Time + Tide King Lewanika

King Lewanika is the only permanent camp in the Liuwa Plain National Park. At this stunning camp, you will feel the rhythm drummed by the hooves of migrating wildebeest, the wingbeats of cranes taking flight along with the distant rumble of a thunderstorm on the horizon. Take in the sea of wildflowers stretching out across the savannah and get up close and personal with a clan of curious hyenas.

Named after King Lewanika of the Lozi people, who proclaimed the Liuwa Plain a protected area in the early 1880s this is one of the earliest game reserves in Africa. Today it remains an unspoilt area, hosting a pageant of rare game and wild forestry.

The camp features six open-front villas including a two-bedroom & two-bathroom family villa. It is the essence of pure and simple luxury. Each villa has been built using local techniques and sustainable materials, they are also run on solar power and are furnished using vintage leather, cotton and canvas. Designed to completely immerse guests in the vast landscape, each villa boasts an indoor and outdoor shower, a comfortable lounge and a verandah, featuring stunning views over the plains. The camp offers limited Wi-Fi services.

The main lounge offers views of a curving horizon. This is the base from which guests will experience Zambian fine dining with dishes that combine the rich cultural and natural heritage of this region. Warm yourself by the campfire under an endless dome of stars while listening to the legend of Lady Liuwa, the matriarch of the local lion pride.

For photographers, this area is a dream come true. Each season brings a different backdrop for capturing the robust fauna and flora. Join award-winning guides on an intimate safari excursion to admire some of Africa’s most spectacular wildlife—including a growing cheetah population—on foot, in a vehicle or by canoe (in season only).

About the Liuwa Plain National Park

Liuwa Plain National Park in Zambia has one of the oldest conservation histories in Africa, dating back to the 19th century where the King of Barotseland, Lubosi Lewanika, appointed his people to be the custodians of the park and its wildlife. They maintain that sentiment today. With an estimated 10,000 people legally living within the park, Liuwa is a prime example of how people and wildlife can co-exist and benefit in a shared landscape. Each year, Liuwa hosts the second largest wildebeest migration on the continent, numbering around 30,000 individuals – this is one of the most glorious spectacles on the planet. But this was not always the case. Before African Parks assumed management of Liuwa in 2003, in partnership with the Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW) and the Barotse Royal Establishment, wildebeest and zebra were in steep decline, grasslands were threatened by rice fields, and all but one lonely lioness remained, “Lady Liuwa”.

In 2008, African Parks began a series of lion reintroductions to reunite this last lioness with her own kind, and thus new life began as she slowly joined a pride that grew to 10 lions. Over a similar period, eland and buffalo were also reintroduced to the park and the plains game began to increase, providing a healthy prey base for the lions, as well as for the cheetahs and hyaenas. As a result of effective law enforcement, poaching levels subsided and community land-use plans were implemented along with sustainable fish harvesting and other community projects, providing alternative livelihoods for local people. Sadly, 2017 saw the natural passing of Lady Liuwa who lived to the ripe old age of 18, but she left behind a legacy of a small but growing pride of lions, living their lives together on Liuwa’s flourishing plains.