Sioma Ngwezi National Park

Governing Body: Department of National Parks and Wildlife
Coordinates: 17.25099°S 23.43109°E

General Information

Sioma Ngwezi National Park is the third largest national park in Zambia. Since 2005, the protected area is considered a Lion Conservation Unit

Infrastructure & Accessibility

There are no facilities except for campsites and no roads in the park, only tracks requiring four-wheel drive vehicles even in the dry season, when vehicles can become bogged in sand. In 2007 several tour operators were taking guided safaris into the park.
Other tourism facilities have recently been developed or are planned in the region, such as along nearby stretches of the Zambezi (a fishing resort, and a lodge at Ngonye Falls), and in the Caprivi Strip. The recently opened Trans–Caprivi Highway and Katima Mulilo Bridge are within 60 km of the park and may increase visitor numbers appreciably.

The proximity to Angola, Namibia and Botswana makes it ripe for transfrontier parks initiatives, one of which is a consideration to include the park in the 5 Nation Kavango – Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area.

Habitat, Flora and Climate

Sioma Ngwezi National Park is mainly covered by Kalahari woodlands. Not far from the Park are the beautiful Sioma Falls.
The park occupies part of large plain lying between the Zambezi, the Cuando River (the upper Chobe River), and the Caprivi Strip, called the Silowana Plains, lying south of the Barotse Floodplain. They were once part of the Kalahari Desert and covered in wind-blown sand-dunes, still present as gentle undulations and a sandy soil. Although the climate is now wetter, permanent rivers do not flow through the plains, only a few seasonal ones, and in the rainy season thousands of small lagoons, typically a couple of hundred metres across, form in the depressions between the dunes. Two eco-regions are well represented in the park, Zambezian Baikiaea woodlands dominated by Zambian Teak trees, which surrounds plains of Western Zambezian grasslands. Along the major rivers surrounding the park is a third eco-region, Zambezian flooded grasslands.

Wildlife

The Park is home to over 3000 elephants, and several endangered species including roan, sable, wild dog and cheetah. Several antelope species are present, but quite shy. Mostly puku, eland, impala, tsessebe, roan, sable, zebra and kudu are seen. Other animals include zebra, buffalo, hippo, lion, leopard, hyena, cheetah, wild dog and giraffe.