kafue national park
Kafue National Park is home to
the most diverse wilderness reserve in Africa.
It remains one of Africa's largest National Park
- greater in area than Switzerland and one of
the oldest established parks. The Kafue river
is at its core and there are many tributaries
and to the south the vast Itezhi-tezhi lake. The
terrain is varied from hill country to flat flood
plains, and from dense woodland to vast grass
plains. The Kafue National Park is a stronghold
for Red Lechwe, Roan, Sable, Eland, Sable and
excellent territory for the Wild Dog, Lion and
Cheetah.
Situated in the central-western
region of Zambia, the Kafue National Park is the
country's oldest park and by far the largest.
It was proclaimed in 1950 and is spread over 22
400 square kilometers and spills into three of
Zambia's provinces. It is one of the largest national
parks in the world and is unique in that over
67% of the Park has been set aside as "Wilderness
Area" where only walking safaris will be
conducted. The Park is a raw and diverse slice
of African wilderness with excellent game viewing,
birdwatching and fishing opportunities. Most of
the park is dominated by "Miombo Woodland"
that opens out into broad grassy "dambos"
with a riverine forest fringing the Kafue River
as it runs southwards through the park and empties
into Lake Itezhi-Tezhi. The sense of space and
wilderness the Kafue National Park affords is
virtually unrivalled.
The astounding Busanga Plains
dominate the northern section of the Park and
the area is often spoken of as an "undiscovered
gem". These floodplains are fed by the Lufupa
River which, after bursting its banks and then
receding, creates rich grasslands that attract
a huge diversity and high concentration of antelope.
The south of Kafue is characterised by Miombo,
Kalahari Sandveld, tall Mopane forests and the
wide open grasslands of the Nanzhila Plains.
Fed by the emerald green Lunga,
Lufupa and Kafue Rivers, the park sustains large
herds of a great diversity of wildlife. Unusual
features are the knobbly termite mounds scattered
across the plains. There are teak forests, large
numbers of the striking 'candelabra' tree, and
many large black granite boulders often looking
deceptively like a herd of elephant. Lichtenstein's
hartebeest, wildebeest, buffalo, zebra, puku and
impala are often found frequenting the dambos.
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