No One Considers Zambia for a Safari Holiday but This is Why You Should

Few people think of a safari holiday on Zambia’s Lower Zambezi Valley but it offers everything you’d expect from popular options such as South Africa. Go now, before everyone else catches on, writes Richard Holmes.

The pod of hippos, it seemed, were not impressed. As our aluminium fishing skiff scudded past on the rushing waters of the Zambezi River, tight lines floating east with the current, one gave me the beady eyeball. Another snorted in irritation that we’d disturbed their peaceful corner of the Lower Zambezi valley while a third, no doubt the dominant male, flexed his jaws wide to show just who was in charge in this neck of the woods. We kept our voices low and left the hippos to their eddies, happy to keep drifting through this wonderfully wild corner of southern Africa.

When you imagine an African safari, chances are you think first of the game-rich reserves of South Africa’s eastern Kruger National Park; famous for its luxury lodges, lush bushveld and endless big cat sightings. Or, perhaps, it’s the iconic wildebeest migrations of the Serengeti and Masai Mara? If you have an adventurous bent you may even look to discover the seasonal floods that transform Botswana’s Okavango Delta.

Zambia? Unlikely.

For years Zambia has flown under the radar for “Big Five” safaris, known mostly for its under-canvas camps in remote reserves; far-flung outposts where hardy types in sturdy boots set out on long walks in the wilderness. But design-led bush escapes coupled with creature comforts, all set just 30 minutes’ flight from an international airport? Not so much.

However, that’s beginning to change, as a clutch of elegant new lodges up the luxury ante across Zambia, enticing travellers into little-known corners of the country. And arguably it’s the riverside lodges of the Lower Zambezi valley that are leading the charge.

But first, perhaps, some geography.

Running 2574 kilometres from source to sea, the Zambezi River is Africa’s fourth-longest waterway, and the largest east-flowing river in Africa. From its headwaters high in the northwest of Zambia, it traces a sinuous route through Angola, skirting the borders of Namibia and Botswana before plunging over Victoria Falls. It’s here where most travellers forget about the Zambezi, having rafted its rapids and marvelled at what the local Tsonga people have long known as Mosi-oa-Tunya, “the Smoke that Thunders”.

Some 500 kilometres downstream lies the Lower Zambezi Valley, one of Africa’s most beautiful wilderness destinations. And it was here, in the fading light of yet another technicolour African sunset, that the hippos were lodging their complaints.

The heart of the region is the Lower Zambezi National Park, a 4092sq km stretch of wilderness filled with four of Africa’s iconic Big Five – there are no rhinoceros here – along with a plethora of indigenous fauna and flora. On the opposite bank lies Zimbabwe’s famous Mana Pools National Park, while surrounding the Lower Zambezi National Park is the vast – and unfenced – Chiawa Game Management Area (GMA), where communities and wildlife live side-by-side. The end result is a wilderness greater than the sum of its parts; a transfrontier ecosystem where animals roam across borders, and travellers journey through a truly wild landscape.

“The valley is just a natural haven for wildlife,” explains Ian Stevenson, CEO of Conservation Lower Zambezi (CLZ), which has worked to conserve the region for the past 29 years. “The valley floor is relatively narrow on the Zambian side, in parts only 4km wide, and so you get this incredible focus of wildlife on the river and in the riverine forest.”

Those forests of Winterthorn acacia play host to an array of wildlife, from shy leopards on the hunt to huge herds of elephants that feast on the seed pods in the winter. This is also when towering sausage trees come briefly into flower – on the ground, a veritable feast for antelope such as impala and waterbuck – before they form the pendulous fruit that lends them their name. From stands of wild mango and Natal mahogany, a whirr of wings may reveal a cloud of colourful bee-eaters.

Amid the forests, the shoreline is strung like a beaded necklace with lodges great and small. Some offer just a handful of rustic canvas tents fitted with bucket showers and campsites, while others – like Lolebezi, which opened in 2022 – offer the last word in bush luxury.

Something of a Goldilocks option is the Zambezi Grande, set on the outskirts of the national park. Once a family holiday home, in 2022 it reopened as a boutique safari lodge with 10 rooms and suites perched on the banks above the river. All offer private terraces, but it’s the spacious freestanding suites that offer the best river views, and decor that blends vintage safari charm with contemporary luxury. Here natural textures abound, with subtle nods to the history of the lodge and the rich landscape that lies beyond the pool deck. Both here, standing with a sunset G&T in hand, or out in the bush at a fireside barbecue – where hyenas prowled past in the shadows – you’ll find a wonderful immersion in the landscape.

But as important as where you stay is when to go, as the Lower Zambezi is a highly seasonal destination. While summer brings a flurry of migrant birds that attract hardy twitchers, the heavy rains transform the notorious black cotton soils into a quagmire that eats 4×4 vehicles for breakfast. Though a few hardy lodges stay open during this time – and rates are lower – most close for the truly wet months from November to February.

By March the rains taper off, giving way to dry winter days dishing up blue skies and warm weather. While mid-winter temperatures are mild, from August to November – the best time to visit – the mercury climbs to offer sun-soaked days ideal for being out on the river.

And part of the appeal of the Lower Zambezi valley is the diversity of activities on offer. While lodges all offer game drives and bush walks through the Park, exploring the wide floodplains that connect the river to the escarpment, it’s time on the river that you’ll remember most. Canoe adventures explore the quieter side channels, where you’re less likely to bump into pods of hippo, while speedboat safaris allow for close-up encounters and wonderful birding amid the riverine reed beds.

And then, of course, there’s the fishing.

The Zambezi River is famously home to the hard-fighting African tiger fish. Anglers speak in hushed tones of Hydrocynus vittatus, a fish as famous for its spiky mouthful of razor teeth as its relentless fight. It takes a deft touch to hook, and once it’s on the line you’d best keep it taught. Give a little slack and you’ll discover the tiger’s tactic of “fin-walking” in a bid to throw the hook. Happily, most guides on the river have been fishing these waters since childhood, and you’re bound to see a tiger landed on board. And then, safely returned to the water: fishing on the river is strictly catch-and-release.

It’s all part of the ethos that drives the steady development of tourism in the region. A fascination with this thoroughly wild corner of southern Africa, and a passion for sharing it with the world, coupled with a dedication to protecting this unsung wilderness.

Source: NZ Herald