Southern Africa

Getting beyond the safari camps

By Mazuba Kapambwe , Stuart Butler & Heather Richardson

Things to do
Guides
Itineraries
Travel Companies
Places

Southern Africa is not so much a geographic or political entity, more a convenient term—often used by outsiders, including travel guides like ourselves—to group a collection of states marked by an astonishing diversity.

Botswana, Eswatini (Swaziland), Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, occupy the southern tip of Africa; their location being one of the few things they have in common (some include Angola; the island of Madagascar is usually excluded because of its distinctiveness).

One thing they do share is a troubled past: a visitor to any of these countries will find plenty of food for thought as to the long-term effects of colonialism, many of which are still playing out, including, arguably, in the travel industry.

On the positive side there are the most fantastic sights on offer, and experiences to be had. The natural beauty is, of course, breathtaking; a safari in one of the world-famous national parks is an adventure not to be missed. But there's so much more to Southern Africa than its safari parks. There are nearly 70 million people living here, speaking something like 1,500 different languages, with individual cultures and distinct identities. You'll come for the safari, but you'll fall in love with the people.

It will be stunning, it may be unsettling. But a trip to Southern Africa comes with one guarantee: the memories you take home will stay with you forever.

Hidden gems in Southern Africa

Central Kalahari Game Reserve

Tau Pan Camp

Rory Sheldon

Accommodation

The Kalahari is one of my favourite places to visit in Botswana, but it can be hard to find the right camp to fit the budget and experience. There are not very many camps out here, and visitors often confuse areas of the Kalahari with neighboring Makgadikgadi Pans as well as lodges along the Boteti area. Kalahari camps are austere, but they’re surrounded by wildlife and are a great place to see lions and leopards. Of the few camps out here, my top recommendation is Tau Pan, owned by Kwando Safaris, a great Botswana-based company. Tau Pan is located within the Central Kalahari Game Reserve. Situated on its own waterhole it has the best location anywhere in the Kalahari with abundant wildlife sightings – especially lions. But my favourite thing about Tau Pan is the amazing bushman walks offered by the camp, walking with a San bushman and learning about his lifestyle and culture while he shows you how to track wildlife. You can also do night walks and stargazing. It’s a magical place. A close runner up to Tau Pan is Dinaka, owned by Ker&Downey. It sits just north of the reserve with some interesting biodiversity and brown hyena often sighted. These are both upper range camps, both reached by air. If the budget doesn’t stretch that far, you’ll find more affordable camps in Ghanzi and around Deception Valley. These are a lot more budget orientated, but the game viewing is nowhere near as good. I find the best time to visit is between April to August. One can self drive to Ghanzi, but you need to get on a charter flight leaving from Maun to get to Tau Pan and Dinaka.

Okavango Delta

See African wild dogs in the Okavango Delta

Rory Sheldon

Experience

The African wild dog, also known as painted dogs, are an endangered species with a wild population that has plummeted to just 6,500. They are found in sporadic and isolated patches across southern and east Africa, but by far their biggest concentration is in my backyard, the Okavango Delta, and watching a pack call and 'rally' before embarking on a hunt is one of the most enthralling safari experiences you can find anywhere in Africa. Just like its domesticated relatives, the wild dog are extremely social and highly verbal: communicating with each other in clicks and whistles that sound more like birdsong than a dog growling or barking. This helps them achieve impressive feats of coordination as they take down impala, or sometimes even wildebeest. Trust me – you have to see a wildebeest up close to understand how daunting an undertaking this is! You can see wild dogs throughout the Okavango Delta, but my recommended spot is around the Linyanti area in the north. Some camps are located close to resident packs of wild dogs and you can hear them crying, jostling and playing in the morning and evenings. The wild dog's main threat is habitat encroachment by agriculture, and farmers who engage hunters to protect their livestock. Thus, well-managed tourism and conservation is an excellent bulwark to help conserve their habitats and this is an experience I'd recommend to anyone.

South Luangwa National Park

Chikunto Safari Lodge

Robert Zgozi

There’s some good accommodation in South Luangwa but one of my favourites is Chikunto Safari Lodge, located on a horseshoe bend in the Luangwa River near the Mfuwe entrance in the park’s southern edge. What makes this place really stand out is the six-metre high platform with panoramic views over the river and a private tented suite where you can camp out overnight under the stars. When I visited I found it totally breathtaking. It doesn’t come cheap, but I always recommend it for honeymooners or couples looking for something extra special.

Liuwa Plain National Park

Wildebeest migration without the crowds

Sarah Kingdom

Liuwa Plain is home to the second largest wildebeest migration in Africa and, compared to the more famous wildebeest migration in East Africa, this spot is hardly known. Each year in November, with the start of the rainy season, massive herds of blue wildebeest, 45,000 strong, migrate to Liuwa Plains, often mingling with zebras along the way.

Lower Zambezi National Park

Canoe safaris in Lower Zambezi & Bangweulu

Sarah Kingdom

Seasoned safari-goers who are tired of the conventional game drive should ditch the 4X4 and get into a canoe for a watery safari in either Lower Zambezi National Park or the Bangweulu Wetlands. For me there is something timeless about travelling through these swamps. I find it a world away from racing around in a safari jeep. Your guide at the front of the canoe, long pole in hand, propelling you through narrow channels, between the thick reeds and papyrus. Silence, except for slight burbles and gurgles as you glide through the water. It’s one of my all-time highlights.

Kasanka National Park

See the world's biggest mammal migration

Sarah Kingdom

You’ve heard about the famed wildebeest migration of East Africa, but for the biggest mammal migration on earth you can’t miss the spectacular fruit bats of Kasanka between October and December. I love standing high on the viewing platform overlooking the tiny bat forest at Kasanka and peering into trees that drip with thousands upon thousands of straw coloured fruit bats. As dusk falls, they begin to depart, flocking into the sky and filling the air with their chatter. Millions of bats dart in and out of the trees, like a swarm of overgrown bees, before flying over your head and off to spend the night looking for food. By the time they’re done it's almost too dark to see the ladder down from the hide, so don’t forget to bring a torch! Beyond the bats, Kasanka is home to one of Africa’s rarer antelopes, the shy, secretive, semi-aquatic sitatunga – the park is home to more than 500 of them, making it Africa’s densest and most visible population of sitatunga! The elusive Blue monkey and the little-known Kinda baboon also both call Kasanka home and it’s unlikely you’ll encounter either of these species anywhere else in Southern Africa.

Kafue National Park

Where to see everything in one place

Sarah Kingdom

Often overlooked in favour of Zambia’s smaller parks, Kafue is a sleeping giant. One of Africa’s oldest and largest parks and one of its wildest, it’s a place of vast, remote landscapes, spectacular rivers, open plains, woodlands and stunning scenery. If you want to avoid too much domestic flying, Kafue National Park has everything you could want. You can spend at least a week here travelling from camp to camp. This is the only park in Zambia where I have been lucky enough to see both aardvark and pangolin – two very rare safari sightings! The Busanga Plains to the far north of the park are one of Kafue’s highlights. Accessible only during the dry season, I love heading out onto the plains early in the morning, to see puku and red lechwe, in their hundreds, visible in the early morning mist that cloaks the plain just before sunrise. Equally special, but seldom visited are the Nanzhila Plains in the park’s south. This is a superb place for bird watchers. For me, the star of Nanzhila is the beautiful black-cheeked lovebirds, endemic to Zambia and only found in a small area in the southwest of the country. If you have the time and an accommodating safari operator, try to include both the far north and the far south of Kafue into your trip. While Kafue doesn’t have the huge herds of game that can be found in some other Zambia safari parks, what it lacks in density it more than makes up for in diversity. There are at least 161 species of mammal, six cat species, and 22 species of antelope.

South Luangwa National Park

The best place for big cats

Sarah Kingdom

If it’s big cats you’re after, look no further than South Luangwa, nicknamed the Valley of the Leopards, with one of the densest populations of leopard anywhere. It's also home to lions and spotted hyena, along with an abundant wild dog population on team canine. Some of my most memorable leopard encounters have happened in South Luangwa. Watching as a leopard, completely unaware of our presence, descended from a tree, only spotting us once she’d reached the ground, was an encounter to remember. Leopards love to drag their kills up into trees for safekeeping, so don’t forget to look up from time to time when you’re out on a drive. My favourite way to see the wildlife in South Luangwa is on a walking safari. On a walking safari, you can see lions, leopards, elephants and learn about the flora of the park. It’s not all about big beasts however; a walking safari will allow you to get up close with a termite mound and learn about Zambia’s ecosystem.

North Luangwa National Park

Walking safari in North Luangwa

Sarah Kingdom

North Luangwa is remote, hard to reach, and therefore blissfully quiet and crowd-free. A walking safari in North Luangwa is among my absolute favourite things to do anywhere in Zambia. Game drives are not permitted in the majority of the park and access is primarily by walking safari. You’ll leave the vehicle in camp, setting out on foot each day with your guide and an armed scout, to walk among elephants, antelope, zebra and even the occasional predator, always maintaining a safe distance! The last time I set out – always with a seasoned (and armed!) guide in the lead – we saw tracked elephants and antelope rustling in the bush. A word of caution though: this is no armchair safari. Much patience is needed, and of course you’ll need to be reasonably fit to hike in the Zambian heat. If your idea of a safari is racing from place to place in a jeep trying to tick off all the Big Five, this one probably isn’t for you.

Nxai Pan National Park

Zebra migration in Nxai Pan National Park

Anthony Ham

I’ve always loved Nxai Pan – it’s never busy, my sightings of lion, elephant and cheetah seem perfectly framed by these big horizons, and the baobabs by the salt pans here are a striking presence. With a handful of campsites (including at remote Baines’ Baobabs, a remarkable cluster of seven ancient baobabs (named after explorer and painter, Thomas Baines) and just one upmarket lodge, there’s rarely more than a couple of other vehicles at any sighting. As well as plenty of elephant, and a good chance of seeing lion and cheetah, Nxai Pan has a couple of other wildlife highlights to draw you here. After the rains, thousands of zebra migrate here from the Chobe and Linyanti rivers after the rains forming part of Africa’s longest zebra migration. And for reasons unknown, Nxai Pan is the only place in Botswana where you can see springbok and impala in the same place.

Okavango Panhandle

Birding in the Okavango Panhandle

Anthony Ham

Although not a big game destination, the broad and meandering Okavango River in the northwest of the country is a birder’s paradise, with over 350 recorded species including several iconic Okavango specialties. It is also popular among anglers, particularly around September, when the receding flood waters concentrate huge shoals of baitfish, attracting a melee of catfish, tiger fish, bream and birds. Activities are mostly by boat or on foot. Other wildlife is far less common, and you’d be lucky to see much more than a crocodile or hippo in the river’s waters.

Kwando Reserve

Linyanti, Kwando and Selinda Reserves

Anthony Ham

Scattered along the northern waterways of the perennial Linyanti and Kwando rivers, and the seasonal Selinda spillway, the camps in these three neighbouring private concessions operate in a similar manner to those inside the Okavango Delta. Game-viewing is as good as in the Okavango, with predator-tracking a particular specialty of the Kwando camps. Most camps offer game or wildlife drives, mokoro boat trips, and sunset boat excursions. What you see in these parts depends very much on the time of year you visit. In Linyanti, for example, from May to October, expect to see lots of elephants, while zebras migrate through the area, usually from February to April. At other times, wildlife can be very scarce, although the November-to-April wet season is excellent for birding in all three concessions, with migrants from Europe and North Africa here en masse.