Leopard Lovers Safari

Where can you travel to be guaranteed a leopard sighting? There are only 2 regions where we would be so bold as to guarantee such a thing. Without a doubt the answer is the Sabi Sands Game Reserve in South Africa and the South Luangwa National Park in Zambia. In fact, in these areas it can happen that you can see 2 or 3 different leopards on a single outing if you are lucky! We take the luck out of the equation and put you right in the heart of leopard territory, so the odds are in your favour.

Starting off in the Sabi Sands Game Reserve, an area not only a paradise for leopards but for all members of the Big 5. Spending a full 4 nights here and you’ll most likely view and photograph all of the Big 5 but especially the resident leopards, most of which are familiar to the guides who know their individual habits and how to track them down. A highlight here would be to find a mother nurturing her cubs or a big tom (male leopard) with his fresh kill up an iconic Marula tree – regular sighted in the Sabi Sands! After these first 4 nights, your memory cards might be full so it’s time for a direct flight to the town of Livingstone in Zambia for a bit of R&R. Spend 2 nights here enjoying sunset boat cruises and a guided tour of the famous Victoria Falls while preparing for the next leopard hotspot. Then boarding another flight going via Lusaka eventually has you landing in the Luangwa Valley, also known as the ‘valley of the leopard’ and for good reason too – it’s said to have one of the highest density of leopards on the planet during the dry season. As the availability of water and vegetation decreases, the prey species concentrate along the lagoons and banks of the Luangwa river, supporting a higher density of predators than would otherwise be possible because of the shear abundance of food. This concentration of food leads to less competition between predators and a tolerance of each other’s presence in a much smaller area than typical elsewhere. To cut a long story short, there’s exception chances of viewing lions, hyenas, wild dogs and leopards all within a relatively small stretch of river frontage, floodplains and surrounding woodland – particularly from August to end October. Spending 4 nights here ensures great chances of finding these predators as they hunt, and a great highlight is watching the leopards make use of the deep trenches, formed by hippos, to their advantage to stalk Puku antelope – often during the day!

South Luangwa is also the birthplace of walking safaris, so we highly recommend adding a few extra nights in a dedicated walking safari camp. If you need even more leopards in your life, then we suggest flying down to Lower Zambezi National Park for a few extra nights.