THE BUSANGA PLAINS
Kafue National Park
Writer: Sarah Kingdom Photography: Joanne Hedger, Mukambi Safari Lodge
K
afue National Park is the oldest park in Zambia and one of the largest in all of Africa. It is relatively untouched by development and remains a pristine wilderness with sublime scenery, fantastic game viewing and impressive bird watching.
In the far north of the park, the Lufupa River flows into the Busanga Swamps. During the rains, this floods out over the adjacent plains. The Busanga Plains are the jewel of Kafue National Park—a vast mosaic of grassy seasonal floodplains stretching to the horizon. These 720-square-kilometre floodplains are dotted with palm groves, papyrus-choked reed beds, lily-covered lagoons, broad-leaved woodlands, open waterways and riverine vegetation. The plains drain after the rainy season and attract large numbers of game and fantastic birdlife…undoubtedly the best place for wildlife viewing in Kafue.
pods of hippo, extensive red lechwe populations, blue wildebeest, Lichtenstein’s hartebeest, defassa waterbuck, roan and sable antelope and the rare oribi as well as some of the largest herds of buffalo in the park, often numbering into the hundreds. Due to such a wealth of plains game, predator numbers are also strong, with large prides of lion a highlight of the region.
Being submerged for most of the year these flooded plains are a magnet for birds. Water, islands of fig trees and floodplains make for superb birding and more than 500 bird species have been recorded here. Ross’s and Schalow’s turacos, red-throated twinspot, brown firefinch, sooty chat, the rare rosy-throated (also known as the pink-throated or rosy-breasted) longclaw, countless herons amongst the large flocks of open-billed and yellow-billed storks, as well as rare wattled cranes and endemic Zambian barbet (Chaplin’s barbet) can all be seen.
We were at Plains Camp, the seasonal, beautiful bush camp of Mukambi A wide variety of species is found here, Safaris located in the north of the including large numbers of elephant, Busanga Plains. The camp overlooks
the open plains, only interrupted by tree- studded islands, where fig trees and wild date palms draw their nutrients from the remains of giant anthills. Our favourite part of camp was a wooden viewing platform on stilts tucked away high up in a fantastic fig tree, with breathtaking views out onto the floodplain. The sky was alight with fires the nights we were there, most likely ignited by poachers or fishermen, and from our vantage point we were mesmerised as the flames made their way across the plains, burnishing the sky brilliant orange. In the morning mist, as the sun started to peep above the horizon, the plains were liberally dotted with herds of red lechwe of various ages and sizes, from new-borns to a couple of onehorned, battle-scarred grandparents. Many of the herds numbered in their hundreds. Amongst these herds there was a sprinkling of wattled and crowned cranes, many with young in attendance. Wattled cranes, with their sharp, slim beaks and slender legs, are the largest cranes in Africa and the tallest flying bird on the continent. Listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, wattled cranes are often found with lechwe on the Busanga Plains. TRAVEL & LEISURE ZAMBIA
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