All activities / Sea Kayaking / Canoeing / Lower Zambezi National Park
Sea Kayaking / Canoeing in Lower Zambezi National Park
A national park along the northern bank of the Zambezi in southern Zambia, opposite Zimbabwe's Mana Pools, where elephant, buffalo, lion and wild dog gather on the floodplain and safaris run by canoe and boat as much as by vehicle.
Why here
The Lower Zambezi is one of the few great parks you explore from the water, drifting the river's channels by canoe past drinking elephant, buffalo and pods of hippo while crocodiles slide off the banks. The park runs along the northern side of the Zambezi beneath a steep escarpment, facing Zimbabwe's Mana Pools across the river, and its floodplain of winterthorn and acacia holds large elephant and buffalo herds, lion prides, leopard and packs of endangered African wild dog. Game drives and walking safaris cover the woodland and floodplain, but the signature experience is a guided canoe safari down the Chifungulu and other channels, watching wildlife from the water rather than above it. The river is also one of Africa's premier tigerfishing waters, and the dry-season game viewing along its banks is exceptional.
Best months
The dry months from June to October are prime, as inland pans dry out and game funnels to the river, with October very hot but the most concentrated. Most camps operate dry-season only, roughly April to November, and close through the December to March rains. Canoe and walking safaris run in the cooler mornings and afternoons and require licensed guides. The river is high and green early in the season and drops steadily toward October, exposing sandbars where elephant cross to graze on the islands.
Getting there & around
Camps are reached by light-aircraft charter to airstrips such as Jeki and Royal, or by a long road transfer and boat from Lusaka via the Chirundu or Chongwe entry. Most camps run dry-season only, roughly April to November. Canoe safaris are led by licensed professional guides and range from half-day paddles to multi-day mobile trips fly-camping along the river. Book camps and any multi-day canoe trail well ahead, as visitor numbers and camp sizes are small.
Skill levels: beginner, intermediate, advanced
Schools & guides (2)
Anabezi Camp
OutfitterAnabezi is a tented camp set among winterthorn and ana trees on the Zambezi in a quiet eastern corner of the Lower Zambezi National Park. It has twelve raised tented suites, each with a plunge pool, and runs day and night game drives, guided walks, canoeing, boat-based water safaris, catch-and-release fishing and birding. The camp works with Conservation Lower Zambezi, the trust that funds anti-poaching patrols across the park.
Chiawa Camp
OutfitterChiawa Camp is a family-owned camp on the Zambezi in the Lower Zambezi National Park, the original safari camp in the park, and the same family runs the smaller, more rustic Old Mondoro downstream. Days centre on canoeing the river channels, game drives, guided walks and catch-and-release fishing. Chiawa is a two-time winner of the Best Guiding Team in Africa award, and it describes its camps as the world's first certified carbon-positive safari camps.