The Lower Zambezi
THE LOWER ZAMBEZI…
Nature's Playground Writer: Sarah Kingdom Photography: Royal Zambezi Lodge
T
he Lower Zambezi National Park
is located in southern Zambia, with the Zambezi River forming the boundary between Zambia and Zimbabwe. This is an area known for its abundant wildlife, with everything from herds of elephant to fish eagles and everything in between. The river itself is home to hippos and crocodiles and the coveted tiger fish. To the north of the 4092 square-kilometre park is the steep and rugged Zambezi Escarpment. Most visitors arrive by boat or light aircraft. However, not having either of those means of transport at our disposal, we decided to drive. Five hours after leaving Lusaka, three of which were spent on dirt road, we reached Baines’ River Camp. A slight ‘issue’ with dirty fuel and a clogged fuel filter had slowed us down just long enough for me to, single-handedly, eat all the ‘snacks’ I had packed for our road trip…something I was to regret deeply when we arrived at camp to be greeted with a bountiful and delicious lunch!
Baines’ River Camp is located just upstream of the national park boundary, inside the
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TRAVEL & LEISURE ZAMBIA
Game Management Area (GMA), with spectacular views over the Zambezi. Named after Thomas Baines, the famous 19thcentury artist and explorer, this small and intimate lodge really captures the feel of a bygone era with its classic colonial-style buildings and casual elegance.
Just as the sun was setting, we heard the hum of an aeroplane approaching, and were perfectly positioned to see the regular patrol flight of the Conservation Lower Zambezi (CLZ) ‘plane passing directly over our heads. The park is home to lion, hippo and wild dog, who are all listed as ‘Vulnerable’ or ‘Endangered’ under the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as a result of poaching and the illegal trade in wildlife products. To counteract this, CLZ, a non-profit NGO (non-governmental organisation), was set up in 1994 to work to preserve the wildlife in the national park and GMA (a total area of approximately 9,000 square kilometres). CLZ provides technical advice and support to the Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW), administers an environmental education programme targeting over 2,500 young scholars a year, and runs a community support programme focusing on human/wildlife conflict mitigation in the neighbouring GMA. After 20 years of working with local wildlife authorities in the Lower Zambezi valley, CLZ is now one of the oldest, most well-established and well-recognised conservation organisations in Zambia.
Straight after lunch we were off onto the river and it was wonderful to reconnect with all the sights, sounds and smells of the bush around us. Our boat ride took us downstream into the national park, past elephants with babies and pods of hippos, to the spot where our canoes were ready and waiting on the river bank. Leaving the main river, we headed off down a channel fringed with overhanging jackalberry and Natal mahogany trees. We would re-join the main river after seven kilometres. This was some of the easiest canoeing I’ve ever done. I had paddled for all of five minutes when our guide, Luke, informed me that I could put down my paddle, as he would steer and the current would carry us through the channel…so much for getting in any exercise to burn off all those ‘car snacks’ and enormous lunch! We spent a tranquil afternoon drifting downriver, past banks teeming with birdlife, stopping briefly on an island for a drink and to watch the sun go In the morning we awoke to a river as down on our first evening in this beautiful smooth and shimmering as shot silk, park. stretching out in front of us across to the
