South Luangwa
I
began my Zambia safari as the only passenger in a small Cessna, piloted by Philip. I’d chosen South Luangwa National Park for my three-day visit, and we flew into Mfuwe airport just as the rain started. Philip parked as near the terminal entrance as he could and I ran in. He followed with my bag; but where was someone to meet us? However, there was a truck outside bearing the logo of the lodge where I was to stay and we surprised the driver who had not heard the little ‘plane arrive. An hour later I was at friendly and welcoming Nkwali Camp, operated by Robin Pope Safaris.
Nkwali is situated on private land on a bend in the river, just outside the national park. My room overlooked the Luangwa River and in front, on the muddy riverbank, I saw Humphrey the resident hippo’s sizeable footprints. At night a canvas wall is pulled across for safety reasons and I was told that having food in my room was inadvisable. After dark I must not venture out alone, and as soon as I opened my door a guard with a torch would materialise to escort me to the main area for drinks and meals, often bearing an umbrella as this was the rainy season.
One day a troupe of baboons raided my room, leaving muddy footprints on the bed, throwing all the papers around on the desk and scattering my toiletries all over the bathroom. There was a trail of intimate items in the garden and they kindly left me an unwelcome present on the shower floor. They’d obviously had a wonderful party...and I had not left any food in the room!
I went out on safari early each morning and then again in the evening, guided by John, who was wonderfully knowledgeable and interesting. I was truly overwhelmed by the amount of game we saw in the park: lion, leopard, wild dog, genet, zebra, giraffe, elephant and many species of antelope, plus numerous birds. The camp was superb and I was looked after so well, with close attention to detail as well as excellent food. We came across a zebra kill one evening, near an escarpment popular for watching sunsets with snacks and sundowners. A pride of five lionesses lay panting, exhausted and full, amongst a grove of small trees. One female was still gnawing at the carcass but there was not much flesh left and vultures were squabbling nearby waiting for her to back off. We had planned a sundowner but saw a massive black cloud moving towards us and the storm’s preceding wind was blowing hard and spots of rain began to fall. There were two courses of action: to seek shelter at a nearby lodge or make a dash for it back to our camp; John chose the latter. Our jeep only had a roof—no sides—so we put on ponchos as the wind increased and the rain lashed down. We hurtled back as fast as possible...a real Ferrari safari!
SOUTH LUANGWA IN THE
RAINY SEASON
Wild dogs...and I was thrilled to see a pack of 17. At first they were fast asleep, their chests gently rising and falling. However later on we saw them in full flight, racing across the grass to a lagoon thick with vegetation but we could not follow as it was too wet. We also came across an enormous herd of Cape buffalo, and they passed in front of us in a great long line, their bodies glistening with rain over rippling muscles. We saw leopard on two occasions and I decided that the rainy season is a fantastic time to visit. The air is clear, there’s no dust and the grass is bright emerald green. The trees are lush with leaves, and the jasmine shrubs, covered in tiny white blossoms, smelt heavenly.
During my stay a male lion had been heard roaring every night. On our last evening we found him stretched across the track after having eaten his fill of a buffalo. A large lioness was with him but she soon disappeared into the bushes; apparently she had two tiny cubs. After a while the lion rose majestically to his feet, marked his territory and then roared loudly...twice. This park boasts certain animals that don’t, or rarely, occur elsewhere and I was lucky to see some of these: Thornicroft’s giraffe, Crawshay’s zebra, puku (a species of antelope) and white-tailed mongoose. I was overjoyed I’d chosen South Luangwa for my safari in Zambia; it is such a special park.
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TRAVEL & LEISURE ZAMBIA
Writer: Fiona Bluck Photography: Edward Selfe
