A Wild Adventure to Zambia and Zimbabwe

The mighty Victoria Falls rank as one of the most spectacular sites in all of Africa. Livingstone is the town found on the Zambian side of the water, and luxury hotels either in the town or somewhere alongside the Zambezi upstream are a great base from which to fully explore this magnificent spectacle.

In the centre of western Zambia, two hours from Livingstone, you’ll find the vast wilderness of Kafue National Park. This rugged and wildlife-prolific park remains quieter than other regions and boasts a whopping range of habitats and thus, animals too. From open plains to wooded areas to the broad Kafue River, this flora and fauna paradise boasts a truly impressive array of sightings, including packs of the elusive wild dog, pods of hippo and numerous big cats and ungulate.

This UNESCO-protected national park created in northern Zimbabwe’s section of the Lower Zambezi Valley, is an impressive and very wild landscape made up of 2000 km2 of pristine vegetation and the dramatic Rift Valley escarpment. Much of the parkland is inaccessible unless you go on foot, helping to preserve the area’s enviable remoteness and untouched natural beauty. A safari here is one where the pools attract a profusion of aquatic birds as well as herds of elephants, hippopotamus, and Nile crocodiles. Predators such as lion, leopard, cheetah and spotted hyena are mostly found in the open woodland areas of the reserve, but can be very secretive and not that easy to spot without an expert tracker.

Home to over 100 mammals and 400 different bird species, Hwange National Park protects a wide range of different endangered species, elephants in excess of 20,000, and what is thought to be one of the largest populations of African wild dog left in the world. It is also common to see large prides of lion and buffalo and you have a good chance of seeing leopard, rhino, cheetah and mischievous spotted hyena. The park was formerly occupied by the San bushmen, the Nhanzwa, and was later the royal hunting ground for Mzilikazi, the Matabele king. It wasn’t until 1928 that it became recognised as a wildlife conservation area and a popular destination for those seeking out incredible safari and wildlife experiences.