SOUTH LUANGWA ...As It Was
Writer: Nicky Dunnington-Jefferson Photography: Nicky Dunnington-Jefferson
Our sub-editor remembers South Luangwa National Park over 30 years ago
T
he Luangwa River was heaving with hippopotamuses. In its turbid waters it was not unusual to see 80 at a time—and that’s above the surface—to say nothing of the subaqueous giants disporting themselves in its muddy depths. This staggering concentration of mobile monoliths is one of the many lasting memories treasured not only by me, but also by many visitors to Zambia’s remarkable Luangwa Valley. In 1986 I visited South Luangwa National Park, without doubt one of Africa’s finest game sanctuaries, where wildlife abounds in diversity and unspoilt freedom within its 9,050 square-kilometre boundaries. The Luangwa River is responsible for the density of the game population in the area. Rising in the north-eastern hills, it flows southwards into the Valley, as it is affectionately known, where it weaves a torpid, tortuous course before bequeathing its waters to the mighty Zambezi. As the river cuts its course through the Valley it is constantly carving out a new path through erosion, thus forming a series of oxbow lakes. The Luangwa floods its banks during the rainy season from
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TRAVEL & LEISURE ZAMBIA
December to May, but during the latter months of the dry season the water level drops dramatically and animals and birds congregate nearer to river and lagoons for sustenance when bush and bough are bare and barren.
A safari in the Luangwa Valley is a unique wildlife experience and boasts, among others, one outstanding asset: versatility. It offers visitors the opportunity to choose their own special brand of game viewing. The Valley caters to all tastes; there’s game viewing in open vehicles, walking safaris, night drives with spotlights, or just sitting by the river or perhaps soaking up the sun by the swimming pool. A short flight transports the visitor from the hubbub of the capital, Lusaka, to the tiny airport at Mfuwe, on the outskirts of South Luangwa National Park. Reassuring safari-clad representatives of the various lodges are there to greet disorientated guests and with friendly mien take charge, spiriting them away in vehicles to their respective lodges and the new world of sublime Africa. It would be a crime not to spend at least a week in the Valley— longer if possible. The lodges are very good, by any African
game lodge standard. Each lodge and surrounding habitat area has something different to offer and a stay of less than two or three nights at any one of them would defeat a true appreciation of the environment and its wonderful wildlife. In the infant hours of the morning a hippo grazes not ten yards from my window. The eerie woo-whoop of a visiting hyena sends tingles down the spine and the shrieks and screams of treetop bush babies may ban sleep that first night— wild Africa has already tightened the drawstring of her inextricable web.
When I visited South Luangwa I stayed at two safari camps, Chinzombo and Nsefu. And I am very pleased to say that they are both still operating today. I recall that at Chinzombo, Natal mahogany trees and African ebonies shaded the camp, providing respite during the heat of the day. I also remember that the food was outstanding, and I even recall what I ate: crème caramel, home-made rhubarb crumble, the lightest of pancakes and roast lamb with all the trimmings…In those days Phil Berry was the resident ranger, and it would be hard to find a more knowledgeable wildlife fundi than Phil. He was, and still is, the quintessential bush master. It was Phil who introduced
