An Expedition to Zambia – Adventurous African Safaris

In my opinion, there are two types of African safaris: the first is where you enjoy the general beauty that is known as African nature, and the second is game viewing.

Inside the wild…

Zambia is known for its many open structures, which some might say allow for better viewing of the game. And that’s exactly why Ed and I came here, to spend a whole week watching games in Africa’s last wild kingdom.

We stayed in Kafue National Park, which is bordered by the beautiful blue-green Kafue River. With vast plains in the north and forests in the south, the landscape of Kafue National Park turned out to be more diverse and even more rewarding than expected.

Plain and simple…

During our stay in Kafue National Park, we booked one of their thatched-roof cabins. For the two of us, this almost felt like fine dining as our accommodation on almost our previous trips was the back of a 4×4 or a tent, and let me tell you this, neither comes close to the comfort of a simple cabin with thatched roof.

During our first few days, I booked us a daily ride in one of the park’s open 4×4 vehicles. We saw almost everything on these trips. The great thing about Zambia’s national parks is that they truly offer you the best of Africa’s wildlife. We saw everything from lions, elephants, two leopards, hyenas, buffalo, sable, a variety of antelope and then of course the elusive cheetah.

Ed bought a new camera the day before we left on our safari, so of course he was acting like a typical tourist taking more photos than anything else. He has been a wildlife photographer for a couple of years, but this was his first digital camera. Something he feared at first, but it seemed to me that he quickly became very fond of it too.

The grass is greener on the other side…

In the last few days we opted for canoe safaris on the Zambezi. Now this is not something I would recommend people do if they don’t like to get dirty, but it was an amazing experience nonetheless.

My first and biggest fear was the hippos we might encounter, but the guide assured me that I would not regret doing this. You’d think crocodiles would be my main concern, but it’s a well-known fact that those fat, big-mouthed creatures are much more aggressive and faster than expected. But since you only live once, I thought, why not?

So we left. The tranquility of the Zambezi River has a very positive relaxing influence on you as you paddle lazily through the park. We saw more wildlife while in the canoes than in the back of the 4x4s. The nature seemed so lush, the animals abundant, and it just seemed like the best way to enjoy an African safari overall.

By lunchtime we were absolutely starving. Going on a canoe safari was probably one of my favorite experiences since Ed and I started doing African safaris. It was a whole new way of appreciating and becoming a part of what African wildlife had to offer us and I accepted it wholeheartedly. I can’t wait to do it again and highly recommend it to anyone considering a trip to Africa. Be different, live an adventure close to nature.