As firm believers in the further you go the better the experience, no where encapsulates this more than the vast Liuwa Plains National Park in Western Zambia, on the Angolan border. We have been lucky enough to visit this amazing place a few times – the travel to get there, although getting easier and easier (more on this shortly) is worth it. This huge area of open plains is not only spectacularly beautiful but offers a remote safari quite unlike anything else in Africa.
Liuwa is a conservation success story for African Parks – and with one of our favourite safari operators Ker & Downey running King Lewanika Lodge you really are onto a winner. This luxury small tented lodge is opulent yet relaxed, luxurious yet authentic – in our minds it’s just perfect. With one six tented suites suites and one two bedroom family suite the small feel of this property only goes to emphasise the vast wilderness you are sat in. And vast it is, with 3,369 square kms of untamed pristine wilderness shared by just the camp guests and the researchers in this area.
Liuwa is a hot spot for researchers because its such an unusual ecosystem – and plays host to the second largest wildebeest migration in Africa which you can witness without a thousand other vehicles vying for the best spot. From October to December you can sit back and watch as the wildebeest crowd into this area and all the predator action that brings – and boy it does not disappoint, cheetah, hyena and lion all make the most of this abundance of food.
King Lewanika has also just had a wonderful new addition – a wonderfully zen pool and additional dining area – with added spaces for guests to chill and enjoy the wonderful views of open plains, who knows what you might spot day to day as you sit quietly reading a book.
The hyena experience at Liuwa is amazing, with the option to head out with researchers to see huge clans of hyena, their pups, their dens, hunting – the works, no where else can you see these amazing animals so close and so uninterrupted – we can ensure you will feel warmly towards them after anytime in their company, and the damage done by the Lion King will be firmly unravelled. They are after all rather enchanting.
Ker & Downey have now brilliantly added daily flights from Livingstone and Lusaka making reaching Liuwa easier than ever before – we really hope this opens up this area to more guests, as this is an area not often visited – which is ironic as it is always the highlight of everyone’s trip when we can persuade people to visit this lesser known safari destination.
As you may have been able to tell we feel incredibly passionate about Liuwa as a safari destination but do still come up against resistance when trying to suggest it amongst other more famous areas. We hope this blog post will go a little way to persuading people to head to Liuwa when they’re doing a Zambia safari.
