During my travel writing career, I have had the privilege of visiting some of the most beautiful and wild areas in Africa, but nowhere, in my view, comes close to the vast national parks of Zambia. And certainly my favourite of all these sprawling wilderness areas is the Lower Zambezi National Park.
On the opposite side of the Zambezi River to the better-known Mana Pools National Park in Zimbabwe, the Lower Zambezi is one of those wildlife gems that you might not think to visit if you didn’t know a little bit about it first.
The 4,000 square-kilometre park sprawls out from the Zambezi River, where it enjoys some 120 kilometres of riverfront, and rises up and over the escarpment, stretching out into an impenetrable and seemingly endless Miombo Forest.
My most recent journey to the park began as our plane swooped down over the wide Lower Zambezi, winding like a brown python through the valley, and I could see a herd of elephants in single file making their way across the floodplain towards the river. I was en route to the beautiful Baines’ River Camp, a luxury lodge situated on the banks of the Zambezi, in a buffer conservation area on the outskirts of the park (the animals all move between this zone and there are no fences).
Baines’ is one of the most established of the lodges on the Lower Zambezi, and its position beneath towering fig and Jackalberry trees on the banks of the river with sweeping views of the river made me feel instantly at ease and excited the moment I walked through the main doors.
One of Baines’ top experiences is a canoe safari on the river, and it didn’t take long for us to kick off our travel gear and head to the water.
After a short game drive into the park, we boarded a number of Baines’ canoes set on the banks of the river, and paddled off and up the river. Paddling silently in a canoe is certainly one of the most peaceful ways to experience the lazy Zambezi, and we floated below huge Jackalberry trees while troops of vervet monkey leaped and chattered above, and drifted into bays and inlets and rivers, snaking in and out of the land.
The peace was broken by some giant animals—a massive breeding herd of elephants—appearing in the brush on the edge of the river just ahead. Just like us, they seemed a little surprised, unsure who or what we were. So we held back for a moment and waited.
The elephants settled down and began to drink, and after a while they let through two young baby elephants that were hiding between the legs of the adults. Their long trunks swooped and swished above the river as they sucked giant trunk-fulls of water and emptied them it into their mouths like little waterfalls. Some of the elephants plodded into the water and began to swim fully submerged save for their trunks as we sat there in our canoes, spellbound by the majestic privilege.
Still reeling from the paddle encounters, we jumped back on the game drive vehicles and headed off to explore the rest of the reserve. Most of the Lower Zambezi National Park is unreachable by vehicle as the reserve disappears up and into the escarpment of the valley and beyond. But the flat floodplains along the riverfront make for spectacular game drives, revealing a wild and wonderful world bustling with birds and open plains filled with wildebeest, zebra and buffalo.
The river drive is also a leopard paradise, we were told, and we scanned the bush eagerly, knowing these shy cats lurk among the trees as they hunt the smaller animals—bushbuck, impala, duiker.
It’s true that many of the best stories in Africa end with a sunset, and the vast Lower Zambezi National Park certainly dishes out a sundowner to write home about.
The day couldn’t have ended better when the Baines’ team herded us back into the lodge, into the speedboat, and drove us towards one of the sand islands in the middle of the river.
There, set up on a sandbank in a foot of water was a host of deck chairs and a drinks stand waiting for us. You can imagine the scene; sitting in the middle of the Zambezi River, hippos puffing just meters away as we sipped our G&Ts and watched the sun dip down over the escarpment.
Perfect.
A four course dinner waited for us as we arrived back at our beautiful bungalow rooms, boasting more luxury than you would think necessary for the middle of the bush, but no less appreciated by my weary body.
As I sat under the stars, eating fresh fish caught in the river, and chatting and laughing about the adventures of the day, I remembered why I love the Lower Zambezi. There are few places in Africa where you can enjoy so many different experiences in one park; from canoeing, to game driving with predators; to walks and sundowners on a sand bank among the hippos, all without bumping into many other people.
In short: Lower Zambezi has it all, and that’s why I love it.
Did you fall in love with the Lower Zambezi National Park reading this article? Then start planning your Zambezi trip here.
