The hook
A stretch of the great Zambezi where the wildlife gathers along the river beneath an escarpment, and you drift past drinking elephants and yawning hippos in a canoe, at water level and in near silence.
01Why it's worth it
The Lower Zambezi National Park runs along the Zambian bank of the Zambezi downstream of Lake Kariba, a beautiful floodplain of winding channels, islands, and riverine forest backed by a steep escarpment, facing Zimbabwe's Mana Pools across the water. The river is the heart of it: elephants wade and swim between islands, buffalo and antelope come down to drink, hippos and crocodiles fill the channels, and the birdlife is superb. The signature experience is the canoe safari, paddling quietly along the shore and side channels past the animals, an intimate, low-key thrill quite different from a game drive, complemented by boat cruises, tiger-fishing, and land drives. Like much of Zambia's safari country, it is wild, uncrowded, and reached mainly by light aircraft to a handful of river camps. For a water-based safari with genuine wilderness feel, close to the wildlife and far from the crowds, it is hard to beat.
02How to experience it
Stay at a riverside camp and mix canoe safaris (the highlight) with boat cruises and game drives; anglers can try for tigerfish. Go in the dry season for the wildlife along the river. It combines naturally with South Luangwa for a classic wild-Zambia safari, or with Victoria Falls.