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Leopardwithpreyare frequent spotting in theSouthof thepark
GETTING THERE
Mfuwe Airport recently achieved international status
and various airlines were looking at scheduled flights
from abroad.
Domestic flights operate about ten times a week in
peak season (June-Oct) from Lusaka. Check with
any travel agent for schedules.
Charter planes from outside the country can now
fly direct without clearing customs at Lusaka and
there are a number of charter companies in Zambia,
which can fly to and from Zambia’s top destinations.
All lodges provide transfers to and from the airport.
Proflight has scheduled flights from Lusaka to Mfu-
we. Air Malawi has scheduled flights from Lilongwe
to Mfuwe.
If driving, the usual route to the park is from Chipata.
This is a decent road and the 123km drive takes
about two hours to Mfuwe, just outside of the Park.
If travelling in a robust 4x4 from Lusaka, it is pos-
sible to take a short cut from the Great East Road at
Petauke, up alongside the Luangwa River to Mfuwe,
a trek only to be attempted well into the dry season.
A good overnight stop en route to break up the jour-
ney is a stop at the Luangwa River Bridge at Bridge
Camp.
WHEN TO GO
Seasonal changes are very pronounced in Luang-
wa. The dry season begins in April and intensifies
through to October, the hottest month when game
concentrations are at their height. Warm sunny days
and chilly nights are typical of the dry winter months
of May to August. The Rainy Season begins in No-
vember as the leaves begin to turn green, and the
dry bleak terrain becomes a lush jungle. The rainy
season lasts up until the end of March when the mi-
grant birds arrive in droves. Each lodge stays open
for as long as access is possible, depending on its
location in the area. For this reason please contact
any lodge accordingly prior to departure to the park.
WHAT TO SEE AND DO
Wildlife
The hippopotamus is one animal you definitely won’t
miss in the park. In fact there is estimated to be at
least 50 hippos per kilometre of the Luangwa River.
Zebra can be seen running in small herds of about
a dozen. Thorneycroft’s Giraffe, unique to Luangwa
Valley can also be easily spotted. The park has 14
different antelope species: bushbucks, duikers,
elands, impalas, puku, the famous kudu, reedbuck,
roan, sable, hartebeest, grysbok, klipspringer and
oribi among others.
In terms of primates, baboons and vervet monkeys
mark the scenery throughout most of the park. More
scarce, but still present is Maloney’s monkey. Pre-
sent, but unlikely to be seen except on night drives
are the night ape and the nocturnal bush baby. Hy-
enas are fairly common throughout the valley and
the South Luangwa National Park has a good popu-
lation of leopards, yet are not the easiest to spot, and
tend to retreat when they hear vehicles. Many of the
game trackers of the lodges in the South Luangwa
valley are skilled in finding leopards on night drives
however, and often visitors are rewarded with a full
view of a kill.
Lions are as plentiful in the Luangwa, frequently
found roaming in prides of upwards of thirty.
Of the other carnivores present but not often seen is
the caracal, wild dog, serval and side-striped jackal.
The Luangwa River also has an extraordinarily high
number of crocodiles.
Birdlife
Bird watching is superb in the Valley. Near the end
of the Dry Season, hundreds of large water birds can
be seen wading through the shallows. The red faced
yellow billed storks, pelicans, saddle bill storks,
marabou storks, great white egrets, black headed
herons, and open billed storks are present in the val-
ley, in addition to the stately goliath heron that can