Zambia 9 smaller but equally attractive national parks

Blue Lagoon National Park

This Park is an undiscovered gem. The vast plains are spectacular in the dry season and transform completely from a dry grass flatland to a watery wonderland in the wet season, as the flats fill with water and the migratory birds arrive from far and wide.

Until recently, this park was not open to the public as it fell under the preserve of the Defence Ministry. It was established more than 40 years ago by the Critchleys, a retired colonel from the British Army and his wife Erica – an environmentally oriented farming family who then sold it to the National Parks Department. Their farmhouse still exists which is now the Park reception. A little further on are two old chalets and two new chalets available for accommodation.

Blue Lagoon lies only 120kms west of Lusaka on the Kafue Flats and the vast floodplain attracts thousands of Kafue lechwe, zebra, sitatunga, some buffalo and numerous waterbirds. The plains are fringed with acacia woodland. This park is an birdwatchers dream. The abundance and variety is astounding and the fact that it has not been opened up until recently and is still undeveloped, makes it one of those last untouched places left in Africa.

This park, along with the Lochinvar National Park on the other side of the Kafue Flats together hold the largest concentrations of the Kafue Lechwe and herds numbering in the hundreds can be observed here. The Lechwe is the most water-loving antelope. It loves these habitats of floodplains and seasonally inundated grasslands. It frequently feeds in shallow water and will submerge if threatened. Although lechwe run in herds of about 30, several thousand may gather together on the floodplains.

An unusual site on the plains is the site of huge river pythons which are attracted by the concentration of the lechwe and birds. This Park provides a stark contrast to the other Parks in Zambia because of the vast flat lansdcape and spectacular birding – a good add-on to your tour of Zambia.

Lavushi Manda National Park

Lavushi Manda is a picturesque park with rolling hills, rich riparian forest and striking rocky outcrops. Though the park is fairly large at 1,500km2, poaching over the last few decades has grossly reduced the number of animals found within the park’s boundaries and tourist infrastructure and roads are limited at best. However, a new development project that began in 2011 in affiliation with the Kasanka Trust looks to up the anti-poaching drive and improve roads, so it would be worth monitoring the park’s progress in the months and years to come.

Lavushi Manda National Park (LMNP, 1500 km2) holds vast stretches of pristine hill miombo woodlands, large dambo wet grasslands, as well as gallery forests along the headwaters of the Lukulu and Lulimala rivers. A 40 km long dramatic rocky massif runs through the centre. The park covers a large part of the Lukulu and Lulimala river catchments immediately above the ecologically richest part of the Bangweulu floodplains/swamps. The park is of major importance for African and paleartic migrants, and serves as an upland wildlife refuge for ungulates of the Bangweulu in the wet season such as the Roan, Sable and Hartebeest. Although largely depleted, recent visits show there is still an excellent variety of large mammals present in small numbers, including Lion and Leopard. Possibly the last observation of a wild Black Rhinoceros in Zambia was made in LMNP in the late eighties, suggesting the park is highly suitable for reintroduction of the species.

Luambe National Park

At just 254 km², Luambe is one of Zambia’s smallest national parks. Situated on the eastern bank of the Luangwa it lies in the heart of the Luangwa valley between Lukusuzi, North and South Luangwa national parks. The park was declared in 1938 and is therefore one of the oldest conservation areas in Zambia.

The wildlife found in Luambe is similar to that of its larger neighbouring parks and includes all the typical large herbivores, carnivores as well as some less well-known species. However, the animals of Luambe are generally present at lower densities than in the bigger parks with the advantage that Luambe is less crowded than its more famous neighbours.

Habitat diversity in Luambe National Park is enormous and within a few kilometers the vegetation ranges from riverine forest, cathedral mopane woodland, floodplain acacia thickets to the sausage tree-dotted open grasslands of the Chipuka plains.

There are over 200 species of bird in Luambe and elephant populations as well as those of lion and leopard are said to be on the increase – so it’s well worth visiting now before everyone else catches on!

Lukusuzi National Park

Located on the eastern escarpment of the Luangwa Valley, between the North and South Luangwa Parks. To date this park has had no development or even management and the status of game is uncertain. There are apparently plans in the pipeline for its privatisation. Check with the tourist board for any new developments. For the curious 4×4 adventurer, it can be approached from the Chipata / Lundazi road, where a poor dirt track to the west traverses the park and connects up with the South Park border road. Not advisable in the wet season. Game scouts do man the gate and may be able to give advice on the condition of the road.

Lusaka National Park

Lusaka National Park is located roughly 30kms from Zambia’s capital city and opened to the public in June 2015, making it Zambia’s newest and most accessible park.

There are more than 1,000 species found inside the park, including white rhino, giraffe, eland, hartebeest, zebra, sable, kudu, blue wildebeest, waterbuck, black lechwe, impala, puku, bushbuck, reedbuck, warthog, pangolin, and axis deers.

This small park spans 6,715 hectares or 67.15 km²

The park offers activities such as camping, walking safaris and bicycle trails.

Directions:

Take the Leopards Hill road out of town. After the boom, take the first road right  into Chifewema Rd. (signposted) Take the first right again after second speed bump into a large gate.  There’s a signpost a this turn. Then take the next left.  Continue till next sign on left, then onto the gate.

Lusenga Plains National Park

Lusenga Plains National Park is in Luapula province in the North of Zambia. This park has not been operational for many years but it is now being restocked. Impala and zebra have been released , and soon wildebeest . Sabi Sands in SA is working on a project to relocate between 300 and 500 elephant from Sabi to Lusenga Plains and Sumbu NP in May 2009. New network roads are being graded, and funding is being sought for more scouts, firearms, vehicles for anti poaching, bicycles and motorbikes for scouts and possibly a light aircraft for surveys. Lusenga plains is being managed as a trust and is now accessible by road with signposts from Kawambwa.

Mweru Wantipa National Park

The swampland surrounding Lake Mweru Wantipa in the far northern part of the country is much the same as the swamps of the Bangweulu in its profusion of waterbirds during the rainy season. The lake is surrounded by local fishing villages. It is possible to ask them to take you through the swamps in a dugout for a negotiable fee.

Mweru Wantipa National Park, adjacent to the lake, used to harbour vast herds of elephant but poaching however has depleted most of the wildlife although there are still some small herds of buffalo. There are no tourist facilities but it is possible to camp along the lakeshore.

The park can be reached from Nchelenge, continuing on the dirt road alongside Lake Mweru and turning right just after Mununga, then left at Nkoshya. Or, if approaching from the east, after Mporokoso, turn right at Mukunsa and right again at Nkoshya. There is only one road through the park coming out at Kaputa near the Zaire border. The park is inaccessible during the rainy season (Dec-March).

Nyika National Park

Nyika Plateau is a beautiful, montane, highland area, lying on the Malawian border, at the eastern-most tip of Zambia. The park is actually an extension of the National Park on the Malawian side, which incorporates the rest of the Plateau.

Sitting 2000 meters above sea level, the views from the Plateau are spectacular with dramatic cloud formations on the horizon. This is surely one of the most beautiful places in Africa.
The higher elevations are open, undulating grasslands with incised valleys, creating panoramic views,slopes with masses of wild flowers, rolling green hills,  rocky outcrops, or koppies, and small, tropical forests nestled in the valleys. Due to the elevation of Nyika Plateau, it is pleasantly warm during the day as opposed to the intense heat of the valley below.

West Lunga National Park

West Lunga National Park is one of Zambia’s less visited Parks. It was proclaimed in the 1940s to protect the population of Yellow-backed Duiker, but it has had little official interest over the years and has mainly been used for hunting and fishing by the local communities.
Recently the West Lunga Development Trust was set up to help conserve this pristine and relatively sparsely populated area of Zambia. Local communities have been mobilized into Village Action Groups and Community Resource Boards are being set up to sustainably manage the natural resources. A game counting programme has been started and with more controls West Lunga can expect to see a rise in wildlife and visitor numbers in the future.
In 2008  the African Parks Network began managing West Lunga National Park. The Park is famous amongst ornithologists for the controversy surrounding the only endemic bird species, the white-chested tinkerbird. In 1964 the single specimen of this bird species was found. Avid birders have made numerous unsuccessful attempts to find more, making some think that the species was named after an aberrant individual of the golden-rumped tinkerbird.

Numerous rapids, stunning waterfalls, limestone caves, underground rivers, hot springs, the Kabompo Gorge, a sunken lake, and the source of the famous Zambezi River make this hidden corner of Zambia worth exploring.