October in Zambia is hot. Really hot! Night time temperatures hover around the 28’C mark, and thermometers reach 42’C and above during the heat of the day. Why on Earth would anyone travel at this time? The answer is that these hot conditions coincide with the end of the dry season, when vegetation has died back, water sources have dried up and game-viewing conditions are at their best. But that’s not all; not only are conditions for finding and watching wildlife at their best, the lack of water forces animals into each others space, creating conflicts, interactions and action unlike any other time of the year.
So it was with very high expectations that we began two weeks in the heat of October, based at Lion Camp, Anabezi Camp and Busanga Bush Camp in the South Luangwa, Lower Zambezi and Kafue National Parks respectively. Each area has distinct habitats and characters and it did not disappoint. Every. Single. Day. We enjoyed action, behaviour, hunting, cub sightings, predators and beautiful light. It had rained a little a couple of weeks before so the air had been cleared and then the haze had begun to build once more, giving us soft light but not the grey murk which can accompany the late dry season.
Read on for a full account of each camp and, as always, you can find my diaries on Instagram in the highlights section under my bio information.
The Luangwa Valley has experienced a very dry year. The river, as always, retained some water, but all the inland pools and lagoons had dried entirely by September, requiring all wildlife to live alongside the river in order to access water. This throws together predators and prey, competing males of the same species, non-competitive species and mega-grazers like hippos in a melée of intense chaos. Resources are at breaking point and many herbivores are simply surviving as they wait for the arrival of rain and the regrowth which that brings.
We had a very busy time at Lion Camp. Leaving the lodge at 05:00 we caught the last few moments of dark before the sky started to brighten in the East. We were scouting for sightings at this stage and hoping to find the best encounters while the light is at its best and before the heat of the day chases all the animals into the shade. A combination of good luck, early starts and dedicated guiding, we found excellent sightings every day. We watched two active lion kills where they dragged down buffalo, spend many hours with 6 different leopards, saw wild dogs with small pups (including one of my best ever sightings of puppies playing) and watched hippos sparring in the river. It was extraordinary throughout. Over 16 years of visiting this camp, it has never let me down….and I look forward to 3 trips to Lion Camp in 2026.
I was excited to move on to the majestic forests of Lower Zambezi National Park (and the small plunge pools at Anabezi Camp!). We arrived quite late in the afternoon and it was hot, so we took the boat out from the front of the camp. Good rains in the Western part of Zambia this year meant that the Zambezi River (by contrast to the Luangwa) was flowing well and we were able to explore the channels. Just downstream from camp, we found the Kulefu pride hunting along the floodplain. We watched as they surrounded a small sounder of warthogs, but the pigs escaped just in time.
We spent the remaining 3 days in the rich wildlife areas between Anabezi and the Chakwenga River, following leopards, watching for herds of elephants crossing through the backlit forests and waiting on the edge of the plain for silhouette opportunities at and after sunset. On one occasion, baboons chased a leopard up a tree; on another, we tracked a leopard along the top of a river bank, shooting from below to give an amazing angle; the final morning gave us lions hunting impalas by trapping them in a bend in the river. It was busy, beautiful and dramatic. Over the course of the 10 days on safari so far, we totted up 10 different leopards!
The Busanga Plains are drying up year-on-year which is a problem for the wildlife of the area. We hope for heavier rains, better flooding and a re-invigoration of the area in the coming years. But for us, visiting at this dry time, we were able to access the whole area without the restrictions of flooder channels and wet marshland areas; sometimes we can see animals just 50-100m away but we have to drive several kilometres to cross a channel at a log bridge. Not this time, it was dry and dusty and the wildlife was compressed around a few remaining waterholes in the Lufupa River.
We had seen so much at Lion Camp and Anabezi that we targeted our time in Busanga on a few key species; we wanted to see sable antelope, cheetah and male lions. Lion cubs would also be a huge bonus. We hit all these targets and more, including a male lion stealing a lechwe carcass from his cubs, a great sable ram sighting and lots of time with 6 different cheetah! We also experienced the first rains on the Busanga Plains that season, with a couple of young lionesses playing in the mud!
Each time I travel in Zambia in October I remember how hot it can be. And, in my more tired moments, I say that I will opt for a cooler time of year in future. But then I look back at the photos, and relive the memories and I keep coming back for more. It’s such a dramatic, exciting, target-rich time of year with action, drama and so much game to see. I can’t wait until the next time!
Thank you to my guests Niall, May, Fanny and Dawn for an extraordinary time and for being resilient when it was hot, and enjoying all the amazing sightings that the time of year offered. Many thanks to the camps and staff who cared for us and gave us a great experience.
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