Zambezi River safari is a 4 day African safari tour in Zambia. You will spend your nights in treetops on this Zambezi River safari. You’ll be in a deluxe en-suite tree-house that overlooks the Zambezi River.

About The Zambezi River Safari

This lets you enjoy a secluded getaway with your loved one. You’ll have dedicated butler caters to your every need. This ensures the privacy of your Zambezi River safari in Zambia. This Zambia safari tour is a romantic getaway.

The 4 day Zambezi River safari takes you to the banks of the Zambezi. On your Zambezi River safari in Zambia you’ll enjoy different activities. These include tranquil canoe safaris and private island picnics. You’ll also have time for sunrise and sunset boating safaris.

All these will allow for enough quality time on the Zambezi River safari. You’ll enjoy a memorable day tour of the majestic Victoria Falls. Enjoy game viewing on this Zambezi River safari on a two-seater canoe.

Sit back relax and watch herds of Elephant and Buffalo wallowing in the river. You will also see crocodiles slink from sunny sandbanks stealthily into the river. Take every moment to enjoy as you glide nervously past pods of inquisitive Hippos.

Zambezi River Safari Itinerary

Day 1 – 3: Zambezi River

You will be met upon arrival at Harry Mwanga Nkumbula International Airport. This was renamed as it was previously called

Livingstone International Airport. This will be done by our Zambia safari representative. You will enjoy moments of briefing on the Zambezi River safari in Zambia. This is to be followed by a road transfer to Tongabezi Lodge in Livingstone.

Tongabezi Lodge is located on the banks of the Zambezi River. This Zambia safari lodge is ideal for canoeing excursions and fishing trips. Your open-fronted suite will spoil with panoramic views of the river. This gives you the ability to view the wildlife that approaches the river.

You will spend the afternoon relaxing by the river searching for the famous Tiger fish. You’ll enjoy sunrise and sunset boating that sail into a new day or end off a day. This gives you new memories with a sundowner watching the spectacular African sunset.

Birdwatchers will enjoy leisurely bush walks through the diverse landscapes. Adventurous travelers can get a dose of culture during village tours. Here one is able to purchase souvenirs at the local markets.

You’ll visit the many museums that display the historical development of Livingstone. The bush lovers would have wilder walk in the bush or assisting a ranger in tracking spoor.

Some afternoons will be spent relaxing by the swimming pool. This can be complemented by a refreshing cocktail. You may opt to visit to the spa for a wellness treatment. The magical evening will be spent in special company. You’ll be served a delicious meal in a romantic candlelit dinner for two.

This is specially planned to capture the essence of the bush in an alfresco setting. You’ll enjoy a supreme location anchored offshore in the Zambezi River. Here you’ll have freshly prepared meals on a Sampan floating candlelit dinner.  The dinner is delivered to you by canoe. There will be traditional music to serenade you as you take your fill.

Day 4: Livingstone Airport

This is the last day of your Zambezi River safari in Zambia. You will end this Zambezi River safari with a departure from Tongabezi Safari Lodge. Enjoy a road transfer to Harry Mwanga Nkumbula International Airport. This is in time for your departure flight back home.

———- End of Zambezi River Safari in Zambia ———

Zambezi River Safari Destination

Zambezi River

The Zambezi River safari is a Zambia safari to the Zambezi. This is the fourth-longest river in Africa, the longest east-flowing river in Africa and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa.

For about 500 kilometers it serves as the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe thundering over the Victoria Falls and through the narrow, steadily deepening Batoka Gorge, providing a fantastic playground for white-water rafting, kayaking, river boarding and jet boating.

Its unique value is that it is less developed than other rivers regarding human settlement and many areas along its banks have even been granted protected status.

Upper Zambezi

From the source the river flows to the south-west out of Zambia and into Angola for about 240 km (150miles). When it re-enters Zambia it is approximately 400m (1300ft) wide in the rainy season and is fast flowing at Cholwezi rapids and the Chavuma Falls.

The river runs south now for a distance of about 800 km (500miles) and in this distance only drops about 180m (590ft). It is very slow flowing for most of this section as it enters an area known as the Barotse Floodplain where the width of the river reaches up to 25 km (16miles) in the rainy season.

The upper part of the Zambezi River is only sparsely populated by pastoralists, farmers and fishermen. During the rainy season when the plain is in flood a ceremony known as the Ku-omboka Ceremony take place as the local people move to higher ground to escape the flood waters.

One local folk law is that the Zambezi River has a spirit called Nyami Nyami – this spirit brings them water to grow their crops and fish to eat – and so they call the river “the river of life”.

It then turns easterly and forms the border between Zambia and Namibia this is at the Katima Mulilo rapids.

The Middle Zambezi

The Zambezi River safari will get you to the Victoria Falls. They are considered the boundary between the upper and middle Zambezi. For the next 500 km the river serves as the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Below the Falls your Zambezi River safari continues to flow due east for about 200 km (120miles), cutting through gorges of basalt rock between 200 to 250 metres (660 to 820ft) high. It is in these gorges where the commercial white water rafting now takes place.

The Zambezi River is graded as a grade 5 river. This is the highest grade that a river can be graded for white water rafting, meaning this is as wet and wild as it gets.

The Victoria Falls also serves as a backdrop for many other Zambezi River safari adventure sports including the famous bungee jump from the Victoria Falls Bridge.

The river drops 250m over the next 200 km before entering Lake Kariba. The Kariba Dam which was completed in 1959 is one of the largest man-made lakes in the world. The hydroelectric power generated at the dam provides electricity for much of Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Lake Kariba is 226 km long and in places up to 40 km wide and supports a thriving commercial fishing industry and is a fantastic tourist attraction.

With its spectacular scenery, stunning sunsets, great fishing and boating opportunities it is one of the finest places on this planet for a Zambezi River safari holiday.

The weather here is mostly sunny and fine but it does get very hot in mid-summer, even mid-winter days are warm and the nights are balmy.

From the Kariba dam wall the river heads east again towards Chirundu. Beyond Chirundu, the river is flanked by the Lower Zambezi National Park in Zambia and Mana Pools National Park in Zimbabwe. This is the stretch of the river that the famous canoe safaris are run.

Tourists on Zambezi River safari have the opportunity of paddling down the river and camping overnight on the banks or more luxurious trips offer accommodation in one of the safari lodges along the way. Wonderful sightings of wildlife are experienced as the canoes slip silently by them, and encounters with Hippopotamus can be quite exciting for those on Zambezi River safari.

This middle zone of the Zambezi river supports one of the most important wilderness areas in Africa. The middle Zambezi ends where the river enters Lake Cahora Bassa which was constructed in 1974.

Formerly the site of dangerous rapids known as Kebrabassa, these rapids made navigation by large vessels up the Zambezi impossible for the early explorers and for this very reason the development of the inland was slower than had they not been there.

The Lower Zambezi

The lower part of the river from Cahora Bassa down to the Indian Ocean is navigable by large vessels. This section is 650 km (400miles) in length, the river is shallow in many places especially during the dry season as the river enters a broad valley and spreads out over a large area.

Only at the Lupata Gorge 320 km (200miles) up from the mouth does the river flow between high hills and a gorge is formed.

Elsewhere it flows gently with many small channels to explore along the way. The river bed is sandy, and the banks are low and reed-fringed, however during the rainy season these streams join to become one fast flowing river.

The Lower Zambezi National Park flanks the river on the Zambian side and Mana Pools National Park on the Zimbabwean side. This whole area of the Zambezi supports one of Africa’s most important wilderness areas as it provides sustenance to a diverse array of game, birdlife and fish species.

Hippo, Nile crocodiles and monitor lizards, are commonly found along many of the calm stretches of the river by those on Zambezi River safari.

Species of bird, like heron, pelican, egret and African fish eagle are found in large numbers here. The riverine woodlands then support many large animals, such as buffalo, zebra, giraffe, elephant.

The Zambezi also supports several hundred species of fish, some of which are endemic to the river. Important species include cichlids which are fished heavily for food, as well as catfish, tigerfish, yellowfish and other large species.

The bull shark is sometimes known as the Zambezi shark after the river but is found around the world.

After having provided power, food and transport for many people, and a home for untold numbers of wildlife ¬– the river ends its journey through Mozambique and out towards the Indian Ocean.

The Zambezi’s most noted feature is Victoria Falls, but there is also so much more. Other notable falls include the Chavuma Falls at the border between Zambia and Angola, and Ngonye Falls, near Sioma in Western Zambia.

There are two primary sources of hydroelectric power on the river, the Kariba Dam, which provides power to Zambia and Zimbabwe, and the Cahora Bassa Dam in Mozambique, which provides power to Mozambique and South Africa. There is also a smaller power station at Victoria Falls.