The Liuwa Plain story
Standing on the vast and seemingly endless Liuwa Plain with a gin and tonic in hand I am convinced I can see the curvature of the earth. I did consider it was the effects of the gin after a long day exploring the remote park in western Zambia, but later I read the same visual effect mentioned by the author (Robin Pope) of the parks field guide to wild flowers.
Spending time contemplating terra firma in Liuwa is an accomplishment of sorts as this wilderness surely boasts the most phenomenal skies in all of Africa. Which by extension implies the most dramatic skies on the planet.
The light is pure and glassy and the cloud formations so varied and on such a towering scale that, whilst on safari drives across the plains, the human neck gimbal sets the head at a constant upward tilt of 45 degrees. If the clouds happen to part at night – and after typically exhausting themselves by way of a tropical downpour they do – then the night sky, dominated by a milky way from horizon-to-horizon, is at the very least equal to the daytime overhead view.
That’s not to say either that there’s nothing to see at ground level. For a park made famous by its total lion population over many years equaling 1 – an iconic lioness named Lady Liuwa – we were treated to extraordinary daily viewing of Lady Liuwa’s descendants. Prides of females and cubs on two different kills, a coalition of young males and separately the quite magnificent dominant male, and a number of other lionesses. Given the historical paucity of lions at Liuwa it is the spotted hyena’s that typically take the predatorial centre stage. Large clans dominate different parts of the park and the clan members strut around at first light reminding all present that they are the kings of the plains.
As the first rains arrive life is easy for the hyenas as the wildebeest migration settles in the south of the park for their calving season. This, the second largest wildebeest migration on the continent, is not unlike the more famous occurrence on the grasslands of East Africa. Thousands of wildebeest and their young in a single view frolic and grunt, feed and fight while the cheetah, lion, hyena, vultures and wild dogs profit from the bandy-legged bounty of the newborn wildebeest. Here in remote western Zambia however you are likely to be the only people observing the spectacle…..
Notwithstanding the blockbuster viewing, Liuwa lulls one into a gentle rhythm, an unhurried exploration that starts in the dark in order to be on the plains for sunrise and the days’ epilogue paid equal respect, with gin in hand.
Forays into the park can be slow with multiple hop-offs to photograph oribi’s, bulbs and flowers in bright pink and purple, and pretty pans filled with waterfowl and squawking cranes.
The rhythm of Liuwa is also reflected in it’s ecological dynamics. It’s prone to ravaging fires, reflected in interesting vegetation adaptations such as the crowns of underground trees (known as sufratex) dotting the plains. In apparent contrast the plains are flooded annually and the ebb and flow of the water levels drives the seasonal human migration of the Lozi people, most notably over the Kuomboka festival. The figurative cycle of the park has quite clearly been in an upward turn since 2003 when African Parks assumed the management of Liuwa. From a backdrop of unsustainable land-use, poaching and human-wildlife conflict, sound management practices and benefit in the shared landscape with the people living within and surrounding the park has meant increases in the wildebeest and lion populations, as well as employment, education and agricultural programs supporting the Liuwa communities.
In Liuwa one can witness a unique and special habitat and wildlife experience, almost exclusively to yourselves and, by staying at the African Parks operated Liuwa Plains Camp, directly benefit the park, people and related projects.
The safari industry bandies about concepts like “slow safari” and “impact travel”. Liuwa offers that, from horizon-to-horizon.
