Group Size: 6-13 participants

Day 1              Arrival in Lusaka

Welcome to the capital of Zambia! Many cultures and nationalities have come together in this city over the past decade. Your tour guide will pick you up at the airport and take you to the nearby lodge. You will get a first tour briefing and you can relax at the beautiful pool of the lodge.

(B,D)

Wild Dogs Lodge

Driving distance est. 0.5 h

Day 2-4           South Luangwa National Park

Following the Great East Road, you will reach one of the most breath-taking game reserves in the world, the South Luangwa National Park, in the afternoon. The concentration of wildlife around the Luangwa River with its lagoons and plains is one of the highest in Africa and is home to elephant, giraffe, leopard, buffalo, zebra, crocodile, hippo and many more. Huge colonies of carmine bee-eater spend the winter on the sandy banks of the river. In addition to the game drives, a walking safari is the best way to get to know this wild and untouched part of nature. You will go on several game drives during the day and at night when the chances of seeing a leopard are particularly high. You will spend 3 days in the area of the South Luangwa National Park and the adjacent, particularly charming Nsefu sector, where wild dogs and herds of buffalo are always present – enough time to discover the diverse wildlife at the scenic and wild Luangwa River. You will spend the night in a camp, where elephants sometimes visit to feed on the fruits of the Marula trees, pure nature! (3x B,L,D)

3x Tented Camp at the Luangwa

Driving distance est. 8 h

Day 5-7           North Luangwa National Park

Today you start your trip from south to north through the whole Luangwa Valley. The crossing of the Lukusuzi and Lundazi rivers will be exciting as you travel through the Luambe National Park. With slow speed on sandy tracks and with occasional obstacles you will move northwards. The route for the next days can only be managed with four-wheel drive, a real adventure. An absolute highlight of your nature trip through Zambia is the North Luangwa National Park, which is only rarely visited and therefore still absolutely pristine. Located at the foot of the steep Muchinga mountain range, the North Luangwa National Park, which covers more than 4.000 km² , is home to thousands of wild animals. Herds of buffalo, lions and cats of prey live in this remote wilderness. On a walking safari with an experienced ranger and in safari vehicles you will experience the world of big and small animals. In your camp, located directly on the banks of the Luangwa River, you can hear the hippos grunting as you fall asleep – pure Africa! In the village of Chifunda you have the opportunity to get to know the friendly inhabitants and their everyday life. (3x B,L,D)

3x comfort tent at the Luangwa River

Driving distance est. 7 h

Day 8-9           Mutinondo Mountains

Today you drive up to the Escarpment of the African Rift Valley and leave the Luangwa Valley. In the Mutinondo Wilderness Area you will find one of the most beautiful nature and hiking areas of the country, which should not be missed when visiting northern Zambia. The wildlife reserve offers picturesque mountains with towering, rocky ridges and small waterfalls, which you will discover on hikes. Especially botanists and bird lovers are enthusiastic about this remote idyll. Crystal-clear rivers invite for a swim. You will hike through Miombo indigenous forests up to the highest peak, Mayense Peak offering spectacular views high above the Luangwa Valley. (2x B,L,D)

2x comfortable tent in a camp

Driving distance est. 7 h

Day 10-11       Bangweulu Swamps

Passing the Lavushi Manda National Park you will reach the Bangweulu Wetlands, a huge swampland with many unique habitats. You will experience how the local Bisa ethnic group is engaging in fishing and cassava cultivation. The Bangweulu marsh antelope is endemic in the swamps. With luck you may also see the rare shoebill and its nests while walking or from the boat. (2x B,L,D)

2x comfortable tent in the Bangweulu Plains*

Driving distance est. 4 h

Day 12            Kasanka National Park

After passing Lake Waka, you will arrive at Kasanka National Park, which is a Zambian National Park under private management and run by local communities. Here you can find the extremely rare Sitatunga Swamp Antelopes, as well as Pukus, Waterbucks and Reedbucks, Warthogs and Jackals. From mid-October, millions of palm fruit bats are foraging in mango and berry fruit trees – a spectacular sight. At this time, Africa’s largest mammal migration can best be observed from the so-called “hides”, observation platforms set up in the treetops. (B,L,)

1x chalet in the National Park*

Driving distance est. 5 h

*Depending on the season, you will stay overnight from day 10-12 either in Bangweulu or in Kasanka National Park for one or two nights.

Days 13          Lusaka

After a long day of driving, you will arrive back at the Wild Dogs Lodge in Lusaka where you will be awaited with a delicious dinner. The next day you will have a break before you continue on to the Lower Zambezi National Park. (B,L,D)

Wild Dogs Lodge

Driving distance est. 7 h

Day 14            End of main trip (return home) or relax before traveling further

Today the trip ends for those who do not want to visit the Lower Zambezi National Park. You will be taken to the airport and say goodbye to your tour guide. If you have booked your onward journey to Lower Zambezi National Park, you can relax at the lodge by the pool or visit an elephant orphanage project run by Game Rangers International. (B,L,D)

Wild Dogs Lodge

Days 15          Begin of onward journey: Lower Zambezi National Park

Through the mountainous landscape between Lusaka and Lake Kariba we descend to the Lower Zambezi National Park on the banks of the Zambezi River. The 4000 km²  sized national park in the Lower Zambezi Valley has for a long time not seen many visitors and is one of the most picturesque and remote wilderness areas on the African continent. Besides game drives, you will go on exciting boat or canoe safaris on the Zambezi River- a very special way of wildlife observation, as you can silently get close to the animals. The steep embankments are a natural barrier for the animals, which is why elephants, buffalos, lions as well as numerous hippos and crocodiles can be found in the floodplains of the river. Along the banks you can admire plenty of nesting places of the colourful bee-eaters. (B,L,D)

Tented Camp/Lodge by the river

Driving distance est. 4 h

Day 16-17       Lower Zambezi National Park

You will undertake full day game drives into the Lower Zambezi National Park. After an adventurous river crossing of the Chongwe riverbed by 4-wheel drive vehicle you will experience spectacular wildlife in the sandy flood plains and picturesque gallery forests. Elephants refresh themselves in the lagoons and lakes, covered by flowering carpets of water hyacinths or the lush green Kariba Weed. At sunset you return to the lodge by boat on the Zambezi, a very special sundowner against the spectacular backdrop of the Leopard Hills. (B,L,D)

2x Tented Camp/Lodge by the river

Days 18          Return home

From your accommodation on the Zambezi a transfer takes you to Lusaka airport. Departure in the afternoon. (B)

Driving distance est. 4 h

Optional extension: Kafue National Park & Busanga Plains 6 Days

Kafue National Park is Zambia’s largest national park. With an area of 22,400 km2 it is one of the largest protected areas worldwide. Situated on the foothills of the Kalahari and crossed by the Kafue River, it is home to savannah, miombo forests and mixed deciduous forests. On boat safaris on the Kafue River, you can observe hippos and crocodiles, monitor lizards, water birds, elephants and the endemic Defassa waterbuck on the riverbanks. The remote Busanga Plains are famous for its excellent viewing of “big cats”, like lions and cheetahs. This area is only accessible from July to October in the dry season. During safaris on foot and in the vehicle, you will get to know this very special part of the national park. (6x B,L,D)

1x Lodge

2x Lodge by the Kafue River

3x Bush-Camp in the Busanga Plains

Accommodation subject to availability

Flexibility and team spirit are required. The overnight accommodation changes from good lodges to stylish Tented Camps (large house tents with private bath) up to comfortable tents. A separate back-up team with helpers and cook will set up the tent camps (dome tent with standing room, camp bed, mattress, pillows, bedding and towels). Sanitary facilities are available in the camps. Most of the lunches are taken as a picnic in the great outdoors. Breakfast and dinner are usually served in the accommodations/camps.

You should bring along a tolerance for heat (depending on the season), the willingness for long drives between nature areas, and the appreciation of simple camps with limited comfort, but in unique wilderness areas.

The detailed itinerary may change due to local conditions on site. Flexibility, team spirit and the willingness to support your guide in difficult situations are essential on this tour.

The visited areas are little travelled and hardly developed and cannot be compared with the conditions in the travel A regions in the rest of southern Africa.