Lochinvar National Park

Lochinvar sits on the southern side of the Kafue Flats and was a cattle ranch before it became a park, which is why an old farmhouse still stands in it. The flats hold Kafue lechwe in large numbers and the bird list runs past four hundred species, which is why the area is a Ramsar site. Gwisho hot springs bubble up near the escarpment beside an excavated Stone Age settlement, and there are rock paintings at Sebanzi Hill above.

What you actually see

• The lechwe herds - the endemic antelope across the southern flats.
• The Gwisho hot springs - warm water rising beside an excavated Stone Age site.
• Sebanzi Hill - the iron age settlement mound and rock paintings above the plain.
• The bird list - over four hundred species recorded on the Ramsar wetland.

When to go

June to October is dry and the tracks are open. Floods from January close much of the park. Early morning suits both birds and game.

Honest expectations

Tracks flood and four-wheel drive is genuinely needed. Facilities are basic camping and the old farmhouse. Cattle grazing inside the park is a long-running conflict and affects what you see.

Nearby

Blue Lagoon is north across the flats, and Choma is south.