I spent 3 weeks there from May 7th to 28th, 2023.
I arrived and departed from the capital, Lusaka.
I rented a 4x4 equipped for camping/overlanding with the only serious option I found at the time from Fair Car Hires. This was to avoid the long approach times from South Africa or Botswana.
4x4: $3,402 for 18 days (😕), a Toyota Hilux Double-Cab Safari Camper—fully equipped, 3.0L diesel, manual transmission, air-con, Bluetooth radio, and 1 or 2 roof-top tents.
I’d already traveled through Namibia, South Africa, Botswana, and KTP, and Harry (the owner of Lukasa in Lusaka) told me Zambia was the "real Africa." I wasn’t disappointed on that front 😉.
I explored three parks: - Lower Zambezi NP (2 nights camping nearby at Mvuu Lodge) - South Luangwa NP (2 nights at Wildlife Camp + 3 nights at Croc Valley Lodge campsite) - Kafue NP (3 nights at Kasabushi Bush Camp + 3 nights at Mapunga Bush Camp) (Check out my route on a map on my personal site).
That’s a lot of kilometers in 3 weeks—just a few well-paved roads in good condition, but mostly rough roads or tracks, which really slows down your average speed 😕.
No supply issues for fuel or food, but watch out for stock in some grocery stores (one Friday afternoon in Chipata, the fruit and vegetable shelves were empty!).
May is still a bit early in the season, so the grass is still tall in the plains.
Lower Zambezi NP: A mother elephant and her "little one":

South Luangwa NP, near the Mushilashi Bridge:

Kafue NP, morning sunrise:

Kafue NP, spotting two lions on Spinal Road near the Shishemba Loop:

Northern Kafue NP:

Kafue NP, leopard during a morning game drive:

Northern Kafue NP, at my campsite in Mapunga Bush Camp—hippo on night watch (Where’s Charlie? 😉):

Kafue NP, tall grass—buffalo lurking!

In Lusaka, I highly recommend Harry and Geke’s welcoming green property, Lukasa, as a base camp (over Lusaka Pioneer Campsite, where I stayed my first night).
More photos on my personal site: wildescapesoverland.com
Happy to help, Pierre
PS: To the site admins, please consider allowing the .webp image format—it’ll significantly cut your storage costs while keeping great resolution.
















You can find all my photos and details about my trip budget on my travel journal for Amsterdam.