Mosi-Oa-Tunya National
Park is situated along the upper Zambezi stretching from and including
the Victoria Falls for about 12kms up river. Much of the park is
covered by mopane woodland and tall riverine forest of large trees
and ilala palms.
It’s only 66 sq km but it provides a home for numerous antelope,
zebra, giraffe and several introduced white rhino, one of which
gave birth in the park in 1994. These are the only rhinos to be
seen in Zambia, as the previously large population was completely
wiped out by poachers. Occasionally elephants cross the Zambezi
in the dry months of August and September from the Zimbabwean side
in search of food.
You can drive around the whole park in a couple of hours and as
there are no predators, the animals are quite relaxed and easy to
spot. The highlight here is the rhino walk. Two groups of eight
people are permitted to track rhino by foot each day. You arrive
in the park at dawn and, accompanied by an armed ranger, you creep
through the bush in single file following the spoor of the rhino.
Once you have found them, it’s very exciting to be able to watch from
just a few metres away, constantly aware that they could charge
if agitated. If you’re lucky you might also get close up on
foot to a zebra or giraffe. You could see more game from a guided game
drive on the way out of the park.
At the entrance of the park is the Mukuni Craft Village which is
well worth a stop for the huge range of souvenirs carved from wood,
soapstone or green malachite. The vendors can be really pushy, yelling
for your attention from all sides, so be firm.
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