This is one of the best countries for an active safari which includes walking with an armed scout, Zambezi canoeing and for day and night drives by open Land Rover.

Many of the camps and lodges in Zambia are very small, some taking just six guests and relatively few tourists visit, giving the opportunity for some wonderful safaris in privacy.

Setting off just after 6am you can enjoy tracking animals and learning the fundamentals of bushcraft as you follow the course of the meandering Luangwa River returning to camp for a hearty breakfast.

In the afternoon you can move further afield by open vehicle following big herds of buffalo, zebra and antelope while after dinner a night drive may show you a leopard on the prowl or aardvark and porcupine.

The Zambezi National Park borders the half mile Zambezi River where you can canoe and explore the fertile Zambezi floodplains with their elephant, lion and wild dog. Further west is Kafue National Park with its great diversity of mammal species - eighteen different types of antelope and six types of cat in one national park, while the nearby Busanga Plains are home to millions of smaller graceful antelope and tree climbing lions.

You can round off a visit to Zambia at Victoria Falls to admire the mile wide waterfall and perhaps try rafting or a sundowner cruise.

You can easily spend over two weeks exploring Zambia, or combine it with a few days by Lake Malawi.

Zambia is strongly seasonal and should be visited between May and the end of October.

Zambia is ideal for an adventurous, yet comfortable safari where you can enjoy walking, open vehicle safaris, boating and canoeing. It is perfect for a "last family holiday" with older teenagers.

While safaris here give you a chance to be active, they are not strenuous and a morning walk might cover 5 or 6 miles.

Zambia has some of Africa's best guides and some of its finest privately owned small safari camps and lodges. The season is from May to the end of October.