Sustainable South Luangwa

[WRITER: Sarah Kingdom ]

Rubbing the sleep from our eyes, we drink our morning coffee as we spy two male lions lying on the bank of the Luangwa River. It’s hard to tell if we are watching them, or they are watching us. We finish our coffee and head to the crossing point over the river, where a team of young men await to pull the pontoon across the water. Reaching the opposite bank, we jump into the waiting game drive vehicle and head off in search of the lions.

In these days of consumerism, depletion of natural resources, pollution, global warming and more, travellers have started taking stock of the environmental impact of their holidays. They’ve started becoming more conscious, and conscientious, in their choices; looking to travel in a way that strikes a balance between seeing the world, and doing so in a way that won’t damage the planet. For these eco conscious travellers, in fact for all travellers, choosing a sustainable safari is a good start. A sustainable safari supports and empowers local communities, protects the natural environment, advocates wildlife conservation; leaving behind a minimal footprint.

Luxury and amazing wildlife adventures don’t have to come at the expense of sustainability. Some safari lodges have started to prioritise eco-friendly practices, in addition to the incredible wildlife experiences that people have come to expect. It was for this very reason that we had come to Green Safaris’ Shawa Luangwa lodge, in Zambia’s South Luangwa National Park, who pride themselves on their ‘green’ approach to safaris. Green Safaris is a pioneering and passionately eco-friendly safari operator, with a strong commitment to reducing its footprint and focusing on sustainable initiatives. The company goal is to leave the areas they operate in as untouched as possible. Shawa Luangwa Camp is 100% sustainable, running completely off the grid, with a large solar farm powering the entire lodge and also recharging their other innovation, electric Land Cruisers. The lodge operates the only ‘eCruisers’ (electric game drive vehicles) in South Luangwa. These are not only more environmentally friendly, but also mean you experience your safari in an entirely new way… silently. No more revving engines as you drive through the bush, a quieter, more immersive, and more enjoyable experience. In fact it was interesting to see the animals’ reactions to the ‘silent treatment’. We would find ourselves surrounded by a herd of zebra who hadn’t really noticed our arrival, and it was just as easy to ‘creep up’ on a group of buffalo, who would only give us the most casual of glances before carrying on eating, as if you weren’t even there. Having crossed the river we set off in search of the morning’s lions, but our search was in vain. By the time we reached where they’d been lying, there was not a trace of them to be seen. The lions may have been elusive, but there was plenty else to see. Two of the park’s endemic species, Thornicroft’s giraffe and Crawshay’s zebra were spread across the plains. Impala, waterbuck and a lone Cookson’s wildebeest (another endemic species) dotted the landscape. A huge herd of buffalo, hundreds, possibly thousands strong, surrounded us as they crossed the road. A spotted hyena lay sleeping in the sand, illuminated in a patch of sunlight. Helmeted guinea fowl trooped across the grassland. Weaver birds’ nests hung like

[PHOTO: Green Safaris]

Christmas decorations in the acacia trees. And finally, just as we returned to the pontoon on our way back to camp, a young female leopard appeared alongside us, clearly not having heard our almost silent approach.

South Luangwa National Park, often referred to as the “Valley of the Leopard” for its high density of leopards, covers 9,050km2 in eastern Zambia. The park holds the highest carnivore population in Zambia, as well as the largest hippo population in Africa. This is a dream destination for birdwatchers, with over 469 species of birds. The wide, meandering Luangwa River is the life blood of the valley and a mosaic of lush vegetation lines the river and its tributaries. Further from the river there are large areas of thicket, scrub and woodland. As we returned from our morning drive, we passed through a beautiful dense forest of ebony trees that encircled the rear of camp. A copious brunch was eaten on the verandah, overlooking the river bank and shaded by the branches of a magnificent winter thorn tree. Brunch on safari is not complete without a ‘post brunch siesta’, and we retired to our ‘tent’ to digest. Our tent made me think of an enormous, yet elegant ‘teepee’, raised on a platform, with canvas sides that could be lowered or raised on demand, depending on your preference. We elected to keep ours open so we could enjoy the view, and were rewarded by a visit from a huge troop of baboons. The trees above us were full of swinging, jumping and snacking baboons. On the ground below sat more baboons eating. Fallen sausage tree fruits, grasses, blossoms, seed pods, the occasional insect, all found their way into their mouths and I was amazed at the variety they consumed. Beyond the baboons we could see hippos and wading waterfowl in the river. A pied kingfisher repeatedly dived for fish in the shallow waters, and a pair of young male kudu stood amongst the trees on the opposite bank.

We spent the afternoon with more buffalo, impala, giraffe, zebra, wildebeest and a herd of elephants who ranged in size from the large matriarch right down to the smallest of babies. Later in the day, we would see more than our fair share of leopards. A young female using a gully to (unsuccessfully) stalk a puku, a young male lying in the shade by the side of the road, and finally a large male, who under cover of darkness sauntered down the road, liberally marking his territory as he went, keeping just ahead of us as we made our way back to camp at the close of day. We left Shawa Luangwa in the early morning, crossing the pontoon at sunrise. The morning air was chilly and still, the river flowed like silk and a brilliant sunrise lit the sky with streaks of red, pink, purple and orange. It was so beautiful you wanted to hold your breath in amazement, and hope the moment would last forever. We stood, watching and listening as the sky grew lighter, and the birds and other creatures woke up around us. It was a magical way to be reminded of just how small and insignificant we were, and was the perfect way to say goodbye to the park. When you love the beauty of the bush, and its many opportunities for wonderful encounters and experiences, you want to protect these magical places. Fortunately there are people and places like Green Safaris and Shawa Luangwa working to create a sustainable future for tourism in South Luangwa. SHAWA LUANGWA https://greensafaris.com/ shawa-luangwa/