Zakouma National Park

Place of Plenty
Have you heard of Zakouma National Park?  Do you know where it is?

Many people that I’ve spoken to recently have no idea about Zakouma or where it is. Well, it is in the southeastern corner of Tchad close to the borders of Sudan and the C.A.R. Eyebrows are raised.
 
You may be surprised to hear that Chad has it all, from the colourful, bustling and vibrant market stalls filled with exotic herbs and spices - to the calm and serene sunsets over game rich wetlands not forgetting the immense Ennedi Plateau in the Sahara.
Africa Parks run 10 parks in 7 countries across Africa. They are a NGO that work with government and local communities to help preserve some of the most important wildlife areas left today in African. I have never come across such a success story in conservation; they are the real deal and no nonsense.
I could write pages about my last two visits to Tchad but instead I will just highlight my top five moments that really stood out.
 
Top 5

  • Camp Nomade
A simple yet absolutely perfect camp with some of the most delicious food you’ll find anywhere on safari. Staff and managers have it running smoothly and are super friendly. Incredible how far they’ve come in such a short period of time. Five star.

  • Walking Amongst Giants
One of the most incredible experiences, walking on the edge of the famous herd of 500 elephant. Closer than one could imagine. Note, these animals have gone through some of the most brutal poaching Africa has seen; yet we walked alongside them.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/01/wildlife-watch-chad-zakouma-elephants-poaching/
  
  • Flying Over Zakouma
One of the greatest ‘scenic’ flights I’ve been on was seeing Zakouma from the air. The doors were removed to allow us to take photos and we flew for almost an hour in search of the elephants and then over the vast wetlands and out into stunning plains where Nomads were camping with their animals.

  • The Birdlife & Red-billed Quelea
The birdlife in general is absolutely mind blowing. There are thousands of cranes, pelicans, waders and waterfowl. But having sundowners as hundreds of thousands and later in the year millions of Red-billed Quelea come into roost is something every nature lover must see.

  • Huge Herds
There aren’t too many places left in Africa where you can see really big herds of game AND be alone. Of course there is the wildebeest migration in Serengeti and the Zebra migration in the Makgadikgadi. In numbers they both exceed that of Zakouma’s herds but when was the last time you saw thousands of buffalo together or Tiang, if you even ever seen any before? It’s seriously impressive. Trust me!
 
 
​NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC ​Read the recent article Josh was featured in.  
www.african-parks.org Learn more about about Africa Parks.