The Luangwa Valley, which marks the end of the Great Rift Valley, is one of the last unspoilt wilderness areas and possibly the finest wildlife sanctuary in Africa. South Luangwa National Park covers an area of over 9,000 square kilometres through which the meandering Luangwa River runs.
The Luangwa River is the most intact major river system in Africa and is the life blood of the Park, with the concentration of game around the river and its ox bow lagoons amongst the highest in Africa. The changing seasons add to the Park’s richness ranging from dry, bare bushveld in the winter to a lush green wonderland in the summer months. Walking safaris were pioneered in this Park and are still one of the finest ways to experience this pristine wilderness.
South Luangwa hosts a wide variety of wildlife and vegetation with 60 animal species recorded. The only notable exception is the rhino, sadly poached to extinction. The Park is well-known for its huge herds of elephant and buffalo, often hundreds of animals strong, along with its high population of leopard which are commonly seen on night drives. Specialities of the area include the beautiful Thornicroft’s giraffe, Cookson’s wildebeest and Crawshay’s zebra.
The Luangwa Valley has one of the highest concentrations of hippos in Africa, estimated to be at least 50 per kilometre of river. The winding Luangwa River also has an extraordinarily high number of crocodiles and it is not uncommon to see several basking on the riverbanks or even floating down the river tearing at a dead animal.
Night drives are fascinating in the Luangwa. Not only for the chance of seeing a leopard but for the many interesting animals that only come to life at night such as genets, civets, servals, hyenas and bushbabies as well as owls, nightjars, the foraging hippos, honey badgers and lion.
Birdwatching is also superb with over 420 bird species recorded. Near the end of the dry season, when the river and oxbow lagoons begin to recede, hundreds of large waterbirds can be seen wading through the shallows, including pelicans, saddle-billed and marabou storks, great white egret, black- headed and goliath herons and open-billed storks. Of the most beautiful are the elegant crowned cranes with their golden tufts, which congregate in large flocks at the salt pans. At about the same time, just before the rains start in November, the migrants arrive to exploit the feeding opportunities that the warm rainy season brings. These include the red-chested cuckoo, white storks, European swallows, swifts, hobbies and bee-eaters, as well as birds of prey such as the Steppe eagles and Steppe buzzards. A special sight is the hundreds of brightly coloured carmine bee-eaters nesting in the steep sandy banks of the river. One of the birding highlights of South Luangwa is the impressive breeding colonies of yellow-billed storks in the Nsefu Sector.
North Luangwa National Park is a remote tract of land covering over 4,600 square kilometres of the Luangwa Valley. It is not open to the public and there are no permanent lodges. Access is with one of the few operators granted permission to conduct safaris in the area. The beauty of visiting this Park is the truly remarkable opportunity to experience Africa as it was – wild and untouched.
Image supplied courtesy of Remote Africa Safaris
There are a number of tributary rivers running through the Park and into the Luangwa which play an important ecological role in the area. The crystal clear Mwaleshi River trickles down the escarpment in a series of small waterfalls. It recedes in the dry season, leaving many pools along the way, drawing the animals from the bush to its banks in search of water. Vegetation ranges from mopane woodland to riverine forest, open grasslands and acacia thicket, the beautiful sausage trees, vegetable ivory palms, red mahogany and leadwood.
The Park is noted for its massive herds of buffalo, a spectacular sight if they are seen on the run, kicking up dust for miles behind them. Large prides of lion inhabit the territory and it is not uncommon to witness a kill. Other common mammals are hyena, Cookson’s wildebeest, bushbuck, zebra, warthog, baboon, vervet monkey, puku and impala. Elephant and leopard are also seen, but not as frequently as in the South Park. However, you are more likely to see hartebeest, reedbuck and eland.
The birdlife in the North Park is generally the same as that found in the South, although the North does have some East African bird species that don’t occur further south – like the chestnut-mantled sparrow weaver, the white-winged starling and the yellow-throated longclaw.
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