Reviews of South Luangwa (From 12 Acclaimed Safari Experts)

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Nana Luckham –

UK

Visited: May

Nana is a travel writer and author of multiple guidebooks, including the Lonely Planet guides to Africa, Zambia & Malawi and South Africa.

5 people found this review helpful.

Zambia’s Big Hitter

Overall rating

4/5

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Set in the lush Luangwa Valley, magnificent South Luangwa is by far the best park in Zambia when it comes to the diversity of game on offer. Large herds of antelopes, giraffes and buffaloes roam the park, elephants and huge pods of hippos wade in the swamps and the river, lions hunt on the plains, and once rare wild dogs are increasing in number. Leopards stalk the dense woodland, and are especially visible on night drives, a highlight of my visit here. The park is also home to unique species of giraffe and zebra.

There is accommodation for every budget, from luxury lodges where you can gaze out at wildlife heavy plains from an infinity pool, to basic, self-catering camps. I stayed at lively, riverside Flatdogs camp, where I pitched my tent amongst the monkeys on a platform in the trees.

To experience the bush in intimate detail a walking safari (the first African walking safaris were dreamt up here by conservation pioneer Norman Carr) is a must. Your chances of coming across game are high, and your guide and armed ranger will give you a detailed (and nerve-wracking!) briefing of what to do in case of a Big Five encounter.

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Lizzie Williams –

ZA

Visited: Multiple times

Lizzie is a reputed guidebook writer and author of the Footprint guides to South Africa, Namibia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

7 people found this review helpful.

A wonderfully wild location with a host of African animals

Overall rating

4/5

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There’s such an abundance of animals in South Luangwa it could almost be called crowded. I’ve always had amazingly diverse safaris here, and not just to see the usual suspects (of which there are plenty). At the smaller end of the scale, I have been delighted to see honey badger and civet cat, a porcupine sniffed around our door one night, the elephant shrew fascinated me, as did the snake dangling in the tree by the camp kitchen. Also incredibly rewarding are night drives which open up a whole new world under the sensitive glare of the spotlight. Highlights were following an elephant family in the moonlight and a staggering four leopard sightings in just one evening. Equally as wonderful was sitting at a lodge studying the peaceful Luangwa River; bushbuck came to drink, baboons played around, magnificent birds fluttered in, and hippo and croc lolled around doing even less than me.

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Philip Briggs –

ZA

Visited: Multiple visits

Philip is an acclaimed travel writer and author of many guidebooks, including the Bradt guides to Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya and South Africa.

7 people found this review helpful.

Africa’s best night drives

Overall rating

4/5

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My abiding memory of South Luangwa are the routinely superb night drives, which yielded an incredible number of leopard, genet, civet and white-tailed mongoose sightings, along with some great one-offs, such as honey badger and porcupine. I also really enjoyed the fact that you can choose between game drives and guided walks: the latter offer a rare opportunity to see the likes of buffalo and elephant on foot, and to absorb the sights and sounds of the bush without the constant roar of a car engine as distraction. The Luangwa River, for which the reserve is named, is also an imposing presence, supporting hundred-strong huddles of hippos in isolated pools as the Dry season kicks in, as well as large breeding colonies of the stunning southern carmine bee-eater. Overall, this is an excellent reserve, and close to the top of my ‘must revisit soon’ list.

7 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

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Sue Watt –

UK

Visited: Dry season

Sue is an award-winning writer who specializes in African travel and conservation. She writes for national newspapers, magazines, Rough Guides and Lonely Planet.

7 people found this review helpful.

Home of the Walking Safari

Overall rating

4/5

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I love South Luangwa. Despite its vast size (9000 sq km), it has relatively few visitors so provides a real wilderness sensation. Yet, the chance to take guided walks and night drives gives it an intimacy rarely provided in most African national parks. Other than black rhinos, the Big 5 are here in abundance but, with some of the most knowledgeable guides in Africa to explain in minute detail the lives of seemingly all creatures great and small, you might find watching little bugs just as interesting. Night time in South Luangwa brings a whole new bush scene, from tiny but beguiling elephant shrews to prickly porcupine to leopards stalking for a kill – I’ve seen more leopards here than anywhere else, often when I’ve been on foot. Its topography has been carved out by the vast Luangwa River leaving oxbow lagoons and flood plains in its wake. If you stay at Tafika or the Time+Tide lodges, I strongly recommend visiting Kawaza and Mkasanga villages, both brilliantly supported by the camps, to see the human side of life in the bush.

7 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

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Ariadne van Zandbergen –

ZA

Visited: Multiple times

Ariadne is a renowned African wildlife photographer whose work is featured in many well-known guidebooks and magazines.

10 people found this review helpful.

Walking in the valley

Overall rating

4/5

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The game viewing in South Luangwa is fantastic. If you love leopards, like I do, you’re in for a treat. There are few places where these notoriously shy big cats are so habituated. A highlight for me was watching the flirtatious rituals of a mating pair over two days – something I haven’t witnessed anywhere else in years of African travel. Also very special were the herds of elephants that crossed the Luangwa River daily at dawn. There’s always lots going on; mothers helping their tiny babies, so they don’t get pulled away by the current, adolescents playing in the water and the matriarch rounding them all up before moving on to feed.

I’ve enjoyed many excellent walking safaris in South Luangwa. It’s a good opportunity to slow down and look at footprints, insects, and everything else that is easily overlooked from a vehicle. However, it’s the thrill of tracking large animals, such as buffalo, lion and elephant, on foot and approaching these Big Five heavyweights quietly from downwind, that makes walking safaris in the valley so memorable.

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