South Luangwa in Zambia is one of the premier parks in Africa famous for its spectacular river scenery, walking trails, night drives, game drives, riverine landscapes and high concentrations of game, especially leopards. It is in southeastern Zambia and is flanked by the high ramparts on the Muchinga Escarpment, which define the southern end of the Great Rift Valley. While the best game-viewing season is from June to October, the river trips during the Emerald Season are highly recommended. The park is famous for its relaxed, owner-run camps, which are very authentic.
Great photographic opportunities at South Luangwa
- Head off on an afternoon game drive looking for leopards.
- Get in a hide and photograph carmine bee-eaters.
- Watch pelicans and storks cleaning out the lagoons at fishing parties.
- Wait for crowned cranes to fly into the salt pans in the mornings.
- Go in summer and do long river cruises into the flooded lagoons.
- Marvel at park-like scenery with lagoons, tall baobabs and impressive sausage trees.
South Luangwa Dry Season
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From June to August, South Luangwa starts to dry out. The camp building begins and as the lagoons start to dry out the game viewing gets better and better. From August the Carmine bee-eaters arrive. September and October is the peak of the dry season. The river is virtually a trickle and as buffalo and other herbivores start to show signs of stress, predators get the upper hand. Hippos choke the rivers in massive pods. Thousands of carmine bee-eaters nest in the banks and elephants are on the move. Its not a time for the faint-hearted: clouds are building and temperatures exceed 40 degrees. Expect early starts to beat the heat and amazing photography.
South Luangwa Emerald Season
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For most camp operators in South Luangwa National Park, the rains mean the end of the season. It’s not that it rains all the time (the storms are short-lived and there are plenty of sunny days) but the rains turn the hard, sun-baked black cotton soil into sticky mud, which makes it impossible to drive and sludgy underfoot. Most lodges and all the bush camps close at the end of the dry season (October). However, there are two operators that celebrate the coming of the rains in style, launching their boats so that guests can explore the flooded lagoons and waterways and reach some of the most remote areas of the park. Along the river, with its textbook meanders and oxbow lakes, there are only two bridges and landscapes that have changed little since the first travellers set eyes on them in the 1800s.
For the past 12 years, I have led photographic trips each wet season. It’s possible to shoot right through the day, as the clouds act as a diffuser of light, highlighting the green landscape at its lushest best. The air is clear of dust, and the vivid outline of the Muchinga Escarpment forms a dramatic backdrop. It’s fascinating how much more relaxed animals are at this time of the year. The impala and puku are fit and strong and have the upper hand against the predators. And then there are the birds. Many of the little brown jobs become resplendent in colourful feathers for the breeding season, and migrants flock in from all over northern Africa and Europe.
You can join David Rogers on a workshop to South Luangwa at any time of year, or ask him to help you plan your own trip.