Safari Types
Busanga Plains – open grassland of varying degrees of wetness and inundation dependent on rainfall and time of year, dotted with isolated fig tree and other tree island, and including a small section of permanent papyrus swamp (best experienced at Kapinga, Shumba & Busanga Bush Camp)
Miombo Woodland – broad-leafed woodland dominated by Brachystegia species (best experienced at Lunga).
Riverine Woodland – tall developed riparian woodland most often along major river courses but also on floodplain islands (best experienced at Lunga and some areas accessible from Kalamu and Chinengwe)
Open River and sandbanks – The Lunga, Lufupa, Kafue, Zambezi and South Luangwa Rivers are all different. The Lunga, Kafue and Zambezi are all deep, wide rivers without significant sandbanks, but with well developed fringing riverine woodland. The Lufupa River is sluggish with varying degrees of depth, sandbank and fringing vegetation and the Luangwa drops to levels where significant sandbanks are exposed. All harbour slightly different avi-fauna (the Lunga River is best accessed from Lunga River Camp, the Lufupa from Shumba, the Luangwa from Kalamu and Chinengwe and the Zambezi from the River Club).
Mopane Woodland – stands of mature mopane woodland mixed with Terminalia species that covers the low lying areas flanking the Luangwa River (best experienced at Kalamu and Chinengwe).
Some sought after bird species associated with each habitat type are as follows:
Busanga Plains – wattled crane, grey crowned crane, rosy-throated longclaw, Fülleborn’s longclaw,
Miombo woodland – miombo pied barbet, sooty chat, pale-billed hornbill, red-necked francolin, Arnot’s chat, racket-tailed roller, miombo scrub-robin, Böhm’s flycatcher
Riverine Woodland – Chaplin’s barbet, Böhm’s bee-eater, red-throated twinspot, Schalow’s turaco, Ross’s turaco, Western banded snake-eagle, brown firefinch, black-backed barbet, black-throated wattle-eye
Open River and sandbanks – African finfoot, half-collared kingfisher, rock pratincole, white-crowned plover
Mopane Woodland – Lillian’s lovebird, Arnott’s chat, Meves’s starling, white-browed sparrow-weaver, racket-tailed roller, broad-tailed paradise whydah.