Sunway Safaris Northern Zambia Expedition – 13 days

Leaving Lilongwe behind us, we cross the border into Zambia at Chipata as we head towards the Luangwa Valley. The road can be very rough and bumpy, and slow.

There are many game parks in Africa that may lay claim to be “Africa’s Best Game Reserve”, but South Luangwa has a better claim than most. Few other parks have South Luangwa’s remarkable wildlife spectacles (day & night) in the isolation of a true wilderness. The concentration of game around the Luangwa River and it’s ox bow lagoons is among the most intense in Africa, and coupled with low visitor numbers South Luangwa always comes out around the top of the list.

Our stay in South Luangwa is unashamedly about wildlife viewing. With the plentiful wildlife that flourish in the park, we will explore the area on morning and afternoon game drives both inside the park, and in the game management areas that border the park.

A highlight of visiting South Luangwa is to go on a walking safari with a knowledgeable local guide, and night game drive in an open 4WD game viewing vehicle, where we hope to spot some of the elusive nocturnal predators.

Moving north along the eastern bank of the Luangwa River we have a long journey as we move further north to the heart of the Luangwa Valley and North Luangwa National Park.

This remote tract of land covering 4636 square kilometres offers one of the finest wilderness experiences in Zambia, if not Africa itself. The beauty of visiting this park is the truly remarkable opportunities to experience Africa as it was. It is wild and untouched and you are simply an unobtrusive witness to its natural beauty and drama. The park is noted for its massive herds of buffalo, a spectacular sight if they’re seen on the run, kicking up dust for miles behind them. Large prides of lion are found in the area 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.

The road infrastructure in North Luangwa is very limited due to t the remoteness of the park, we are very unlikely to see anyone else during our stay in the park.

We explore the “open to the public” northern zone of the park on morning and afternoon game drives in our expedition vehicle. Due to the lack if infrastructure we will have to be completely self-sufficient, but it will be well worth the trouble to spend a short amount of time in the remarkable wilderness area.

After spending 10 amazing days in the wild and remote wilderness areas of Northern Zambia, we slowly make our way back to civilization.

On day 12, coming out of the rugged terrain of North Luangwa, we camp for the night in the town of Chipata, and enjoy our final dinner together at a local restaurant (own expense)

Day 13 we have a long drive back along the “Great East Road” back to Lusaka. This Expedition back in time to wildest Africa, ends in the afternoon at Lusaka Airport.