The Luangwa River bends and curves through the park, leaving behind crescent-shaped pools called 'oxbow lakes' when the river changes course. Animals gather at these pools during the dry season, when the rest of the land becomes dusty and dry. From May to October, the riverbanks are one of the busiest wildlife scenes in Africa.
South Luangwa is where walking safaris were invented. Most safaris are done by jeep, but in the 1950s a guide named Norman Carr started taking small groups on foot, with a ranger to keep everyone safe. Walking changes the experience completely - you notice tracks in the sand, hear insect sounds, and feel how small you are compared to the giant trees.
The park is home to a special kind of giraffe called the Thornicroft's giraffe - sometimes called the Rhodesian giraffe. They live only in the Luangwa Valley and nowhere else in the world. There are around 1,500 of them. They have a slightly different pattern from other giraffes, with paler legs.
Hippos are everywhere. The Luangwa River has one of the biggest hippo populations on Earth - in places, you can see 60 of them packed into one pool. By day they wallow in the water to stay cool. At night, they leave the water and walk to grassy areas to feed, sometimes for 10 kilometres before sunrise.