Shumba Camp
The Experience
For five months each year, before the rains return, watch a wildlife extravaganza play out in the infinite floodplains. Witness hundreds of red lechwe, puku, and other plains game, often chased by predators, including the famous ‘flying lions’ leaping across the channels (Shumba’s named after the local lion prides, the camp’s show stealers). Boat through the channels seasonally, when the water is high, gliding past hippo pods.
The Place
Remote Shumba occupies its own little island in the midst of the Busanga Plains, 600-square km of savannah threaded with watery channels in the north of Zambia’s Kafue National Park – one of the wildest, most pristine places on Earth. For their abundance and diversity of wildlife, renowned as ‘the Plains of Plenty’.
The Camp
You barely have to step off Shumba’s elegant, streamlined decks to encounter a vast diversity of creatures. The camp’s six spacious, luxury tented units, raised on wooden platforms, stand sentry over the endless plains. Astounding vistas can be had from your bed, various seating areas in the unit, or even the indoor and outdoor showers. Zambian hospitality pervades the main area, whether you’re cooling off in the pool, dining under the stars, or sharing fireside tales with staff, a convivial nightly ritual.
Things to do at Shumba
Birding Paradise
Delight in birding as rosy-throated longclaw and grey crowned cranes became commonplace sightings on drives.
Game Drives
Catch sight of the famous lion prides, other predators and the scores of plains game.
Night-time meanderings
Explore the Busanga Plains’ nocturnal species on interpretive game drives under the stars.
Boating
Float through the channels at the beginning of the season when the floodplains are still filled with water.