Wilderness Shumba and Busanga Bush Camp Open for 2023 Season

Wilderness Shumba and Busanga Bush Camp look forward to welcoming guests back to Zambia’s renowned Kafue National Park, one of Africa’s largest national parks and a UNESCO Biosphere Network reserve. The Wilderness camps, situated in the supremely remote Busanga Plains area, offer guests front-row seats to a wildlife extravaganza for just five months each year, from the beginning of June to the end of October, before the return of the seasonal rains.

Wilderness Shumba and Busanga Bush Camp are set in 28,000 hectares of pristine savannah, and are surrounded by vast open plains threaded with aquatic channels. Aptly named the “Plains of Plenty”, Kafue’s Busanga Plains’ exceptional biodiversity teems with wildlife and is home to some 55 large mammals, 20 ungulate, 6 cat and at least 500 bird species. Guests have the opportunity to see oribi, roan and sable as they are followed by predators that include lion, wild dog and cheetah, and watch the unpredictable exchanges between the famous lion prides of the area, while hippos wallow in their hundreds in the channels.

Dean Morton, Wilderness Zambezi MD, is particularly looking forward to the 2023 season. "Even though Shumba and Busanga Bush Camp are only open for the five drier months of the year, Wilderness is passionately committed to maintaining its conservation tourism presence in this diverse habitat. The extraordinary landscape and wildlife of Kafue creates a range of experiences for guest adventures, including game drives, nature walks, birding – and boating trips when water levels allow”.

Wilderness’ presence and commitment to bringing guests to this remote area is critical for the protection of its fragile ecosystem, supporting anti-poaching activities and uplifting communities through employment. Vince Shacks, Wilderness Group Impact Manager notes, “As founding members of the Lionscape Coalition, our contribution to the Lion Recovery Fund has allowed us to assist with efforts that have helped build and strengthen an effective anti-poaching presence in Kafue National Park. Together with partners like African Parks, who manage the park in collaboration with the Zambian Department of National Parks and Wildlife, we aim to further expand this work to ensure that the benefits from tourism reach the people living around this incredible wilderness area”.

Further confirming its commitment to positive impact, Wilderness recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Carbon Ark and the Zambian Ministry of Green Economy and Environment to launch a carbon storage and sequestration project. With the aim of protecting millions of hectares of Game Management Areas around Kafue National Park, it explicitly focuses on local community job creation and upliftment. More information on this can be found here.