hen it comes to defining ‘bucket list’ luxury travel experiences, probably one of the best deescriptions is absolute exclusivity, where you travel to a remote and beautiful corner of the world, and you have this world to yourself. In Zambia these dreams will come as it offers some of the finest, small camp safaris in all Africa, in wildlife rich national parks like North and South Luangwa, the Lower Zambezi, Liuwa Plain and Kafue. This is a country that pioneered the walking safari in the 1950s, an experience which ranks high in our ‘once in our lifetime’ holiday experiences. The South Luangwa and North Luangwa National Parks are the home of Zambia’s walking safaris and some of these count among the best in Southern Africa. At a time when safari-goers were heading to Africa in search of big game trophies, Norman Carr pioneered the idea of a photographic safari instead of a hunting safari in the South Luangwa National Park. Robin Pope, one of the most respected safari experts, has been guiding mobile walking safaris through the area since the early 1990s and believes that when you walk in the wild, you become a part of your environment and enjoy a really authentic safari experience. Whilst many camps offer walks, not all camps necessarily have good walking, so it pays to be selective. The Luangwa Parks are “National” Parks, which means that anyone can obtain a permit to enter, although many areas are off-limits to self-drivers and lodge vehicles. In South Luangwa, most camps are located along the Luangwa River, with the highest concentration near the middle, where the Mfuwe Bridge provides the main access. into the park. However, South Luangwa is vast and the further one heads out towards the extremes, the quieter the park becomes – W Lower Zambezi NP Lake Kariba Victoria Falls South Luangwa NP Busanga Plains North Luangwa NP Kafue NP Liuwa Plain NP Sioma Ngwezi NP LUSAKA LIVINGSTONE MFUWE Q Q Q ANGOLA MOZAMBIQUE ZIMBABWE ZAMBIA MALAWI TANZANIA DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO 73
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