Liuwa Plain
The park is open May to December however RPS only operate there in May, June, November and December
Liuwa Plain is remote - in fact it virtually redefines this word. You have to drive for at least 2 days from Lusaka to get there, the second day you will only cover 100 km but you will be toiling all day through sand, crossing dodgy pontoons and probably getting lost as there are no defined roads. Yes - it is remote.
But it is worth any journey. In the far west of Zambia, on the Angolan border, the park is 3600 sq. km of wooded islands in a flat plain of 70 x 30 km. This whole area is part of the Zambezi catchment and is flooded from late December to early May. During these flood months the 100 metre wide Zambezi becomes a 40 km wide stretch of water, swamp, reeds and islands. What a sight to fly over.
The plain is flat - horizon to horizon and under the vast skies run 30,000 blue wildebeest along with zebra, red lechwe, oribi, eland, buffalo and others. These antelope are prey to many hyena, some wild dog and a few cheetah. There is a well known single lioness, Lady Liuwa, who was joined by two introduced males in 2009. Hopefully a new pride will develop. The birds above everything are breathtaking here. There are many species and lots of them! Especially in the months of May, June and November, December. During these months as the water recedes and latterly the rains arrive there are carpets of flowers just to put the finishing touch to the extraordinary scenes.
During the 1990s Robin led expeditions to Liuwa. He loved the area - not only because of the beauty but because we were always alone there. For various reason we stopped going in the late nineties. However, African Parks have taken on the administration and are doing a great job on law enforcement, reintroduction of species and so during certain months we have access to their private camp and we are back in. For all the details see Liuwa Plain
Map of Zambia showing Liuwa Plain
Activities
- game drives, walks, excellent birding, boating through the Zambezi floodplain in May/June
