Liuwa Plain: Africa’s Greatest Secret

By: Mindy Roberts Photos: Time + Tide, Will Burrard-Lucas, Uncaged Africa, Peter Fernhead

Liuwa Plain National Park has long been one of Africa’s best-kept secrets. One of the earliest protected areas on the continent, in the late 1800s it was proclaimed a royal hunting ground for the then Lozi chief King Lewanika, after whom the Park’s first permanent camp has been named. He situated families in order to protect different pans of water and woodlands andthistradition continues today, with Liuwa Plain being the only National Park in Zambia where people live inside the Park’s borders.

Since 2003, African Parks, the conservation non-profit organization, have been managing Liuwa Plain in partnership with the Zambian Department of National Parks and Wildlife and the Barotse Royal Establishment. Wildlife numbers have grown substantially over this time, and, along with various reintroductions, the Park now boasts healthy lion, cheetah, hyena, red lechwe, zebra, and, especially, wildebeest populations.

Liuwa Plain is home to the second biggest wildebeest migration on earth. Liuwa’s blue wildebeest movement boasts tens of thousands of animals, but different from the East African migration and due to its remote location and relative anonymity, you can experiencethis spectacle almost on your own. There is only one permanent camp in the Park, newly opened King Lewanika Lodge, operated by the veteran safari company Norman Carr Safaris, part of the Time + Tide collection of owner-operated camps.

King Lewanika Lodge opens during the peak times in the year to see the

wildebeest herds: from late October right through until mid-July. This year, Proflight have also joined forces to open up tourism to Western Zambia,now offering flights from Lusaka to Kalabo on Wednesdays and Saturdays to coincide with King Lewanika Lodge’s opening dates.

The Zambian Carnivore Programme has been monitoring the wildebeest herds’ movements over the past few years, and the data shows the migration follows a circular pattern and remains mostly within the boundaries of Liuwa Plain National Park. The main herds move south into the area of King Lewanika Lodge as the first rains start to fall: towards the end of October and through until November. The cows calve, swelling the population, and it’s not uncommon to see tens of thousands within the vicinity of the camp during these late months. At this time of the year - November/December - the storms are spectacular, lightning brightens the sky, and the lions are often nearby stalking their prey.

From January through until May, the streams and water pans fill up, the wildebeest herds eat their fill and the calves have a chance to grow and become strong. During this time, thousands of wading birds use the Plains to roost and raise their young, and throughout this period the resident clans of hyena - there are four near the camp, with up to 50 individuals in each - are hunting a wildebeest a night. Resident bulls remain behind but the main wildebeest herds start to move north again towards the top of the Park around June/July each year, depending on the water levels.

With the new camp, and now the new flight routing, there is a wonderful opportunity to share Liuwa Plain and her magic with the world. Words really can’t describe how majestic it feels to watch a shooting star overhead, enjoy a 360-degree uninterrupted panorama of the landscape, and hear the whooping of a hyena or thespine-tingling low roar of a lion nearby.

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