Lockinvar National Park is situated on the southern edge of the Kafue Flats, a wide floodplain of the Kafue River between Itezhi Tezhi Dam in the west and Kafue Gorge in the east. The area includes the large, shallow Chunga Lagoon, which fluctuates considerably in size with variations in river levels. The varying vegetation makes it an interesting park to visit with floodplains, woodlands and termitaria. The hot springs at Gwisho occur along a geological fault and the water rises from depths of over one kilometre coming out at temperatures between 60 and 90 degrees centigrade. Sebanzi Hill is one of the oldest archaeological sites in Central Africa and is the site of an Iron Age village. The Park has WWF status as a “Wetland of International Importance”.
The Kafue Flats floodplain, in the northern section, floods from the Kafue River and it is here that you’ll find thousands upon thousands of the endemic Kafue lechwe. More than 30,000 of them make the flats their home and move seasonally according to the flood level. They feed on grasses and herbs in water up to a meter deep and are often seen wading or swimming in the Chunga Lagoon. Besides the Kafue lechwe there are also buffalo, bushbuck, bush pig, kudu, oribi, vervet monkey, wildebeest, and zebra.
Lochinvar is a bird watchers paradise throughout the year with over 400 species recorded. Around Chunga Lagoon you’ll find the greater and lesser flamingo, the pink backed and white pelicans, wattled and crowned cranes, African skimmer, Caspian tern, Baillon’s crake, and the red knobbed coot. Many species of duck are abundant in this environment such as the black duck, fulvous duck, whistling duck, pintail, garganey, southern pochard, pygmy goose, yellow-billed duck, and the Cape and European shovellers. In summer, migratory waders include avocet, the Mongolian, Caspian and Pacific golden plovers, whimbrel, turnstone, sanderling, little stint, spotted redshank, black-tailed and bar-tailed godwits, and six species of sandpiper. Over 50 raptors occur including the black sparrowhawk, osprey, secretary bird, marabou stork, African cuckoo hawk, and the peregrine falcon to name a few. Other interesting sightings include the white-bellied and black-bellied korhaans, yellow-throated sandgrouse, narina trogon, and Denham’s bustard.