South Luangwa
drained by South Luangwa’s October midday heat, we lay listlessly on the bed, marvelling at how close he was and pondering the likelihood of him jumping right up onto the bed. A giraffe peering over a nearby ‘hedge’ however spooked the bushbuck and he retreated to a safe distance, leaving us to watch some impressive aerial aerobatics as a pair of fish eagles swooped, soared and summersaulted overhead…ultimately culminating in some rather ‘R’ rated, romantic fish eagle activity. Located on a bend of the Luangwa River, Mapazi Camp is perfectly situated to catch the constant and welcome breeze as it comes off the water, cooling things down in the intense October heat. Once the temperatures of the day had somewhat subsided, we set out on foot again and found the three lions of the morning’s encounter. Two slipped away, the third tolerated us for a while, before he too moved off with a mildly menacing growl. As dark started to descend, we turned and headed for ‘home’.
Walking along the raised edge of the river bank, we found we were following a badly battle-scarred hippo, limping through the shallows. Hundreds of huge welts, scratches and bite marks were visible on his skin and his hip bones and ribs showed clearly through his hide. It made a sombre sight and as the sun set we wondered if he would be alive the following day.
After dinner under the stars, and tired out from a day of excitement, heat and six hours walking, we were tucked up in bed by 9.30pm and sound asleep by 9.35pm. Hours later, somewhere around 2.00am, we were woken from deep sleep by the bellows of a lion. The air trembled (and so did I) with every roar; even the ground seemed to vibrate...he was close by and in the dark it sounded as though he was mere metres away. At regular intervals throughout the night we heard him call to his companions, and one or two lions would always roar in response. We followed their progress throughout the night…they were never too
far away, but never as close as that first spine-tingling roar. During dinner we had heard the plaintive calls of a lost buffalo calf across the river; the calls continued from time to time, but before the sun had come up all was silent. We could only assume that the lions had made him part of their midnight feast. Having been so abruptly awoken, my heart rate took quite a while to slow and I lay awake in the tent listening to the sounds of the night. Hippos and elephants splashed and waded in the river, a hippo munched on fallen sausage tree fruit just outside our tent, a hyena called across the water and the various other rustles and plods of unknown night creatures continued until dawn. The lions were still roaring as the sun came up. I sat up in bed watching a lone male puku who stood on the river bank, silhouetted by the rising sun. It was a privilege to feel so completely surrounded by nature.
TRAVEL & LEISURE ZAMBIA
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