South Luangwa National Park

South Luangwa is one of those rare places that safari veterans invariably rank among their all-time favourites. The park's 9,050 square kilometres of wilderness along the meandering Luangwa River support one of the densest and most diverse wildlife populations in Africa, with the bush here feeling somehow wilder and more intimate than the more famous parks of East Africa.

The leopard viewing is world-class — South Luangwa's cats are habituated to vehicles and frequently spotted on night drives, draped in sausage trees, or padding along the river banks at dusk. The park also supports one of the largest wild dog populations in the region, endemic Thornicroft's giraffes found nowhere else on Earth, and prodigious herds of buffalo, hippo, and elephant.

But it's the walking safari that truly defines the South Luangwa experience. Following an armed guide through the mopane woodland at dawn, reading tracks in the dust, interpreting alarm calls, and encountering wildlife at eye level produces an understanding of the African bush that no amount of vehicle-based safari can replicate.