awoken in our tent by a loud, booming roar. It sounded close, very close, close enough to feel the rumble go through my body. The unknown visitor let out another deep roar, it was definitely a male lion. There was no mistaking that distinctive call. My heart beating quicker now, knowing that this male lion was not more than a 100 or so meters away, all that was between me and him was this flimsy tent. My partner still sound asleep (he could sleep through an earthquake) I listened alone in the dark for any movement near the tent. He let out a few more loud roars and than all was quiet. It took me a little while to feel safe enough to sleep again, but I was excited at the thought that this male lion would be close enough to search for in the morning. I made it my mission to find this visitor lion and put a face to that loud roar.
We hastily put away the tent and gulped down our porridge in hurry to find the visitor lion. We set out before sunrise, the dark, hazy morning surrounding us. We drove slowly looking out for any paw prints on the dirt road. We found several big footprints that looked like lion footprints, it didn't look like this lion was alone. Scanning each area carefully, the cold, early morning fresh with promise. After half an hour of searching, the sun was beginning to rise in the distance. As the sun came up, we met the unknown visitor, sitting near the edge of the road and yes, he was not alone. He was accompanied by two more big male lions. The 3 male lions stared back at us, sitting very close to the road where we stopped. Their big eyes locked into ours, my heart instinctively began to beat faster. I decided to roll up the window a little higher, they were a bit close for comfort. As they relaxed in our presence I began to photograph them, zooming in and noticing details on their faces, what incredible specimens! We shared the sunrise with these beautiful male lions and it was such a special morning. Our first big cat sighting in Zambia, success!
The second half of our week would be spent in the famous ‘Busanga Plain’ in the north of the park. The journey there from Mapunga took half the day, passing plenty of game on the way. We drove to our lodge Ntemwa nestled in at the heart of the Busanga Plain. We were met with a warm welcome from the owner Tony and settled into our room before an evening game drive. Our little wooden chalet was beautiful and rustic, with a view of Busanga Plains out our window. It was nice to have some comforts again. A beautiful lodge with a dining and chill out area over looking the open plains. We were in heaven, this is what I had dreamed of in my mind before the trip.
We set out for an evening game drive with our field guide James. A gentle and intelligent man. His knowledge of the area was outstanding , he told us facts, stories and local lore about the wildlife and plants, giving us a better understanding of the land we were exploring. We drove out into the open savanna, many species of antelope and birds surrounding us. What a wonderful feeling to feel apart of this world, a wild world of survival with a vast ecosystem.
Before the sunset we came across a lone male lion and watched him as he emerged from the tall, dry grass walking off into the open savanna in search of something or someone. The evening passed quickly and we drove back as night approached, the stars beginning to come out above in the dark sky. Our first day in Busanga came to a close. We had a delicious hot meal waiting for us once we arrived back to the lodge, we dined outside near an inviting fire underneath the stars. Pure magic.
After a comfortable sleep in our chalet, we set out for a full day game drive of Busanga Plains with our guide James. We had a long day to explore the vast area, not returning until nightfall. We set off early morning and watched as the wildebeest made their way into the open plains as the sun rose over the horizon. The dramatic large red sun rising as the new day had begun. On our journey we came across herds of zebra, impala, wildebeest, roan antelope and an enormous herd of red lechwe amongst many types of birds such as grey crowned cranes, African open bill, African hawk eagle, African skimmer and different species of vultures. We watched pods of hippos crowded together baking in muddy pools, families of Elephants eating near the tree line. We came across 3 male lions sleeping in the shade. Later finding female lions hiding in the bush, the abundance of wildlife was spectacular.
Our hopes were to find cheetahs that lived in Busanga Plains, we spent the evening on the search around areas they had last been seen. Scanning for hours, my eyes were becoming sore and were beginning to play tricks on me, seeing cheetah shaped termite mounds everywhere. No cheetahs, but there was no room for disappointment with all we had experienced of Busanga that day.
Our final day in Busanga Plains had come and finding cheetahs were our top priority. We spent the early morning and evening searching for the endangered cat. Looking for signs, footprints, watching out for vultures circling the skies overhead to indicate a kill. We stopped and scanned the vast open plains through our binoculars, stopping and investigating every few minutes. After many hours passed we decided to terminate our the search for the cheetah and spend the sunset by a small lake filled with hippos for our final evening. It was a good call, evening was fast approaching and we needed to stop and enjoy some of our final moments .
We stopped at a scenic lake filled with hippos and birdlife, surrounded by beautiful old trees, it was a piece of heaven. An area nestled not too far away from our lodge. We took the opportunity to stretch and enjoy this little haven on foot. Watching hippos socialising and spraying water in the air, flocks of birds flying overhead. Observing the magic of the natural world at its best and allowing moments of awe and wonder.
As our time in Kafue came to close came to a close, we were sad to be leaving our lodge Ntemwa as we had felt so welcome and had enjoyed breakfast and dinner with the owner Tony and enjoyed great conversations over the fire. We had so many magical moments in Kafue, never had I been in a place this wild and this was just the beginning of our adventure in Zambia. To be continued……………….
Additional Information and Website Links:
Kafue National Park - Link to official website with more information about the park and how to get there. Links to accommodation and tours available on websiteMapunga - Link to our first campsite used at Kafue, beautiful location on the Kafue river, great bathroom and shower area. highly recommend
Ntemwa Busanga Camp - Link to our lodge in Busanga Plains, could not recommend this place more, great location, amazing staff, beautiful chalets, delicious food and reasonably priced. One of the best places I have ever stayed!
African National Parks - Additional information on the park and other national parks in Zambia
Zambia Tourism - Helpful website on travelling to Zambia with information varying from the national parks to the weather to currency .
Hemingways Zambia - Link to the car rental company we used for our trip to Zambia, family run and very nice people. Very straightforward and easy to deal with. Our vehicle was in great condition