Zambia’s Kafue National Park: 8,687 square miles of pristine wilderness

Kafue National Park is Zambia’s oldest and biggest – at 8,687 square miles, it’s the size of Wales! Its blue-green Lunga, Lufupa and Kafue Rivers, spectacular Busanga Plains, teak and candelabra-choked forests, ‘Miombo’ woodland and lush, grassy dambos offer an ideal refuge for a great diversity of wildlife. Despite its growing popularity, Kafue is still a pristine slice of African wilderness, home to over 55 animal species.

Herds of tsessebe, hartebeest, zebra, buffalo, oribi and duiker make the park their home, along with thousands of red lechwe, puku and sable antelope. Lion, leopard and cheetah are prime predators – smaller carnivores include the side-striped jackal, civet, genet and mongoose. The waters of the Kafue River teem with hippos, crocodiles and water monitors, and giant termite mounds (sometimes 10 feet tall!) are scattered across the park’s open plains.

Relax your mind, energize your body and ignite the adventurer within as you explore Kafue National Park on a luxury safari with Austin-Lehman, soaking up the park’s vast tracks of pristine wilderness – and, of course, the wildlife that inhabits it.

Did You Know…

Kafue National Park was proclaimed in 1950 – it’s the 3rd largest park in Africa, approximately the size of Wales – and twice the size of Yellowstone Park!
The park is home to over 400 bird species, including the wattled crane, purple crested loerie and Pel’s fishing owl.
The Kafue and Lunga are great fishing rivers, good for bream, barbel and fresh water pike. Musungwa Lodge in the south hosts an annual fishing competition in September on Lake Itezhi Tezhi.
One of Kafue's main tributaries, the Lufupa River, enters the park via the Busanga Swamps. During the rains, it floods out over the adjacent Busanga Plains, and when the waters recede around May, they leave behind lush vegetation.
The Busanga Plains is one of Zambia's most significant wetland resources and is also one of the few areas in the world that remains untouched by development and human activity.

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