| ANIMALS
AND BIRDS
There is such an
abundance of animals in this park that it could
be called crowded! Antelopes, wildebeest and
zebra congregate along the river and on the
open savannah grasslands in the north, where
most safari camps are located. The muddy Luangwa
is home to hundreds of crocs and often over
100 hippo in a single pool. The Nile Crocodile
is the world's largest reptile - maxing at around
15ft ( metres) long and 100 years old.
Night drives are
renowned for sightings of leopard and lion on
the hunt. Baboons and vervet monkeys seem to
be everywhere and even rarely seen animals like
the honey badger and civet, are likely to be
seen. Large hunting packs of African wild dog
- who require a large traversing area - travel
easily through this park and are a special sight
due to their endangered status. Thornicroft's
giraffe are indigenous to the park, and are
one of 8 different races of giraffe in Africa.
They have darker muzzles and are slightly smaller
than their cousins. Even the zebras are a sub-species
of the common plains (or Burchell's) zebra,
and lack the muddy-brown shadow stripe of its
neighbours.
With over 400 species
of birds recorded here you could easily see
over 100 different species in a three day visit.
Some particularly beautiful ones are; carmine
bee-eaters, kingfishers, lilac-breasted rollers,
bateleur eagles, saddle-billed storks, crowned
cranes and fish eagles.
SEASONS
Rainy
Season: The South Luangwa is inaccessible
during the rainy season from December until
the last rains in about April. After one night
of heavy rain and thunder, the Luangwa River
could rise by several metres to form a lake
that was not there the day before.
Dry Season: May to August are
the colder winter months with warm days and
cold nights. After that it gets hotter and dryer
and by September and October it is very hot.
By this time the bushes have wilted and the
earth is bone dry, so animals assemble along
the river and at remaining waterholes. These
hot dry months are the best for game viewing.
SOUTH
LAUNGWA SPECIALITIES
• Walking safaris with expert guides
• Night drives with good sightings of
leopard
• Truly wild and remote setting
• An abundance of animals
• Encountering a lion or herd of elephants
on a walk
• Huge pods of hippos
• Exciting bird watching
• Mobile camps with all the luxuries
• Unusual animals sightings including
wild dog, honey badger, civet
FACTS
Off-road
and night drives are permitted
Most of the safari camps in the north of the
park are closed from November to June because
of unusable roads and muddy conditions.
This is a malarial area
The park covers an area of 3,494 ²miles
(9,050 ²km)
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