5 Day Kafue Park Safari

On arrival at O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg you are met by our representative and assisted to your scheduled flight to Lusaka, Zambia. From Lusaka you board a charter flight into the northern reaches of vast Kafue National Park, landing near the Busanga Plains where you are welcomed by your guide and transferred to Shumba Camp. This small, exclusive camp is set on a treed island raised above the surrounding floodplains, with spacious tented suites that look out across miles of open grassland and seasonal channels.

After settling into your tent, there is time to absorb the sense of remoteness before heading out on an afternoon game drive or simply relaxing on the deck as the light softens over the plains. Back at camp, dinner is served under the stars, followed by stargazing and the sounds of the night – lion calls, distant hippos and the wind through the grasses – providing a memorable first introduction to Busanga’s wilderness.

The next three days are devoted to exploring the Busanga Plains, one of the wildest corners of Kafue National Park. Early each morning you depart Shumba Camp in open 4x4 vehicles, following your guide across the grasslands and along tree-lined islands in search of wildlife as the sun rises over the misty floodplain. This area is famous for its concentrations of antelope such as puku, red lechwe, roan and sable, which in turn attract predators including lion, cheetah and African wild dog, making for exceptional big-game viewing and photographic opportunities.

Between activities there is time to relax at camp, watch passing game from the elevated deck or enjoy a siesta before the afternoon drive. Depending on conditions, you may also have the option of a guided walk to focus on smaller details like tracks and birdlife, with Kafue boasting hundreds of recorded bird species. As each day draws to a close you return to camp for sundowners, a firelit dinner and stories under the stars, immersed in one of Zambia’s most remote and rewarding safari settings.

Your final morning in Kafue begins with breakfast at Shumba Camp and, time permitting, a last chance to sit on the deck and watch the first light pick out herds of lechwe and puku on the plains. Depending on your departure schedule, you may be able to enjoy a short final game drive or simply savor the quiet of the Busanga wilderness before saying farewell to the team who have hosted your stay.

You are then transferred to the nearby airstrip for your charter flight back to Lusaka and your onward connection to Johannesburg. As you fly south, the mosaic of wetlands, rivers and woodlands that make up Kafue National Park spreads out below, a final reminder of the scale and beauty of this vast reserve and the exclusive safari experience you have enjoyed on the Busanga Plains.