Shoebill Island Camp is located on the edge of the Bangweulu Wetlands on a small island overlooking the main lake. Positioned right on the high flood line in a grove of trees, the camp's main area opens entirely to the vast plains with lechwe and flocks of diverse waterbirds within arm's reach.

There are 4 tents, (2 double, 2 twin) set on the back of the island. Each of the four tents is simple, but just right. There is a wardrobe, sitting chair, bedside tables and mozzie net to ensure convenience and comfort. The en-suite bathroom has a rain shower, hot/cold tapped water and flush toilet.

The main visiting season is from late May to August. The rains have stopped but there is still enough water in the channels to do canoe trip which is the best way to get close to the shoebills.

Bangweulu means 'the place where the water meets the sky'. The Great Bangweulu Basin, incorporating the vast Bangweulu Lake and a massive Wetland area, lies in a shallow depression in the center of an ancient cratonic platform, the North Zambian Plateau.

Access is by charter plane to Chikuni, which is Shoebills own private airstrip. It is about an hours flight from Mfuwe / South Luangwa and two hours from Lusaka.

The area supports an incredible diversity of water-birds and plains-birds including the Shoebill and are home to massive herds of the Black Lechwe. Elephant, Buffalo, Tsessebe, Reedbuck, Oribi and Sitatunga are also adapted to life in this wetland environment.

Most visitors come to Bangweulu to see the Shoebill. With the raising water levels (partly heavy rain) from Jan to May the shoebill is usually found closer to camp, often in camp! However this is not the time for safaris in the other Zambian parks and for international visitors, June & July are probably the best months for a combined Shoebill safari. The shoebill is harder to find from August to October but still possible. In this dry period, with the receding water, game drives become more productive with which Black Lechwe found in their thousands.

The prehistoric and vulnerable shoebill population is growing since African Parks started managing the park in 2008. Fish stocks have significantly increased due to an annual three-month fishing ban; the implementation of sustainable harvesting has allowed the endemic Black lechwe population to significantly increase to 50,000 animals in the last decade; and cheetah were reintroduced at the end of 2020 after a one hundred year absence.

Activities include walking safaris, game drives and deep hull (photographic) canoeing and mokoro rides, community visits with the seasonal fishermen of the region. For the more enthusiastic and adventurous visitors, walking in the swamps is also an option for visits to (and better views of) a shoebill nest with the Shoebill Guardian programme (seasonal activity), and comes strongly recommended. Apart from a community campsite further afield, this is the only camp in Bangweulu enabling access to this incredible wetland.

SwissAfrican Travel Service
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Zurich, Switzerland


Telephone: +41 (0)44 451 40 51