This remote park in the far west is pristine wilderness, which, to the ardent bush-lover, is its biggest attraction, and the rewards are great indeed.
The game is spread out across the plains and takes some driving around to find, but to come upon a vast herd of blue wildebeest, a prowling wild dog, or a pride of dozing lions in this forgotten piece of Africa is especially fitting because of its completely natural and uncommercialised state.
The birdlife is abundant and the very dramatic storms and lightning rising up on the horizon, contrasting with the green and gold grasslands, create spectacular views and fantastic photographic opportunities.
Liuwa Plain National Park is home to Lady Liuwa, a Southwest African lioness (Panthera leo bleyenberghi) the subject of Aquavision's documentary, “The Last Lioness." Following the turmoil of the Angolan civil war, poaching and illegal trophy hunting decimated the lion population in the park; leaving but one, Lady Liuwa. For years Lady Liuwa lived alone, roaming Liuwa Plain without a pride. While on assignment documenting spotted hyenas in 2005, filmmaker Herbert Brauer developed a relationship with the isolated lioness.
African Parks, who maintain Liuwa Plain National Park, decided to re-establish the lion population and bring an end to Lady Liuwa’s solitude. The first attempt to bring a single male lion from nearby Kafue National Park to Liuwa Plain resulted in tragedy, with the male dying after choking on regurgitated vomit. In May 2009, two male lions were successfully relocated from Kafue National Park to Liuwa Plain.
Up Next in Season 1
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WZ01 - Kafue National Park
Found in the centre of western Zambia, Kafue National Park is the oldest and largest of Zambia’s national parks. It covers a massive 22,400 km2.
First established as a National Park in the 1950’s by the legendary Norman Carr, Kafue is one of the largest national parks in the whole of Africa. D...
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WZ04 - Mfuwe Elephants
Each year at Mfuwe Lodge we have some exceptional guests that visit us, whole families of elephants have been regular guests at the lodge for many years, visiting between late October and mid-December to feast on the fallen fruits from the large Wild Mango (Cordyla africana) tree in the lodge gro...
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WZ05 - South Luangwa National Park
Experts have dubbed South Luangwa to be one of the greatest wildlife sanctuaries in the world, and not without reason. The concentration of animals around the Luangwa River and its oxbow lagoons is among the most intense in Africa.
The Luangwa River is the most intact major river system in Afr...