rossing Zambia’s South Luangwa National Park is the perfect choice for a sustainable safari, finds Diana Jarvis
DESTINATIONS ZAMBIA | RESPONSIBLE TOURISM
t
he zebras stand motionless with ears erect, piercing alarm calls
come from the birds perched high up in the surrounding mopane trees, and the impalas’ eyes are focused on a thicket no more than 50 metres away. “I think it’s a lion,” says Jonathan, our guide. A surge of adrenaline races around my body, and my heart drums a quickening rhythm. It’s still early, the peachy glow of sunrise has made way for a soft yellow warmth, and we’re standing on the sun-baked earth in the Zambian bush, a mile or so from the safety of our safari jeep. Sure enough, a lion emerges
from the thicket and calmly walks into the open, looking directly at us scrawny humans. He’s swiftly followed by another, as we stare back in awe.
Stepping into the bush without the protection of a great hunk of metal might sound like a risky way to see wildlife, but South Luangwa is famous and celebrated as the birthplace of the walking safari. It was pioneered by
conservationist Norman Carr
and it’s the perfect way to see and appreciate the safari park’s smaller creatures, and understand symbiosis in the ecosystem. Carr was also an advocate for local empowerment through employment in tourism, and it’s South Luangwa’s long history of community engagement in the life of the national park that has led to its official recognition by the UNWTO, in 2017, as the world’s first truly sustainable national park. It shows how the dialogue
between travel businesses and local communities can shape both the tourism offering, and the lives and livelihoods of those who are directly impacted by it.
SAFARI SUCCESS The park is teeming with wildlife and the mighty Luangwa River provides a watering ground for hippos and a healthy population of elephants. But it wasn’t always the case.
Back in the late 1980s, elephant numbers in South Luangwa had dwindled to around 200, the black rhino had been pronounced locally extinct and many of the villagers had been displaced from
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travelweekly.co.uk 12 SEPTEMBER 2019 59
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