The shoebill
With an expert guide.
Mehmet Karatay — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Fabrice Stoger — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Fabrice Stoger — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Fabrice Stoger — CC BY-SA 4.0 · NASA Earth Observatory images by Lauren Dauphin, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey. — Public domain
The Bangweulu Wetlands surround Lake Bangweulu in northern Zambia, combining papyrus swamps with grassy plains that flood. UNESCO and the Ramsar Convention rate them among the world's most important wetlands, and BirdLife International counts them as an Important Bird Area. They are among the best places in Africa to see the rare shoebill. Protection is spread across seven protected areas covering the north, east and south of the wetlands. That does not leave the area empty of people, as fishers and farmers have long lived here, moving about in dugout canoes cut from a single trunk, and conservation partners run parts of it with local communities. The whole place changes as the water rises and falls each year. From the air you see green and blue masses with no clear edges, and from the ground dugouts moored in shallow water. Black lechwe live on the plains in large numbers, along with small birds such as jacanas walking on floating leaves, bright bee-eaters on thin branches and swallows on the grass. Finding a shoebill takes a guide who knows where to look. It is about 73 km from Kasanka National Park in a straight line, though the road is slow. Access changes a lot with the season, so arrange your trip through an operator or camp in advance. The best time for shoebills and lechwe is about May to July, after the water has receded, and the main camp opens from May to October. Wear shoes that can take water, and bring protection against mosquitoes.
With an expert guide.
On the plains.
From a single trunk.
Around Lake Bangweulu, northern Zambia
No, but your chances are better with a local guide in the right season.
By four-wheel drive or small flight, depending on the season, so arrange it with your camp.