7 Day Four Star South Luangwa Safari

Guests are met on arrival at Johannesburg’s O.R. Tambo International Airport and assisted in transferring to their flight to Lusaka in Zambia. From Lusaka, guests board a domestic flight to Mfuwe, where they are collected and transported to the famous South Luangwa National Park. This remarkable valley is renowned for its high concentrations of wildlife and for pioneering the concept of guided walking safaris, offering a classic bush experience in a pristine setting.

The luxurious safari tents at Tena Tena rest beneath a dense canopy of mahogany trees, overlooking a fertile bend of the Luangwa River that draws a steady stream of animals to drink and graze along the banks. After settling in, guests embark on their first afternoon safari in the private Nsefu Sector, enjoying the soft evening light, the possibility of encountering leopard, lion and other predators, and a sundowner stop that introduces the magic of South Luangwa at dusk.

Spend your next two days at Tena Tena enjoying the wild spoils of the African bush. Morning and afternoon game drives explore floodplains, oxbow lagoons and woodlands that support impressive densities of plains game, as well as lion, leopard and spotted hyena. South Luangwa has earned a reputation as “the Valley of the Leopard” thanks to the frequency of sightings in its riverine habitats, and your guides will help you interpret tracks, calls and subtle bush signs along the way.

Walking safaris are led by a professional guide and an armed national park scout, allowing you to experience smaller details like birdlife, trees and tracks at a slower pace. Between activities, guests may relax in camp and watch wildlife drift down to the river, or join an optional cultural visit to Kawaza Village or a local market at Mfuwe for insight into rural life and the communities who live alongside this celebrated wilderness.

After breakfast, your safari traces the river downstream to Luangwa River Camp. The camp is set beneath the dark spines of an ancient ebony grove on the banks of the Luangwa River, looking toward an area known as the Luangwa Wafwa. This region of open plains, oxbow lagoons and riverine woodland provides excellent grazing for herbivores and, in turn, supports healthy populations of lion, leopard and other predators that patrol the floodplain. The short road transfer doubles as an informal game drive, with frequent wildlife sightings en route.

Luangwa River Camp is wonderfully intimate, hosting only a handful of stylish bush suites and creating a relaxed, personal atmosphere. After settling into your suite and enjoying lunch with views over the river, you set out on an afternoon or evening game drive to explore new sections of the park. As daylight fades, the spotlight reveals nocturnal species such as civet, genet and possibly leopard on the move, before you return to camp for dinner and a peaceful night in the heart of the valley.

With around forty mammal species and more than four hundred recorded bird species, South Luangwa is a wildlife lover’s paradise. Over the next two days, your safari activities include daily game drives that follow the river and explore inland plains for elephant, buffalo, hippo and varied antelope species. The park is also known for endemic Thornicroft’s giraffe and herds of Cookson’s wildebeest, which you may encounter as you traverse open grasslands and woodland along the valley floor.

In between excursions, relax at Luangwa River Camp’s pool and watch animals descend to the riverbank to drink, wallow and browse in the shallows. Afternoon drives often extend into the evening, when a spotlight reveals the nocturnal world of predators and smaller mammals emerging after dark. Evenings are spent around the campfire, where you can share stories with fellow guests, enjoy the constellations overhead and listen to the calls of hyena, lion and hippo echoing across the valley.

Breakfast is enjoyed at leisure while you soak up a final morning in the valley and watch the river come to life with birds and game along its banks. Depending on your flight schedule, there may be time for one last short game drive or a relaxed stroll around camp, savoring the sights and sounds of South Luangwa before departure.

After check-out, guests are transferred to Mfuwe for the flight to Lusaka. In Lusaka, you connect to a flight back to Johannesburg, where your Zambia safari comes to an end at O.R. Tambo International Airport or at a city hotel of your choice in Johannesburg or Pretoria. You leave with lasting memories of one of Africa’s most characterful and rewarding wildlife destinations.