KING LEWANIKA – LIUWA PLAIN NATIONAL PARK

King Lewanika is a remote and very luxurious camp which is named after King Lewanika of the Lozi people who proclaimed Liuwa Plain a protected area in the early 1880s making it one of the earliest game reserves in Africa. Today it remains a totally unspoilt area with a rich diversity of game and wild beauty and is home to Africa’s second largest wildebeest migration.

The camp is the only permanent camp in Liuwa Plain National Park and has just six open-front villas including a two-bedroom, two-bathroom family villa which offer pure and simple luxury. Built using local techniques and sustainable materials, the villas run on solar power and are furnished using vintage leather, cotton and canvas. Each has an indoor and outdoor shower, a comfortable lounge and a veranda – all with amazing views over the plains.

Dine on dishes that combine the rich cultural and natural heritage of Zambia with inspiration from around the world. Warm yourself by the campfire under an endless sky of stars while listening to the legend of Lady Liuwa – matriarch of the local lion pride. The area is a photographer’s dream with every season offering a different backdrop for capturing the spectacular wildlife—including a growing cheetah population—on foot, in a vehicle or by canoe. This is as remote and exclusive as you can get anywhere in Africa!

LOCATION

King Lewanika is located in the Liuwa Plains National Park in Zambia. Access is by flight from Lusaka to Kalabo Airstrip where you will board a helicopter for your 15 minute flight into camp.

CAMP

King Lewanika has just 5 canvas tented villas and a 2 bedroomed family villa and the camp is a natural extension of the vast landscape and designed to flow between the outside and inside. The golden hue of the plains is reflected throughout the design contrasting against the accents of vintage leather and metal.

The rooms are luxuriously furnished with comfortable beds with roll up netting, large ensuite bathrooms with indoor and outdoor showers and cosy sitting areas with sofas facing outside. Each villa is fronted with roll up mosquito netting allowing breezes through and giving spectacular views over the plains and there is a veranda with seating outside.

The main area is a stunning structure and houses a lounge and dining area and a bar with wooden flooring both inside and outside, comfortable sofas and chairs and there is a firepit on the plains just in front of the main building. There is limited WIFI and no telephone signal at camp.

ACTIVITIES AND WILDLIFE

Boasting one of the oldest conservation histories in Africa, Liuwa Plain was proclaimed a protected area in the early 1880s by the head of the Lozi tribe, King Lewanika. Liuwa Plain’s vast savannah has been protected for over 100 years, yet it’s one of Africa’s best-kept secrets. Gliding in a helicopter above its golden grasslands and shimmering lagoons you’ll touch down at the only permanent camp in the park.

Since 2003, African Parks has managed the national park in partnership with the Zambian Department of National Parks and Wildlife and the Barotse Royal Establishment, the monarchy of the Lozi people who live in and around the park.

Watch a flock of cranes swirl over a sea of wildflowers in the clear morning sun. Listen to the distant rumble of an afternoon thunderstorm gathering on the horizon. Take a deep breath and catch the scent of the long grass as a soft breeze whispers through it. See the second-largest migration of wildebeest, thousands of zebra and oribi, hyena in clans of 50 or more, or a speeding cheetah teaching its cubs how to hunt.

Legend has it that Mambeti – a beloved daughter of the Lozi king’s favourite game warden – was reincarnated as the famed Lady Liuwa—matriarch of Liuwa’s lion pride. Now gone, Lady’s spirit lives on in this sublime untouched wilderness, watching over her growing prides.

Walking Safaris – get out on foot and learn about the small things – seemingly irrelevant plants and animals which are often overlooked on a game drive.

You will walk accompanied by an armed scout and your safari guide will show you a secret world as he leads you slowly through the bush along ancient animal pathways, examining plants, trees and insects along the way.

Game Drives – game drives are in open 4X4 vehicles and are a superb way of getting to know the area around camp and seeing wildlife of Liuwa Plains.

Night drives are an extension of your afternoon game drive, canoe or walking safari – as the sun begins to set and dusk falls you will set off to explore as the nocturnal animals start to emerge. The best chance of seeing genets, civets, elephant shrew, porcupine and the fierce honey-badger is after sunset and the large predators, with the exception of wild dog, are most active at night. Night-time birding can be very rewarding with nightjars, owls great and small, dikkop, bat hawk and coursers are all abundant.

Sleepout Under the Stars – This extraordinary one night experience is an adventurous addition to your safari allowing you to reconnect with nature. You fall asleep under a canopy of a million twinkling stars listening to the sounds of the vast plains. Available mid- May to mid-July and October depending on water levels. Your room is held in case you would like to return to camp.

Canoeing Safaris – one of the most leisurely ways to experience the sights and sounds of the Liuwa Plains is on a canoe safari between late January and early April when the flood plains are high. With no hippos, crocs or tsetse flights this is a wonderfully tranquil experience.

KING LEWANIKA IS CLOSED FROM THE 14TH JULY THROUGH TO THE 16TH OCTOBER EVERY YEAR

THE CAMP WELCOMES FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN OF ANY AGE WITH PRIOR ARRANGEMENT. DO NOTE THAT ONLY CHILDREN AGED 12 YEARS AND OLDER CAN PARTICIPATE IN WALKING SAFARIS