Travel: On safari in Zambia

These huge, iridescent fish with fiendish teeth capture the hearts of many fishing fans. But they are not biting. The tranquillity of the river is an end in itself, but this is suddenly disturbed by a splish-splashing on the Zimbabwean side of the river. Three male elephants emerge from the shady trees and set forth to cross the river, first walking and then plunging themselves into the water to swim the depths of the river's heart.

Like a trio of launching ships, they stream through the water and emerge with palpable relief on to an island in the middle of the Zambezi. There, they splash and play with a joie de vivre that is almost human . These three beasts cavort in silhouette as the scar-red African sun sinks behind the deep shadow of the high escarpment running along the Zambian side of the river. It is a sublime moment – unexpected, and quintessentially African.

Nevertheless, the southern African country of Zambia represents a non-stereotypical but adventurous safari destination. Rather than the mobbed Maasai Mara and the besieged Serengeti in East Africa, where there is often a reliance on the safari vehicle, Zambia offers many different ways to get up close to the wildlife of the African bush.

Walking safaris allow you to see the true nature of the forest or savannah, and to hear their grace notes rather than the thrum of an engine. The flashing colour of a sunbird's wings, the hard and ambitious labour of a colony of termites, the tracks and pathways of elephants and hippos – the fine detail of nature's tapestry can be observed this way. Canoe safaris let you move with the river and all its inhabitants – to see colonies of carmine bee-eaters, drunken-looking baboons slumped indolently on the river bank, gambolling baby buffalo among the reed beds and the sweet lilac of water hyacinths.

If you are visiting Zambia, you can sample the watery attractions of the Zambezi in the Lower Zambezi national park, only 45 minutes on a chartered plane from the capital, Lusaka (if you have to stay overnight in Lusaka, try Chaminuka, a gloriously eccentric and characterful lodge stuffed to its stylish rafters with contemporary Zambian art). Staying on the river means becoming acquainted with villainous yet shy crocodiles and pods of grumpy hippos, as well as riverine birdlife such as herons, storks and kingfishers. One of the few bush spas in the country is located here, at the Royal Zambezi Lodge, so you can enjoy a traditional Zambian ukuchina hot towel massage after a hard day's canoeing.

You can also see big game in the national park – we saw several groups of lions and elephants. But if you really want to see the animals in Zambia, your best bet is South Luangwa national park. About an hour by plane from Lusaka, there is a vast choice of accommodation, from high-end luxury to backpacker-friendly. Norman Carr Safaris is the grandfather of the walking safari scene and can organise stays in remote bush camps or camping safaris under the stars. On a walking safari between their Luwi and Nsolo camps, our guide Innocent shows us a disembowelled impala. We have apparently just disturbed a feasting hyena, who in turn has stolen the fresh kill from a leopard. Moving on through forest, we catch sight of a group of elephants. Seeing them on the ground gives a much more realistic impression of their sheer scale and a greater sense of our human vulnerability. Soon they pick up our scent, and lumber away. Tourists on walking safaris are accompanied at all times by an armed ranger, so that if something does go wrong an enraged animal can be stopped.

On another walking safari, this time from Island Bush Camp, in the extreme south of the park, and operated by Kafunta River Lodge, we encounter male lions. Keen to avoid us, they are clearly in no mood for confrontation. We keep seeing flashes of them through the trees – a patch of mane here, a flank there. Sometimes one stops and watches us, assessing. The scene is timeless. Such encounters have happened for millennia.

But safari vehicles are useful for covering large areas and getting quickly to big game sightings. In South Luangwa, it is easy to find elephants, buffalo, zebra, giraffe, leopards and lions. Unfiortunately no rhinos have been seen since 1997.

It's possible to feel intrusive in a vehicle, but humans are here anyway, and safari tourism deters poaching and gives animals a chance to thrive. The roads themselves mostly follow elephant paths, flanked by termite mounds shaped like alien citadels and baobab trees that soar like cathedrals. Camps are often ecologically sound, with many running exclusively on solar power.

There are also comical moments where humans and nature intersect. At one camp, a honey badger broke into a store and managed to open a five-litre box of South African wine, which it duly necked. The drunken animal was found unconscious with its legs in the air, and deposited under a tree by worried staff. After a number of hours, it scrambled to its feet, glared and stumbled off into the bushes.

At heart, though, the bush is a serious place, where life and death unfolds in front of captivated eyes. Safaris package the wilderness for our consumption, but all we take away is the experience, leaving the real inhabitants of these places to go about their business. We take our leave, but the lions still stalk and the hyenas still howl.

Fact File Zambia

Imagine Africa (www.imagineafrica.co.uk) has a week in Zambia – staying at Norman Carr bush camps, Island bush camp, Royal Zambezi Lodge and Chaminuka – for 3,121 per person, based on two sharing and including all international and internal flights, accommodation, transfers by road, meals and activities. Of if you would like to combine a Zambian trip with a visit to South Africa during this year's World Cup, you can fly from Lusaka to Johannesburg with Zambia's national carrier, Zambezi Airlines (www.flyzambezi.com), from 116 return.

#149 This article was first published in Scotland On Sunday on March 21, 2010