Blue Lagoon National Park

A seasonal haven for the Kafue lechwe

We visited this park en route to Kafue and as a stopover it was well worth a little exploration. It protects a small portion of the Kafue Flats, the seasonal floodplain of the Kafue River. Although there are several accommodation buildings, they are all in different stages of disrepair and there is no water or electricity. Luckily, we were self-sufficient. Aside from a pair of barn owls and their chicks, which inhabited one of the buildings, we had the place to ourselves. The centerpiece of Blue Lagoon is a 5km causeway that runs into the floodplain. I don’t think you’ll see much on this short drive in the Dry season, but after the first rains, the flats transform into a wetland brimming with life. We were lucky as early rainfall had tinged the scenery green, which attracted what we had come for. We saw several big herds of Kafue lechwe, a semiaquatic antelope confined to the Kafue Flats. The birdlife was prolific too. At the end of the causeway is a turning point and a watchtower. With nowhere else to go, we sat back and waited for the sunset. And, as the wetland was glowing in the last rays of sunshine, we knew we had made the right call visiting this neglected haven for the endangered Kafue lechwe.