Liuwa is ....

 Liuwa is a special park indeed.   It attracts around 400 visitors a year and they come for the migration (mid-Oct-Mid Nov). We were number 39-41 and maybe the 6th group for 2008. We had the park to ourselves for one day and then a few more visitors joined our camp. We stayed at Katuyana Camp since it was expected to have the first migrants. Indeed we saw groups of up to 70-100 wildbeast and smaller 10-20 zebras at a time. The primary predators are hyenas, and they are very approachable. In Oct 2008 4 lions are supposed to be moved to the park, and this should be be interesting for the hyenas and visitors but less so for the communities that live within and around the park.

The density of wildlife decreased from north to south since it was early in the migration season. Birdlife is quite good considering the park is mostly a plain that is flooded in the rainy season. 

Park accessibility is somewhat challenging. The road from Mongu to Kalabo (with about 25KM of flood plain to cross) takes about 3 hours. The drive from Kalabo to Katuyana takes about 2 hours and it has some deep sands. A high clearance vehicle is recommended, although we encountered a South African group that made it with trailers and with a M-class Mercedes (but apparently they got stuck in some places). The good news is that given the Zambezi flood plain, Liuwa will remain remote for a decade or more to come.

In summary, while Liuwa is highly recommended for beauty, remoteness and uniqueness, the addition of the lions will make it more attractive (mind you, lions were wiped out by the communities around the park 20 years ago).