Zambia’s premier national park is South Luangwa, a hotspot for walking safaris. It’s an exhilarating experience that gets most people hooked from the first. Take your place behind your armed guide and interact with the animals on their own terms; huge herds of elephant, buffalo, impala and puku are often encountered, while unique subspecies provide a highlight – Thornicroft’s giraffe and Cookson’s wildebeest are two of them.

Serious safari aficionados will love the more remote North Luangwa National Park, part of the same rift valley as its sibling further south, and sharing similar habitats and wildlife. The North Luangwa is visited almost exclusively as a walking safari destination, making it the ultimate wilderness retreat.

Livingstone is one of two locations from which to visit the mighty Victoria Falls, where the Zambezi crashes 100 metres into a chasm over a mile in length. Local people know of the falls as ‘The Smoke that Thunders’ and it’s easy to see why. Take your pick of how to approach the falls – microlight, helicopter, power boat, canoe, or even on the end of a bungee rope.

The Lower Zambezi National Park offers plenty of options for adrenaline junkies, including river surfing, rafting and tiger fishing. Meanwhile, more sedate (but equally adventurous) canoe safaris offer visitors the chance to see nature from a totally different perspective. Expect scenic waterways dotted with water lilies and wallowing hippos.