Guide books to Zambia are now two a penny. In the travel section of any bookshop you will find at least three or four. But few of them will be able to compete with Peter de Vere Moss’ A Visitor’s Guide To Kafue National Park.

This pocket sized book has been a number of years in the making. In fact I searched back through my emails and found a communication with Peter back in 2007 saying that his next project would be a handbook on the Kafue National Park. Of course other things happen in between, but I can imagine that gathering and collating the information contained in this comprehensive guide would take years to complete.

The book is well structured with information on planning your trip, how to get there, where the entrance gates are and where to stay, all with GPS co-ordinates. The ready reference on places to stay takes up more than a page and a half (I never realised there were so many) and gives information on what style of accommodation (bush camp, lodge etc), whether full or self catering and whether seasonal or year round. It also gives you a price range which is very handy.

The detailed lodge/camp section is categorised according to the area of the park (north east etc) and apart from GPS co-ordinates, there are details of what visitors can expect and a small photo or two.

The chapter on managing the Park is extremely interesting as it gives one an insight into the issues and challenges which not only ZAWA but also the operators face in trying to keep this park a pristine wilderness area and safe haven for our diminishing wildlife.

The section on travel tips is more relevant to the international traveller or newcomers to Zambia, but that does not make it any less necessary. Even for us locals, it’s a good idea to check that nothing is forgotten; a weekend in winter without a pullover can make what should be an enjoyable trip very unpleasant.

The final chapter of this 176 page book is a checklist of wildlife (mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish – I did say it was comprehensive ) and common trees , a listing of the local names for some of the trees and a brief description of the most common trees found in the Park.

There are map interspersed throughout the text of the book and there is a large foldout map at the back of the book.

This guide is published by the Kafue Trust with support from the Royal Danish Embassy and is available from local bookshops.

This guide is a must if you are visiting the Kafue National Park.