Nature's Wild Abode

Writer: Sarah Kingdom Photography: Anabezi Camp

The Lower Zambezi Valley, with its majestic escarpment sloping down to meet the river, protects a 4,092-square-kilometre national park which lies on the northern banks of the Zambezi River in southeastern Zambia. The escarpment along the north acts as a physical barrier as the bulk of the park is hilly ground; most of the game is concentrated on the flat valley floor, beside the deep, wide river.

A relatively undeveloped park, the beauty of the Lower Zambezi is in its wildness. The diversity of animals is not as wide as in some parks, but here there are endless opportunities to get right up close to the wildlife. The park lies opposite the famous Mana Pools Reserve in Zimbabwe, so both sides of the river form a huge wildlife sanctuary. Until 1983, when it was declared a national park, the area was the private game reserve of Zambia’s president; and as a result was protected from the ravages of mass tourism, leaving it a relatively pristine wilderness.

Most visitors arrive by boat or light aircraft. Tourist numbers are limited by the park’s relative inaccessibility, and unless you have some pretty good off-road driving experience and come at the right time of year, it is not advisable to attempt a road trip. We had felt a bit of an adventure was in order and so decided to drive…

After a five-and-a-half-hour drive from Lusaka, you reach the park gate. Once we had paid our entry fees and completed all the necessary paperwork, we set off into the unknown—no maps, no signposts and, frankly, no real clue where we were heading! All we knew was that we had a further 50- or 60-kilometre drive ahead. We didn’t see another person or vehicle on our drive, but three hours later, after a couple of mildly nerve-wracking, wide stream crossings, we arrived at Anabezi Luxury Tented Camp. Located in the remote and beautiful eastern end of the national park, Anabezi has been built where the Zambezi River and the Mushika Flood Plain meet. I could see why, in British colonial days, the area had been chosen on which to build the governor’s personal retreat—we would see the ruins of the now derelict building while out on one of our game drives. The camp is perched on the top of the river bank, built on raised timber decks with wooden walkways, with the Zambezi escarpment forming a beautiful backdrop.

As soon as you arrive at Anabezi you feel an atmosphere of understated luxury. We got there in time for lunch and a ‘power nap’, before heading out on a game drive. Sometimes, while on safari, it is easy to forget about the ‘little things’, but on our drive that night, after we’d seen herds of waterbuck and impala, and enjoyed some really special sightings of lions, Prisley, our guide, switched off the engine and the lights and we sat in the dark, revelling in the sounds of the night. The air pulsated with the chorus of innumerable crickets, baboons moaned and complained as they settled down for the night; hippos grunted in the distance… this was the true essence of the bush.

It wasn’t only out on drives that we were surrounded by wildlife—animals were all around us in camp. A pair of mating lions had set up their ‘honeymoon suite’ no more than 60 metres from our room (and remained ‘honeymooning’ every 20 minutes, for the next three days). Elephants wandered just below the verandah at lunchtime; more elephants tore branches off trees behind us in the dark while we ate our dinner. Hippos had late night pool parties in the channel below our room and lions roared throughout the night. Squirrels raced up and down the walkways, almost underfoot, while under the walkway a family of warthogs was permanently occupied digging up the grass.

Not far from camp was a beautiful winter thorn forest where we spent a wonderful morning, accompanied by families of waterbuck, herds of impala and an impressive selection of birdlife. Returning to camp after our walk, we had a spectacular sighting of a leopard high in a tree. She was so close that we could even see two puncture wounds in her shoulder; wounds that could well have been fatal if they had been a few inches to the right. Eventually the leopard, bored by our presence, stretched, yawned and climbed down from the tree before sauntering off. Continuing towards camp, we found a male lion lying calmly and conspicuously by the side of the road. After allowing us a lengthy and leisurely look, he simply got up, moved off into the shade and disappeared as he lay down again in the long grass.

Waking from an afternoon nap, I watched from our tent as an elephant pushed his forehead against the trunk of a winter thorn tree, persistently shaking the tree to dislodge its seedpods. Once no more seedpods fell, he delicately collected this bounty, one pod at a time, with the tip of his trunk and, transferring them to his mouth, appeared mesmerised as he munched. Watching him eat reminded me that it was time for yet another of the camp’s delicious meals… this time afternoon tea.

Keen for some peace and quiet, I dispatched my husband on a fishing expedition after breakfast, and returned to our luxurious tent to relax. Below our verandah there was a 50-metre-wide channel of water between us and a wooded island. Every day we had watched elephants traverse the island, foraging for food; this time however I focused on the channel itself. For over an hour, a male goliath heron stood knee deep in the water, infinitely patient and still, stalking his prey. Nothing seemed to distract him; neither the coucals squabbling on the bank, nor the jacanas dancing on rafts of water hyacinth; and not the kingfisher hovering overhead, or the terrapin inching its way up the bank. Even the cries of the hadedas and Egyptian geese didn’t deter him; and the bellows of the hippos on the other side of the island didn’t break his concentration. I couldn’t stand the ‘suspense’ any longer and went off to find a cup of tea. The heron meanwhile, clearly deciding his patience was not going to be rewarded, strode purposefully to another hunting ground a few metres away, and settled down to start all over again.

Anabezi is a truly special place, and we felt privileged to have had the opportunity to visit this wonderful part of Zambia. The end of our stay came way too soon, long before we were ready to leave. Our only consolation on departing was that our drive back across the park was a lot less daunting now that we actually knew where we were going!

ANABEZI LUXURY TENTED CAMP www.anabezi.com