The Liuwa Plain is a vast open plain on the west of the Zambezi River on the Angolan Border. It is an extremely difficult area to access and few people have been there. Revered safari guide, Robin Pope, used to lead expeditions here in the 1990s and has recently started operating in the area again. This is a unique opportunity to visit this isolated and rarely visited national park. The safaris are 4 or 5 nights, starting with a charter from Lusaka of 2+ hours to Kalabo. You will be met by Robin and his team and drive the two or so hours onto the plain and to camp.

The plain is home to around 30,000 blue wildebeest, herds of zebra, red lechwe, oribi, steinbuck and more. The predominant predator is the hyena who competes with wild dog and occasional cheetah. Lions used to be common but there is now a reintroduction program in place. The birding is always a highlight and the many water species inhabit the many water filled pans.

Expeditions take place during two periods. November and December are the start of the rains with big storms passing through and when the wildebeest drop their young, the migrant birds arrive and flowers bloom everywhere. But by mid December it is inaccessible as the floods move in, the expedition moves out. The earliest you can drive back in is early May when the pans are full, the birds are everywhere and the game is prolific.