This Kafue safari is for travelers who want room. Kafue National Park covers roughly 22,400 km², about the size of Vermont, and was proclaimed in 1950, which makes it Zambia’s oldest national park. You spend three nights in its far north-west on the Busanga Plains, a seasonal floodplain that dries into open grassland from about July, then three beside the Kafue River before finishing at Livingstone.
It is a quieter, more exploratory trip than the Luangwa and Lower Zambezi classic, and the wildlife story here is one of recovery. Since 2022 African Parks has managed the park with the Department of National Parks and Wildlife, and aerial surveys point to growing elephant numbers. Sightings are never certain in a park this size, but the Busanga’s lions, cheetahs and big herds of lechwe and puku are strong reasons to come. At around 1,100 m, Kafue also stays cooler than the valleys in the hot months.
Why this route works
The Busanga Plains can be reached only while the floodwater is down, roughly July to early November, and they are best reached by light aircraft, so the journey flies straight there from Lusaka on day one. After three nights you move south to the central Kafue River, where the scenery changes to riverine woodland and the activities shift to boats, walks and night drives. From the river it is an easy flight to Livingstone, so rather than doubling back to Lusaka you end the trip at the falls and fly home from there. The road from the park to Livingstone is long, which is why we usually suggest the flight, although a road transfer is possible if you prefer to stay on the ground.
