Flying in from Lusaka over the Muchinga Escarpment, the first glimpse of the Lower Zambezi National Park is of a fertile green strip bisecting a crackling, bone-dry landscape. This is October, locally known as "suicide month", when the frustrations of daily life in Zambia are so magnified by the heat that suicide seems almost an attractive option. Yet within hours of the first rainfall in late November the startling contrast disappears. Zambia bursts into spectacular new life, as verdant as anywhere on earth, and the park blends with its surroundings.

Lower Zambezi is a 4000km2 strip stretching east to west, including the Muchinga Escarpment to the north - part of the Rift Valley system - and the Zambezi River to the south. The fine game viewing on offer centres on the park's western end. Immediately across the Zambezi is Zimbabwe's Mana Pools NP. Wildlife frequently crosses the river between the two reserves: elephant, hippo, buffalo, lion, hyaena and the profusebirdlife.

It is the Zambezi itself that differentiates this park. Wherever you look from the vicinity of the bank, a huge riverscape opens out. Other Zambian parks have rivers, of course, but they lack the Zambezi's sweep. It offers, in addition to excellent land-based game viewing, a playground where visitors can fish, canoe, view game by boat or simply cruise - lunching aboard, cool drink in hand.

Another reason for the fine game viewing is the presence of several safari lodges in the region. I visited four of these, in the western end of the park: two inside it (Chiawa and Mwambashi) and two in the adjoining Game Management Area - Royal Zambezi and Kiubo. (Game Management Areas surround all Zambia's national parks and are controlled by traditional chiefs.) It's now a truism of African wildlife reserves that the presence of tourist lodges inhibits poaching and encourages the build-up of animal stocks. However sections of the park are still at risk. The area wasn't gazetted until 1983, before which it suffered under the Africa-wide onslaught on elephants for ivory. It was a kick-off point for insurgents crossing the river during the Rhodesian civil war, then a shooting gallery for visiting politicians; recently there has been commercial poaching for meat. So the fact that there is such good game viewing in the western park says much for the efforts of the people who have been working to reverse the decline.

In 1989 the Cumings family of Lusaka built Lower Zambezi's first lodge and called it Chiawa, after the area's traditional chief. Zambia's tourism sector is stirring from its slumber, prodded along by South African and Zimbabwean capital, but Chiawa Camp is a home-grown enterprise. Its dining, lounge and bar facilities have a thatched balcony with excellent views over the Zambezi, which is sometimes as wide as two kilometres. Water levels fluctuate in response to the demands from the Kariba Dam upstream, eating away at the banks as they do so.

Chiawa's accommodation borders on the luxurious, with tented en suite rooms set on wooden platforms shaded by canvas awnings. There are solar-powered bedside lamps, torches and candles. A hand-held radio is available to summon an escort through the grounds, where elephant, buffalo, hippo and big cats are frequent visitors. To my delight, the tent zips closed efficiently enough to deny entry to mosquitoes (unlike at most camps). The lodge's cuisine is tasty, fresh, plentiful and well presented (in a buffet). The Mongolian-style barbecue cooked on gas skottels(wok-like barbecues) was ingenious, while Zambian beef must be one of the world's best-kept culinary secrets.

Chiawa's game viewing is organised with striking professionalism. Led by Grant Cumings, guides Jaco, Boaz and Steve unravel the secrets of the bush and introduce visitors to wildlife sightings second to none. One memorable morning we watched, from 20m, a group of lionesses and cubs stalk, kill and eat a warthog. We were so close we could smell the rankness of the lions. The previous evening we had followed these same cats (by spotlight from the vehicle) for about an hour as they stalked impala, then had no luck when they charged. The impala shot past us like an express train - exquisite and unique (they have no close relatives) - and lived to tell the tale.

Jaco took us to wrestle with Tigerfish - large relatives of the piranha, who put up a spectacular fight. The thrill of hooking one is why many people visit Lower Zambezi. Most anglers use filleted fish as drift bait; others use spinners. However, fly-fishing for Tiger is the big new sport. Personally, I used a spinner with success. Following Lower Zambezi protocol we released the fish we caught. All the lodges offer fishing and provide basic gear (though not fly-fishing tackle). However, anyone serious about angling would do well to take their own equipment.

Possibly the most spectacular site along the Zambezi is occupied by Mwambashi River Lodge. In front of it, the main current flows around Chikwenya Island and there are always animals crossing the water or browsing the banks. Driving this area, you encounter scenes of astonishing beauty. Large green swards stretch from the trees to the shining river. A mixture of birds and animals - waterbuck, puku, impala, elephant, buffalo, hippo - go about their business almost as in a naive painting. The lodge is managed by Ryan Clark and Krissie Krook. Both are "graduates" of Kruger NP and their guiding is excellent. Australian Kellie Leigh, who is studying wild dogs, is also resident. Particularly good is the fresh bream served for breakfast - unsurprising, as those eating it had helped catch it.

Beyond Lower Zambezi's western boundary, in the Chiawa Game Management Area, are Royal Zambezi and Kiubo. A local ruling bars any boat from entering the national park unless those operating it have a lodge within the park. Both lodges counter this by transferring clients to associated lodges in the park, from where they can take a boat.

Until recently, Royal Zambezi was in danger of becoming the blousy old aunt of the lodge brigade. In the early '90s it had set a new local benchmark, but the years took their toll. Now, new owners are refurbishing it. Tented rooms (under thatch) accommodate 14 guests, with improved en suite bathrooms. A mark of Royal is its garden-like setting: rich lawns and scores of trees bring the tough daytime temperatures down by several degrees. Its most famous feature is a bar suspended over the water from a huge sausage tree. Dining alfresco on an island in the river is a Lower Zambezi tradition, especially around full moon, which we enjoyed both here and at Chiawa. There is a special magic sitting in candlelight, wine in hand, with water and night sounds all around.

Royal's new managers are Zimbabweans Steve Martin and Kerry Tullis. Steve is a knowledgeable fisherman and acts as gillie for the hopefuls who come to battle the Tigers. Royal Zambezi is regaining its reputation as one of the best places for fishing forays.

Although Royal and Kiubo are outside the park, animals are not inhibited from visiting either. The area could be called Jumbo Junction: it seems impossible to move without coming across elephant, sometimes in large numbers. Sleep is often interrupted by the sound of branches being ripped from trees outside the tents as they feed. A large visitor to the Royal Zambezi grounds chased us from the lounge area and helped himself to a massive swig from the swimming pool before sauntering off.

Kiubo River Lodge is included in the Classic Retreats Collection Private Game Lodges of Distinction with good reason. Visitors are immediately struck by the attention to detail and by the soaring architecture of the main bar and dining area, set under a canopy of African Ebony trees (Kiubo in Swahili). Eight roomy, en suite tents each have a solar-powered unit for lighting and hot water. The ambitious cuisine comes remarkably close to top restaurant standards - no mean achievement given the remote location.

The camp is managed by South Africans Niel and Annerita Blount, experienced safari operators. Their conversation ranges easily over the areas where they've worked - Namibia, Botswana and East Africa, as well as Zambia - giving the lodge a pan-African ambience. Kiubo's activities are similar to the other lodges': game viewing, bush walks, canoeing, boating and birding. The canoeing is an especially pleasant diversion. Setting out early in the morning, you drift slowly down the river, usually near the bank, keeping an eye out for hippos and getting remarkably close to water birds. Curiously, Kiubo has a resident troop of Samango, or Blue, monkeys, which are unknown elsewhere in the area.

Overall, Lower Zambezi's lodges now rival those anywhere for comfort, quality and skilled staff. Add to this the park's spectacular scenery and it's easy to see why it has become one of Zambia's premier tourist attractions.

A journalist by profession, Vernon Wright now runs his own safari operation in Zambia.

Published in Travel Africa Edition Nineteen: Spring 2002. Text is subject to Worldwide Copyright (c)