Lower Zambezi National Park: spectacular game viewing along the mighty Zambezi

The mighty Zambezi River flows over 1,600 miles along the Barotse floodplains, over Victoria Falls and through the massive Lake Kariba before reaching Lower Zambezi National Park. There, among a host of islands, it creates a home and feeding ground for an incredible amount of diverse wildlife.

Lower Zambezi National Park is one of Zambia’s youngest and most undeveloped parks. New to tourism and protected by the Zambian government and local tour operators, humans are largely outnumbered by both the largest and smallest members of the animal kingdom. With over 300 bird species and 50 mammal species including lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo and hippo, there’s hardly a better way to get up-close with Zambia’s spectacular game than along the channels of the Zambezi that flow through the Lower Zambezi National Park.

Float along the water’s edge in a dugout canoe or riverboat, drifting quietly past herds of elephant (some 100 strong), pods of hippos and countless sun bathing crocodiles (a quick dip is ill advised!). Spot leopard, lion, zebra, puku, impala, kudu, buffalo, baboons and waterbuck on a game drive. Try your hand at catching a Tiger Fish, notorious for its fight, and listen for the ubiquitous cry of the fish eagle.

Be one of the first to explore Lower Zambezi National Park’s pristine islands, lagoons and floodplains, peppered with gigantic baobabs, magnificent stands of acacias and countless species of wildlife. Relax your mind, energize your body and ignite the adventurer within on a Zambia safari with Austin-Lehman Adventures.

Did You Know…

Lower Zambezi National Park was declared a National Park just 25 years ago in 1983.
The park lies opposite the famous Mana Pools Reserve in Zimbabwe – the whole area on both sides of the river is a massive wildlife sanctuary.
The park covers three different habitats: a thick riverine fringe, a floodplain blanketed in mopane forest and interspersed with winterthorn trees and hills of broadleaf woodland.
The park’s vegetation is dominated by Acacia albida trees, a thorn species sometimes 100 feet high boasting the classical shady umbrella canopy. Winterthorn pods are remarkably nutritious to elephants that digest it leaving about 40% intact, thereby contributing to its proliferation.
The park is home to countless bird species, including white fronted and carmine bee eaters, red winged pratincole, the crested guinea fowl, black eagle, trumpeter hornbill, Meyers parrot and Lilian’s lovebird.

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