Lufupa Tented Camp
Kafue National
Park, Zambia
| UPDATE:
Lufupa Tented Camp is closed until further notice. |
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LUFUPA TENTED
CAMP - KAFUE NATIONAL PARK, ZAMBIA
At the confluence of the Kafue River and the Lufupa Channel lies Lufupa Tented Camp, a tranquil setting that overlooks these rivers. Possibly the ultimate in riverine settings, Lufupa Tented Camp unlock an area of remote bush and languid waterways in the Kafue National Park, one of the largest national parks in Africa. The area is filled with floodplains, broad-leafed woodland, lush riverine vegetation and dambos (open grassy clearings). Exploring the smooth-flowing waterways provides lively wildlife and exceptional birding encounters, from hippo to African Finfoot.
Wilderness
Safaris owns and manages Lufupa Tented Camp. The camp is open from 01-May to 15-November.
| UPDATE:
Lufupa Tented Camp is closed until further notice. |
Accommodation  For
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This intimate, personal camp comprises nine en-suite Meru-style tented units each with a wooden deck on which to contemplate the wide river view. A relaxed central area, complete with a boma, fireplace, dining area and small plunge pool, lies on the edge of the broad Kafue River.
The dining and bar area are under huge jackalberry trees, overlooking the Kafue River. Dinners served in a traditional style boma under the stars, next to a roaring campfire or in our tented dining room overlooking the river. There is a plunge pool for hot days.
Bar Facilities & Drinks Policy: Camp offers a fully stocked bar with a good selection of wines. All drinks are included in the nightly tariff, with the exception of premium wines and champagne, and premium liqueurs and spirits.
The camp offers a laundry service free of charge.
Number of tents
9 tents in total consisting of:
· 8 x twin guest tents
· 1 x family guest tents
· 4 x twin guide/pilot tents
· All tents have twin beds but can be converted to doubles if need be.
Tent Details
· Safari-style tented rooms with wooden deck providing river views.
· Each tent is en-suite with shower, basin and toilet.
· Soaps, shampoo, body lotion, washing powder (for smalls), insect repellent and torches are supplied in each tent.
Activities &
Wildlife
The well-known Lufupa area of Zambia’s Kafue National Park is recognised as a focal point for prolific animal and bird life, and offers access to productive game viewing areas of the northern Kafue. Lufupa is renowned for good leopard sightings and elephant are often seen moving through the area Puku, impala, zebra, buffalo, kudu and Defassa waterbuck are common while more unusual species include Lichtenstein’s hartebeest, roan and sable antelope. Kafue’s birdlife is world-acclaimed, with the Lufupa area sporting well over 400 species – including the likes of Pel’s Fishing-Owl..
Activities (at extra cost) uncover the rich biodiversity found in this pristine area of the Kafue National Park.
Day and Night Game Viewing Drives
Game viewing drives in open 4x4 vehicles are the best way to see this area of outstanding and diverse wildlife. The area is also one of the best for leopard sightings – especially at night when these much-sought-after cats are often located by guides. Lions are a common sight as are a great variety of antelope from tiny blue duiker to magnificent sable antelope.
Guided Nature Walks
Encountering wildlife on foot must be one of the most exhilarating African experiences. It is also the best way to contemplate the existence of smaller creatures and the medicinal uses of plants whilst absorbing the distinct sounds and smells of this diverse, remote part of Africa.
Boating on Lufupa and Kafue Rivers
Boat trips reveal the incredible hippo population of the area, complemented by a constant array of colourful waterbirds, reptiles and other life amongst the riverine vegetation.
Fishing
The Kafue River offers superb fishing opportunities – especially good for tilapia (bream), catfish (barbel) and freshwater pike.
Kafue National Park
At 22 500 square kilometres, Kafue National Park is one of the largest National Parks in Africa. It is fed by three rivers, the Lufupa in the north-west and the Lunga and Kafue in the north-east. The Lufupa River floods in the summer, creating a large floodplain delta system that attracts thousands of waterbirds. The Lunga and Kafue rivers are wide and slow-flowing, banded by riverine forest. In the extreme north of the Kafue lie the Busanga Plains - one of Zambia's most significant wetland resources and one of the few areas in the world that remain untouched by development and human activity.
Considered the jewel in the Kafue crown, the Plains cover an area of approximately 750 square kilometres with Busanga Bush Camp centrally situated within this breathtaking wilderness. The Plains are home to hundreds of red lechwe, ubiquitous puku, stately roan and the diminutive oribi. Lichtenstein's hartebeest, herds of wildebeest, zebra, buffalo and Defassa waterbuck are often seen, while hippo come out of their deep-water channels to graze. This wealth of game on the plains is also a big attraction for predators, including wild dog packs, lone cheetah and lion prides. Pangolin and caracal are spotted occasionally.
The Park has the largest mammal species diversity in Zambia due to its interesting habitat mix which includes miombo woodland and seasonal open grassy areas called dambos. The Park boasts 55 large mammal species - including 20 ungulate and six cat species! At Busanga Bush Camp other unusual sightings include leopard, porcupine, water mongoose and side-striped jackal.
The birdlife is thrilling in its diversity and numbers with nearly 500 species recorded, including exciting endemics such as Chaplin's Barbet. The Busanga plays host to elegant Grey Crowned Cranes and Fülleborn's Longclaw is another speciality here. Birding habitats are exciting and include vast floodplains, broadleaved woodland (mopane and miombo), open water and riverine fringe. Other key species include Ross's Turaco, Schalow's Turaco, African Finfoot, Half-collared Kingfisher, Red-throated Twinspot, Böhm's Bee-eater, Black-backed Barbet, Brown Firefinch, Sooty Chat and Western Banded Snake-Eagle. The area is alive with rollers, bee-eaters, kingfishers, herons and large flocks of Open-billed and Yellow-billed Storks. Northern Kafue is also home to a myriad of other birds like Lesser Jacana, Spur-winged Geese, Saddle-billed Stork, Secretarybird and Martial Eagle to name but a few.
Conservation
As Wilderness Safaris has expanded its presence in Zambia in the Kafue National Park, more opportunities have arisen to partner with the local people in caring for and learning about our environment.
Employment opportunities have been the first step in this process; initially in construction as more than 150 casual labourers from remote surrounding villages helped to build the new camps, and then later in the open camps where upwards of 130 men and women are permanently employed in ecotourism positions. With permanent employment has come training and skills development. Rural income is such that those employed in the 5-month construction period earned more than 8 times the annual average income for rural Zambians.
Further projects are on the cards with the next major focus being education. Children in the Wilderness (Zambia) hosted its first group of school children in 2007.
Read more: Children in the Wilderness Zambia
Wilderness Safaris' Zambia camps, including Busanga Bush Camp, have pioneered the use of innovative energy-saving systems, which are being used as a model to lower the environmental footprint across the entire portfolio of Wilderness Safaris camps in all regions.
Read more: Zambia Camp Energy Saving Initiatives
Given their relatively recent presence in Kafue, Wilderness' conservation efforts here have been limited to date. Crucially they have established a year-round presence in the remote areas of the Park. Prior to their presence, poaching was known to occur especially in the wet season when the area is largely inaccessible and visitor activity is low. Kafue saw significant poaching in the 1980s and game numbers declined before beginning to recover in the 1990s with the growth of ecotourism in Zambia.
Today in Kafue Wilderness Safaris permanently employ eight game scouts seconded from the Zambian Wildlife Authority who are based at their camps and conduct anti-poaching patrols from these bases year round.
Additional measures taken in Kafue National Park have been the secondment of a tertiary student who, aside from learning skills useful in the ecotourism industry, has conducted grass surveys of the Busanga Plains and examined the role of fire in this unique ecosystem, so contributing to the understanding and thus management of it. Further fish surveys are planned with future students in an ongoing capacity building programme in order to determine the role of traditional fishing in the area. An aerial census conducted in September 2007 has provided baseline data of the ungulate population of the Busanga Plains that is useful in comparison to figures from the 1970s; these calculations will allow them to chart the ongoing revival of the area.
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