An African safari trip in Zambia’s South Luangwa National Park, located on an eponymous tributary of the Mighty Zambezi River, feels like the Africa of old; before places like the Okavango Delta were beset by lodges boasting private rim-flow swimming pools, award-winning décor and haute cuisine.
South Luangwa is (or was) the home of legendary game rangers and guides, including Norman Carr. Ever-present lions, elephants, buffaloes, hyenas, leopards and hippos aside, the South Luangwa Valley is also home to some special animals that nature connoisseurs come to see: Thornicroft’s giraffe and a brace of antelope including the semi-aquatic red lechwe and puku, majestic roan and sable, and eland, largest of all of them. When the river dries up in the winter months to create pools and ox-bow lakes, the place becomes the busiest airfield in Southern Africa for waterbirds from far and wide.
