A dominant feature in the north of the park is the Busanga
Plains - a vast floodplain fed by the Lufupa River system.
These seasonal floodplains have been known to dry out to
the extent that hippos become trapped in shallow muddy pools.
Normally though, the overflowing river results in well watered
grasslands that attract masses of game.
In the south of the park are dense double canopy forests,
tall mopane woodland and Kalahari sandveld with the wide
Ninzhila Plains dotted by baobabs trees and white-sapped
euphorbias. At the southern end of the Kafue flats, the
Kafue River is dammed for hydroelectricity and forms a massive
lake on the park's eastern border, which is used for boat
cruises and provides excellent game and bird watching.
Kafue's ecological diversity has resulted in an impressive
array of wildlife and wide range of species. Game viewing
in the south is more difficult than the north due to thick
woodlands, so much of the accommodation is situated in the
north near the Busanga floodplains, where excellent animal
sightings are guaranteed. Kafue is one of the best parks
in Africa to see an incredible variety of antelopes including;
roan, sable,
hartebeest,
eland, wildebeest,
impala (in the
south), puku (in
the north), oribi,
sitatunga,
duiker and
waterbuck plus
red lechwe
in their thousands. There are plenty of predators with cheetah,
leopard, wild
dog, hyena
and lion,
who will chase lechwe right into the water. There are also
a host of smaller carnivores including the side-striped
jackal, civet,
genet
and various mongooses. Bush
pigs and warthogs
abound and there are masses of elephants,
hippos and crocodiles too. In fact
the only animal missing is the giraffe!
The birding
is exceptional, especially on the rivers and the dambos,
with over 400 species, notably goliath herons, fish
eagles, wattled
crane, purple crested lourie and Pel's
fishing owl.
Fishing is excellent and most lodges have tackle and rods
to catch bream, barbel and fresh water pike. There is a
fishing competition every September on Lake Itezhi Tezhi.
