Final frontier: Zambia’s Royal Wildebeest Migration
Here they come. Wildebeest. Hundreds, then thousands of them, streaming across a golden grassland. But this is not the Serengeti. And there! The beat of drums, the colourful pageantry of royalty, the march of a King; but this is not Buckingham Palace.
This is the last secret corner of Southern Africa: the Liuwa Plain in Zambia, and after decades of inaccessibility, it is now possible to travel there on safari.
Lying in the extreme east of Zambia, Liuwa Plain National Park is a huge swathe of seasonally flooded grassland. It hosts Africa’s second biggest wildebeest migration (after the Serengeti/Masai Mara) and is home to lions, spotted hyena and cheetah, as well as antelope and zebra. African wild dogs and Cape buffalo were re-introduced a few years ago and the birding is excellent.
But the royal connection? Now we have to turn to history. The area was formerly known as Barotseland and it was a 19th century King – a Litunga – of Barotseland who declared his people as custodians of the grasslands. Liuwa has since passed into state ownership but the royal traditions remain: every year a great floating, singing procession makes its way across the flooded plains as the Litunga moves residence to higher, drier ground. The event is called the kuomboka – ‘coming out of the water’.
An interesting relationship exists between the local Lozi people and the Zambian conservation/tourism authorities: several thousand people live and farm within the national park, which in turn is the biggest employer in the region, offering scholarships to local schoolchildren as well as other benefits and training. A mutually beneficial relationship has resulted in a massive drop in both wildlife poaching and agricultural encroachment. As is becoming increasingly clear to Africa’s conservationists, it is by working with local communities that the greatest results are achieved.
Travel to Liuwa Plain is fly-in only and should be part of a larger safari itinerary. Yet despite its remote location, Liuwa lies within a comfortable 2.5-hour flight from Zambia’s capital Lusaka, and that means easy connections to the country’s more familiar safari destinations such as Victoria Falls, the Lower Zambezi National Park, and the South Luangwa. It used to be a camping experience at Liuwa but there is now a permanent lodge in the national park, delivering a level of comfort and service equal to safari accommodation across the region.
Activities at Liuwa Plain span both land-based and – depending on season – water-based wildlife viewing. Guides conduct morning and afternoon game drives with the bonus of night drives to spot nocturnal creatures. There are guided walks on offer, canoe safaris when the water is high enough, and sleep-outs under the stars; the camp is family-friendly and gives you the chance to experience local Lozi culture.
As for when to go to Liuwa Plain, that depends on what you want to see most. Firstly, the area is flooded and inaccessible between mid-July and mid-October. But it’s the floods that drive Liuwa’s two biggest events: the kuomboka and the wildebeest migration. The rise of the floodwater in April is what prompts the procession of the Lozi king, while it is the receding flood in October that brings migrating wildebeest into Liuwa. Wildebeest numbers – and therefore the wildlife viewing in general – peaks in November and December when the seasonal rains begin and the brown grasses turn green. It’s also the best time for bird watching as migrating species arrive in large numbers to swell the already impressive number of resident species.
Whenever you go, Liuwa Plain is a photographer’s dream and will deliver a unique set of images to an African collection.