Southern and Central Kafue are excellent areas for game viewing with a canvas of colourful wildlife and birdlife, but the jewel in the crown of the park is Busanga Plains of Northern Kafue, an endless landscape of grassy plains and tree islands dotted with game stretches in all directions as far as the eye can see. This is one of Zambia’s most significant wetlands which can only be accessed by vehicle from July to October.

The logistics of operating these camps in this area are huge. This vast wilderness is flooded in the wet season by several rivers, but during the dry season, large herds and a great diversity of wildlife move onto the plains to feed, from thousands of red lechwe to the puku, the sable, the eland and rare roan antelope, also huge herds of buffalo and wildebeest. Where there is an abundance of antelope there are sure to be predators – lion, cheetah and occasionally wild dog roam these plains. Lions are heard most nights, and cheetah hunt their prey in the open area whilst leopard roam the tree lines bordering the plains.

Conservationist Norman Carr described Busanga as “one of the most beautiful bird sanctuaries in Africa”, and its marshes do indeed host a wide variety of waterfowl, waders and other water-associated birds. Of Kafue’s 491 bird species of note here at Busanga are Rosy-throated Longclaw and the rare Crowned Crane. Flocks of up to 50 crowned cranes are regularly encountered, and several hundred wattled cranes are resident.

More than 494 species of birds have been recorded in Kafue National Park. Notable species include Pel’s Fishing Owl, African Fin-Foot, Wattled Crane, Southern Crowned Crane, Fullbourn’s Longclaw, Chaplin’s Barbet (Zambia’s only endemic bird), black-cheeked Lovebird, Spoonbill, Bocage’s Akalat, Scaly-throated Honeyguide, Black-breasted Snake Eagle, and Goliath Heron to name but a few.