Bangweulu and Kasanka
These wetlands are part of the Great Bangweulu Basin, a vast flat area fed by 17 main rivers and home to the huge Bangweulu Lake. This is an area of swamps and, on the slightly higher ground, scattered woodlands; not surprisingly Bengweulu is a birdwatchers paradise and is well renowned for its flocks of the highly unusual shoebill stork, which are a remarkable sight. There used to be lions in the area but unfortunately they dispersed entirely when various camps were being built, however there are still a number of various species of antelopes, including thousands of the endemic black lechwe. Read more?
On the western edge of Lake Bangweulu is Kasanka, one of Zambia's smallest parks covering just 420 square kilometres and the only park in Zambia under private management. Kasanka is interlaced with numerous rivers, lakes, wetlands and some stunning papyrus swamps and as a result, like Bengweulu, is an area famous for its superb birdlife. Like many of the parks, Kaskanka was badly hit with poaching and in 1985 was rescued by a British expatriate, who, along with a local farmer decided to launch a petition to save the park from extinction and set up the Kasanka Trust.
A few years later they were rewarded with a 10 year agreement by the National Parks and Wildlife Services who agreed to help the Trust, in supporting and sustaining the park and its wildlife. The game populations have begun to recover; several rare species are abundant in the park, including sitatunga, wattled crane, Ross’s lourie and blue monkeys and Kasanka is also host to a unique and spectacular congregation of several million straw-coloured fruitbats every November and December. However, you clearly shouldn't come here with the objective of "conventional" game viewing. What Kasanka represents is an opportunity to visit a small and fragile pocket of Africa well off the beaten track.
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