ZAMBIA | IRENE AMIET
MY ZAMBIA WRITER: IRENE AMIET PHOTOGRAPHY: IRENE AMIET PHOTOGRAPHY
hen I dream of a place where the leopard’s paw touches the sandy riverbank as the sun rises over the Luangwa River and baboons call under nature’s open circus tent, where the lion’s roar carries across the flood plains further than any other place I recall and hippos storm into the Zambezi at its broadest and mightiest—I dream of Zambia. Having had the fortune to travel extensively over Southern Africa as a research volunteer and a safari executive as well as a professional photographer, certain places have made an impression beyond fondness or excitement; special places that stay aglow in your mind until you can eventually return. Covering an area of 22,500 square kilometres, the great Kafue in Zambia is one of the larger conservation areas in Southern Africa. Founded in the middle of the last century but still relatively uncharted, the Kafue is a place that deserves to be called wild. The northern flood plains are home to some of the most resilient lion families. There, in the Busanga Plains, they stalk the tall grass for lechwe and puku antelope while storks and cranes circle in great flocks above. The open grasslands are similar to East Africa’s topography but visitors can find themselves completely alone on a game drive even in the high season. Safari camps are situated in the middle of the flood plains, providing guests with a sense of being on an island in the midst of a sea of wilderness with an unobstructed 360 degrees’ view. The resulting sense of vulnerability is a luxury in our fast-paced world. At night, a hippo’s grunts might enter your consciousness from below the camp’s stilts. One can’t help but feel submerged in nature, one heart within the whole. When the morning mists are slowly lifting over the open plains and lechwe horns begin to materialise with advancing daylight, the waterholes are tinged in deepest carmine red for a moment. Eventually, the sun burns off the night and shows us a glimpse of what awaits discovery. The Kafue is home to some of the biggest herds of roan antelope, whose russet hides play off the tree-bark of the wooded areas; and when the warm wind blows across the plains, the crowned cranes hover like string puppets over the grasslands where they feed. Herds of buffalo trudge across the hazy horizon; in the pockets of the plains still holding water,
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TRAVEL & LEISURE | ISSUE 17 | NOVEMBER 2020–APRIL 2021
hippos fight for dominance. In August, during Zambia’s dry-season, only a few of the plains’ ponds still contain enough water to enable these animals to lounge in great concentrations. Their massive bodies plough through the floods and part the water’s surface, creating wakes lapping on shore long after they have once again submerged, beady eyes glittering as they communicate in deep throaty grunts. In the Busanga Plains, nature is active around you and there is no haste to chase a sighting. You do not have to share a lion pride with an army of tourists ticking species off their lists and taking safari selfies. Zambia caters to a relaxed traveller, perhaps familiar with Africa, who isn’t in a rush but appreciates the wilfulness of nature and is surprised by her moods; sightings will be bountiful but never the same.
