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Chiawa GMA, Conservation Lower Zambezi, Geography, History, Lower Zambezi National Park, Poaching, Zambezi River, Wildlife

History

Early hominids are known to have inhabited the Lower Zambezi region for at least two million years, with our ancestors living here through the Stone Age. Pastoralist farming people migrated south into the region in approximately 400 AD.

The Zambezi River has long been a conduit for trade from the interior to the Indian Ocean. The confluence of the Zambezi and Luangwa rivers was a significant trading center for the Portuguese, establishing the towns of Zumbo and Luangwa here in 1546.

The British South Africa Company (BSAC), a company created to promote colonization and economic exploitation in Africa, gained control of the land north of the Zambezi River in 1889, with the town of Luangwa becoming an administrative post for the BSAC.

At this time, very few people lived in the region, mostly because of the prevalence of tsetse flies, which made cattle farming impossible. The BSAC focused most of its efforts on land south of the Zambezi River, while the land north of the river was primarily used by the British and local people for hunting.

The BSAC administered the region until 1964, when Northern Rhodesia (present-day Zambia) gained its independence from the British.

In 1973, USAID visted the region with the goal of establishing a protected wildlife park. Unfortunately, due to the civil war on the southern side of the Zambezi River (Southern Rhodesia - now Zimbabwe), this initiative was unsuccessful. For the next ten years, Zambia's Lower Zambezi region was the private hunting grounds for the country's first President, Kenneth Kaunda (KK) and other members of government.

In 1983, Zambia established the Lower Zambezi National Park, but it wasn't until 1989 that the first tourist camp was set up. There were very few roads and no infrastructure and it took several years for the pioneering safari companies to establish a road network along the Zambezi River and in its floodplain. Today the park still retains its remote and pristine wilderness feel and has avoided mass tourism.

Poaching
Like most of Zambia's protected wildlife regions, the Lower Zambezi has suffered the ravages of wildlife poaching. The Senga people, who had long inhabited and hunted for food in the region, were forcibly moved out when the national park was established in 1983, but still continued to hunt here.

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, high demand for ivory and rhino horn in Asia, led to widespread commercial poaching throughout Africa and the Lower Zambezi's elephants and rhinos were hit hard. The black rhino were completely exterminated and elephants nearly so.

The CITES ivory ban in 1975 helped to stem the decimation of Africa's elephants and today, the Lower Zambezi has a very healthy elephant population. Sadly, black rhinos are no longer found here. Small scale poaching still occurs the Lower Zambezi, but the safari camps, park authorities, and CLZ (see below) help to keep it minimized.

Conservation Lower Zambezi
Created in 1994, Conservation Lower Zambezi (CLZ) is a non-profit organization funded by safari operators in the region to support Zambia's Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW) in efforts to combat wildlife poaching.

CLZ has expanded from simple anti-poaching patrols in its early years, and today also operates an Environmental Education Program, a Community Scout Unit, a Community Engagement Program, a Detection and Tracking Dog Unit, and a Rapid Response Unit. The CLZ also operates an annual Safari Guide Training course. Support of the CLZ is crucial to protect the wildlife in the Lower Zambezi.

Geography

The town of Chirundu, Zambia marks the western edge of the Lower Zambezi safari region. The Chirundu bridge, which spans the Zambezi River and connects Zambia to Zimbabwe, is one of only a handful of bridges over the river.

From Chirundu, the Zambezi River flows east to the Mozambique border, covering 95 miles (150 kms) and descending in elevation only about 140 feet (42m). This gradual gradient means that the river flows quite slowly between the two national parks, making it a lovely stretch of river for wildlife and canoeing.

This section of the Zambezi Valley is a southern rift extension of the Luangwa Rift Valley and is enclosed on the north by the Zambezi Escarpment. The escarpment traverses roughly east-west through the Lower Zambezi National Park at an elevation of 3 950 feet (1 200m) and between 3-5 miles (5-8 kms) north of the Zambezi River.

Here the ancient river meanders across the valley floor, and over time, has had its course altered countless times, leaving various oxbows and lagoons. Over the years, the river's slow flowing and varying watercourses, combined with occasional flooding across the valley floor, have deposited volcanic silt and sediment, creating rich soils. The fertile substrate in this alluvial plain results in nutritious grasses and other vegetation that are favored by the valley's plentiful grazers.

Most of the Lower Zambezi National Park is comprised of the Zambezi Escarpment. The escarpment is dominated by miombo woodland (broad-leafed, semi-deciduous trees) but because there is not much permanent water in the high ground, most of the wildlife congregates on the valley floor's floodplain and along the river.

The rich soil in the valley support open grasslands, interspersed with acacia scrub and trees, including the iconic baobab. There are also woodlands comprised of mopane, acacia, leadwood, jackalberry, and fig trees. These rich habitats are ideal for the region's wildlife, and it is here that the park's safari camps and game-viewing tracks are found.

Chiawa GMA
Moving east from Chirundu is a protected area called the Chiawa Game Management Area (GMA), which acts as a buffer zone for the national park. The GMA covers 925 square miles (2 400 sq kms) and is managed by the safari camp operators located here. The game viewing gets progressively better the further east one goes, and is best inside the national park, which begins at the Chongwe River.

Lower Zambezi National Park
Directly east of the Chiawa GMA is the Lower Zambezi National Park (LZNP). The park covers 1 600 square miles (4 143 sq kms), extending from the Chongwe River east to the Mozambique border at the confluence of the Zambezi and Luangwa rivers. Directly across the Zambezi River to the south of LZNP is Zimbabwe's Mana Pools National Park. Wildlife densities are best inside the park along the river and its floodplain, getting progressively better to the east.

Zambezi River

The Zambezi River is the fourth-longest river in Africa, with an enormous basin covering 540 000 square miles (1.39 million sq kms), which is only slightly smaller than that of the Nile River.

The Zambezi begins in the far northwest of Zambia near the border with DRC and Angola and flows for 1 600 miles (2 580 kms), The river course enters Angola before flowing back into Zambia, continuing south where its course heads southeast, forming the boundary with Namibia's Caprivi region. Heading east from the the intersection with four countries (Zambia, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe), the river meets The Victoria Falls.

The Victoria Falls are considered the boundary between the Upper and Lower Zambezi. The Lower Zambezi flows east from The Falls to Lake Kariba, a man-made dam created in 1959. From Kariba, the Zambezi continues northeast and through the Lower Zambezi / Mana Pools national parks before flowing due east into Mozambique. In Mozambique it flows into Lake Caborra Bassa (a man-made dam created in 1974) and continues southeast for another 400 miles (650 kms), all the way to the Indian Ocean.

The largest tributaries to the Zambezi are the Kafue River, which enters at the boundary of the Chiawa Game Management Area, and the Luangwa River, which enters at the boundary between Zambia and Mozambique. Just before reaching the Indian Ocean, the Zambezi receives the drainage from Lake Malawi via the Shire River.

Wildlife

The Lower Zambezi offers a large diversity of wildlife and all the iconic large mammals in Southern Africa except for rhino (which were poached to extinction in the 1980s) and giraffe. The most common species are elephant and buffalo, which are present in good numbers and are often seen grazing along the floodplains and on islands in the Zambezi River.

Impala are the most common antelope, but there are also strong populations of greater kudu, bushbuck, zebra, and waterbuck. Giraffe are notably absent and interestingly, are thought to never have existed here. Duiker and grysbok are found in small numbers.

As for predators, lion and spotted hyena are the most commonly encountered. Cheetah are seen on rare occasions, but are not a species one should expect to see. The highly endangered African wild dog is seen fairly often, but packs range widely except during the denning season (June-July).

The Zambezi River is home to huge numbers of hippo and boating on the river always offers excellent views of these magnificent mammals. Crocodiles are also here in large numbers, and can be seen basking on the sand banks to regulate their body temperatures.

Activities

Game drives are the best way to explore the park and see its wildlife and all the camps and lodges offer guided drives, twice daily. Canoeing on the Zambezi River offers a different perspective and can afford adrenaline rush views of elephant, hippo, and crocodile. Perhaps the most exciting way to explore the park is on a guided bush walk, allowing a completely different experience and feeling.

Birding is very productive as may be expected, with the diversity of habitats and permanent water along the river. Over 380 species have been recorded in the valley. Migrants from the north arrive around early September and remain through the summer breeding months, only departing in March/April.

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Chiawa GMA, Conservation Lower Zambezi, Geography, History, Lower Zambezi National Park, Poaching, Zambezi River, Wildlife