Seeking information about the Busanga Plains, North and South Luangwa in Zambia

[BABE]

Hello fellow travellers, We (an experienced "overlanding couple" from The Netherlands) are planning our next trip to Africa. It is still a long way off, but we are considering a 4 week trip to the Busanga Plains, North and South Luangwa in Zambia somewhere next year. We normally rent a fully equipped Landcruiser from Bushlore so we are quite “spoiled” when it comes to the quality of the vehicle and equipment, but being a long way off their drop off charges are pretty steep. Our main interest is remoteness, solitude, finding “unspoiled, true African wilderness” and of course spotting wild life, including birds. We are therefore not looking for (luxury) lodges, but preferably exclusive campsites with or without any facilities.
We would like advice / information on the following:

• Are there good rental companies with fully equipped 4x4‘s in Zambia?
• We of course know that “the best time” is from May till October, but if possible, we would rather plan our trip later because the prices are lower, less people in the parks, we like the changing season(s) and for us November / December is the best time to be away from home. On the other hand, we do not like the prospect of being stuck in black cotton soil (all the time)…..! Does anybody have first-hand experience travelling through the Busanga Plains, North and South Luangwa from mid-November till mid-December?
• Needless to say we are completely self-sufficient regarding, food, water and diesel. Are there (m)any possibilities for overlanders to camp all by ourselves in the above mentioned 3 NP’s?

All advice would be highly appreciated, thank you very much! BriAn

[ortelius]

Hi BriAn,

Re vehicle rental:
To my knowledge, the only decent 4x4 rentals in Zambia is Hemingways from Livingstone. They have fleet of well equipped Hiluxes, but their rental prices are on the high side. I have never rented from them, but they were always prompt in answering my iquiries. For our three trips to Zambia, we have always had our cars delivered to Lusaka from abroad - twice from SA and once from Namibia. I still always worked cheaper that way for us.

As for time of travel:
I believe November/December period will probably not work for you, at least not for the parks/areas you intend to visit. Busanga is inaccessible once the first rains arrive and all camps there close down at the beginning of November. I think you have zero chances to even reach the plains during mid November.

South Luangwa is accessible all year around and at least main roads in the park should be passable in November/December. But North Luangwa is different. When first serious rains arrive, the park becomes inaccessible and few camps/lodges that exist there, close down for almost half a year.

Re independent camping:
There is no independent camping possible in Busanga Plains. Accessing the plains even from the closest campside inside Kafue NP require a lot of driving, so day trips there are probably very exhausting and their merits are questionable. One of the lodges from Busanga did run a special offer for self drivers at the end of this season, so catching one of such offers is probably the best idea for self drivers currently.

There is also no campsites inside South Luangwa NP, but there are quite a few campsites available just outside the park along Luangwa river. We have stayed at Wildlife Camps and At Zikomo and both are excelent camps with lots of wildlife around and inside the camp.

In North Luangwa NP, there is again no camping for independent travelers. The closest (and most affordable, but still far from cheap) option to camping is using self catering option at Buffalo camp.

[Tony Weaver]

As Ortelius says about Busanga and Luangwa. Busanga the camps will stay open until the first rains, which can be as late as mid-December, but can be as early as mid-November. Mostly they start breaking down the camps in mid-November to avoid getting bogged down for the entire rainy season. For a decent visit, self-drive to Busanga is simply not an option unless you are staying inside the plains. Best bet is to make contact with these guys - they are the only Busanga camp that has self-catering camping available (not advertised on their website), and are real Busanga experts: https://www.jefferymckeith.com/

[1Vision]

Good info presented here, but also have a look at www.thewildlifeafrica.com as they are another kitted 4x4 rental option and based in Lusaka, which may be better for you. As the guys said, J&M Safaris in Busanga did offer a self-drive option once their camp closed at end-October this year. I know of several people who took advantage of the offer and had nothing but good things to say...though as mentioned, accessibility is a bit question once the rains start.

That time of the year, Liuwa Plain and Kasanka also have great migrations happening as well, so don't overlook that. Accessibility into North Luangwa is also very rain dependent.

Still, plenty of options to consider! Have fun!

[BABE]

Hi Ortelius, Tony and 1Vision,
Thank you all so much for replying and we trulyapologize for not reacting any sooner!
You must think we are your typical rude Dutch loudmouths…..
The only reason we did not reply sooner is that wethought we would receive a (“automatic”) message via email to tell us someone hadleft a reply on the forum, which is obviously not the case. I logged in today withthe intention to check out another post, and to my delight I found these 3 replies! We have decided NOT to go to Zambia this year, neither to combine it with visiting the Southern Parks in Tanzania but to spend all of our 4 weeks in Tanzania.
Maybe next year Zambia....
Once again, thanks for the effort, highly appreciated!
Kind regards and warm wishes for 2020,
Britt & Anton