Wilderness Busanga Bush Camp Newsletter – June 2025

Our temperatures in Kafue National Park’s Busanga Plains ranged from 5° C in the mornings to about 30° C later in the afternoons.

In terms of activities and wildlife sightings, I must say it’s been really beautiful to see how Princess’s cubs have grown. The lion pride numbers in the Busanga Plains increased due to the abundance of food over the summer season, and they seem to have tripled from last year. We have also seen the arrival of new males, including Busiku, who is attempting to assert his authority around Busanga Bush Camp. Now it is definitely survival of the fittest.

It is a daily thrill to see how the lion prides are battling it out for territories. Mohawk has been pushed further north to the Mukambi area. He has been accompanied by Yaya and her four cubs, plus the two that came from Princesss – who is, however, still in the Plains. Sadly, one cub died, but the others are growing well. It’s always exciting to hear the updates from guests when they come back to camp.  

The dominant male Alex is king of our sister camp Shumba’s area, and is now accompanied by Savannah. Vega is also around that area with her three cubs. George has disappeared and we think he must have lost a battle. 

Nocturnal animals the likes of hyenas, leopards and porcupines have been spotted, and we’ve noticed that the cheetahs have also increased in number. The three Nkala Boys cheetah coalition have been around, marking their territory. Wildebeest and roan antelope have been seen, but no sable as yet.  

On the aquatic animal front, we have had fantastic sightings over sundowners at the Hippo Pool, with dramatic displays of hippos in the water, yawning and battling for dominance. Eagle’s Nest is another area where we see a lot of hippos and crocodiles.

Grey crowned cranes, wattled cranes, ground hornbills, egrets, rosy-throated longclaws, eagles, Bohm’s bee-eaters and vultures are regularly seen, the latter naturally always after a kill.

The season started on a high note, with guests excited to explore the vast grass plains of the Busanga. Our June guests enjoyed early morning drives, catching glimpses of kills, as the lions are active around dawn. 

It’s very rewarding to see our guests enjoying their "bush TV", as we call the camp fire pit. They appreciate the warmth of the fire with a cup of tea or coffee or tea and a tasty slice of toast cooked over the coals, before they head out for their game drive. The sun rising through the mist over the floodplain in front of camp is also always worth capturing.

Guests get back to camp in time for brunch at around mid- to late-morning. This is the time to enjoy an omelette, or eggs to order, with our other delicious menu offerings cooked by our seasoned chefs, spearheaded by Chef Lemon, who tirelessly accommodates most – if not all – of our guest’s dietary requests. 

High tea is served at around 3 in the afternoon, depending on when guests had their brunch. After this, guests are geared up to head out on another drive, often picking up where they might have left off in the morning. Back in camp, it’s always beautiful to see our guests seated back around the fire in the evenings, sharing how their day has been, what they saw, and how excited they are overall.

Interestingly, despite the good rains in summer, the heavy precipitation was quickly absorbed into the floodplains because of the drought last year. This has meant the channel water levels are already too low for boating. Once we explained this to our guests, they were very understanding and gracious. 

We set up amazing sundowners in camp at our gorgeous pool area that has views for miles over the floodplains, in the Kapinga grounds, and at the Eagle’s Nest area. 

Finally, we left no opportunity for complaints this month with all managers chipping in to help where service might have seemed to be lacking. Team spirit was high and our guests appreciated being looked after so well. 

Guests showed great appreciation for our members of staff. We had wonderful visitors, who showed true appreciation for our service and generally everything in camp during their stay. Others felt bad to say goodbye because they had fallen in love with the area and the people in camp.  

We were privileged to host the Emergency Response Plan training. Tswelelo from Botswana was our Trainer, together with Warren from South Africa and Graham from Zimbabwe. Trainings are always a plus and as Kafue National Park managers and guides, it was a momentous time to get to iron out issues here and there, and learn more about our safety and logistics support programme, Wilderness 24. The meeting was held on 18 June, with kudos to the organising team.

Staff in camp arrived well rested, with some having come via Lufupa Camp, which we opened before dashing to the Plains.

• Camp Manager: Richard Mwansabamba
• Assistant Manager:  Kennedy Lubinda
• Guides: Pyben Mbewe, Willard Kalyanongo
• Housekeeping: Paggy Kilumelume, Kennedy Baswene, Richard Zulu
• Maintenance: Clement Mumba, Mathews
• Kitchen: Lemon Lungwa, Mose Njobvu, Deozy Munuma
• Waiters: Winnerd Sampa, Fickson Jatwa, Chiyambi Kafuti