South Luangwa - Zambia

Up around 7am we were all packed before breakfast, we had been at NC for five weeks and while we love the place and it felt strange going back on the road again we were ready to go. 

Not counting the six months spent in the UK we had effectively been In East Africa for the past 14 months so it was long overdue that we went back into Southern Africa where our journey began two years ago. 

Today we would start by driving to Lilongwe in preparation for crossing the border into Zambia tomorrow. We could have done the journey in one day but after being at the Lake for so long we needed to re-stock and Lilongwe was the best place to do that.

The drive to Lilongwe takes about 3 - 4 hours, the first hour or so on a rough dirt road but after that the road is good tar all the way. On the way we passed many locals selling live chickens, we hate to see this as they hold them up by the feet and the poor things are clearly terrified however, even worse are the guys who hold up skewers of roasted mice, nose to tail, it's enough to put you off kebabs for life!

Arriving at Lilongwe in mid afternoon we stopped off at a couple of supermarkets to do our shopping, as we have mentioned before shopping in Malawi is problematical at best and even in the capital finding what you need can be hard, it's not like going to your local Tesco!

Retailers in Malawi do not accept credit cards, it has to be cash therefore before we could get food we had to get some cash and that in itself can be an ordeal. Outside of the capital ATM's are few and far between, for instance the nearest to NC is in Mangochi, an hour's drive away and between the lake and Lilongwe the only place with ATM's is Salima a small town about half way between the two.

In Lilongwe there are more machines but the problem then becomes finding one that works and then you get massive queues, especially at the end of the month when everyone get's paid. Even then you are not certain to get your cash and today was one of those days as after queuing for 20 minutes at the Standard Chartered bank when it came to my turn the machine refused to pay out and the sun was so strong on the screen I couldn't even read the brief message that flashed up saying why!

Nothing for it but to try another bank which thankfully worked but in all we had lost over an hour in carrying out what should be a simple task, that is why you cannot plan too far ahead in Africa.

Tonight we were staying at Mabuya formerly known as Kiboko camp near to the golf club in Lilongwe. Mainly used by overlanders it was now owned by Tom & Jeanie the young British couple with the yellow UniMog and their dog Alf who we had briefly met at Senga Bay last year but hadn't seen since. They had obviously fallen in love with Africa and had decided to make it their new home so we were hoping to catch up and find out how it was going.

However ironically when we got there we found they were away, at the lake of all places. We had been here once before in September 2006 when it was Kiboko, then we had found it run down with half the loos and showers not working and those that were had temperamental plumbing. We thought now Tom & Jeanie had taken over things would have improved so we were disappointed to find little had changed and if anything the place was worse.

So after a few beers and a bite to eat we had our showers in a block where most of the lights did not work and where the water alternated between hot and cold then went to bed. Then as we lying in bed I suddenly realised I was not wearing my wedding ring! Instantly we were up, dressed and the search was on, first in the showers, then the room and finally the Landy but all to avail.  While we were at Taffy's I had developed a rash underneath the ring so for the last week had taken to wearing it on my little finger until it healed, however as it was loose I had taken it off while showering in case it fell off and got lost! 

By now I was desperately trying to remember did I have the ring on when we left Taffy's this morning or not? Sue remembered a couple of nights before she had found it next to the sink in our bathroom where I had left it while taking a shower but had I put it back on? I was buggered if I could remember, one thing I felt for sure it wasn't in our cottage when we left Taffy's so had it fallen off somewhere and I hadn't noticed in all the upheaval or heaven forbid had it been stolen?

Whatever there was nothing we could do about it now but wait till the morning then phone Taffy and hope that he will find it somewhere. We didn't sleep very well, it was hot and as Mabuya caters for overlanders the room we had was little more than a wooden shack with no fan or AC. To top it all some arsehole in a nearby room was on his mobile in the early hours speaking so loudly the whole camp could hear him even when he went outside. 

Up before 7am I phoned Taffy on the Sat phone, he promised  they would look for the ring and we would call him tonight once we had settled into our camp at South Luangwa, one possibility was the ring had slipped off my finger as we were packing the zip bag on the roof of the back box but we wouldn't know for sure until we got some of our stuff out to set up camp later.            

Breakfast was tea and biscuits, our normal fayre when on the road, no more the lovely cooked breakfasts we had enjoyed at Taffy's but at least we should lose some weight! Today we would leave Lilongwe for the border with Zambia but first we needed to top up with fuel, buy some engine oil for Rupert and kerosene for the lamps, Zambia is about the most expensive country in the region so it was far better we buy it now if possible.   

By 9.30 we had got our supplies and were on our way to the Mchinji border post, we had a long drive ahead of us, up to  Chipata in Zambia we would be on tar but after that we would be on rough dirt roads so we needed to make good time while we had the chance. As we flew down the road to the border we suddenly noticed a woman  lying flat out on her back with her arms stretched out and a small crowd around her, God knows what had happened but she looked dead to us!

Reaching the border we were through Malawi immigration and customs within 10 minutes, excellent. At the Zambian side we had to buy two new visa's at $50 each plus pay the carbon tax which the Zambians charge to use their roads, they claim it is to maintain the environment which would be laughable if you weren't paying £60 for the laugh!

In all even though we were the only people there it took over 30 minutes to arrange but at least we were now back on Zambian soil for the first time in over a year. From the border it is only 21 kms to Chipata the Eastern capital of Zambia, with a population of over 300,000 it is the gateway to the South Luangwa NP.

From here we would head NW for about 80 miles of rough dirt road to Mfuwe the small settlement on the edge of the park but first we needed to get some cash. Zambian Kwacha is a weak currency not accepted in any other country as far as we know and at around 7,500 to the pound we were withdrawing 500,000 to a million at a time!

Once again we had trouble finding a working ATM but eventually at 12.45pm we left Chipata and took off on the dirt road to Mfuwe, heavily potholed and corrugated in parts it was tough on us and Rupert but not as bad as some roads in Kenya and Tanzania.

Eventually at around 3.30pm we arrived at Wildlife Camp on the banks of the Luangwa River where we would camp for the next week or so. You cannot self camp in the national park itself the only places to stay are exclusive up market tented camps and a couple of lodges all of which cost big bucks, so you have to camp outside at one of the many lodges that circle the park.

There are lots to choose from, Flatdogs (African slang for Crocodiles) is very popular but we prefer Wildlife Camp as it has stunning views of the Luangwa river and if you can get the right spot when it is quiet it is absolutely lovely. Today must have been our lucky day as there was only one other small group camping so we had plenty of choice including our favourite spot on the end of the site with power and showers/loos close by.

The site had stunning views towards South Luangwa NP and the vast river below us, we have experienced many camp sites throughout East & Southern Africa and have to say Wildlife is one of our favourites. At $5 per person per night it is excellent value when you consider you are close to the national park and the site also has a nice swimming pool and bar/restaurant at your disposal.  Having said that, if you arrive and the place is busy with Overland Trucks then you would probably feel differently.

Luckily today this was not the case so we went to pay our dues at the lodge reception, Wildlife also has a separate lodge with it's own bar and restaurant which is a good way from the campsite but still walkable but only during the day as wildlife such as Ele', Hippos and even Lions roam the area at night.

By sundown we had the camp set up and were enjoying a drink with a full moon lighting the river and valley below us, normally at this time of year the rains have arrived by now but this year they were late and we hoped it stayed that way. In the moonlight we could see Hippos grazing on the river bank and hearing splashing below us we found eight Ele's drinking and wading through a pool of water right below us - unaware we were there we had a fabulous view of them, so close we could have dropped onto their backs.

They slowly moved off silhouetted in the moonlight while in the distance a Hyena was calling  - such a special moment, it was great to be back amongst the wildlife again. Everything would have been perfect except earlier we had called Taffy and there was no sign of my wedding ring - it would be another two years before we found out what had happened to it!

In the early hours we were woken up by the sounds of an Ele munching on the undergrowth behind us and the Hyena called throughout the night so although we rose at 6.30am we decided to take it easy this morning and go into the park in the afternoon.

At this time of year the South Luangwa NP opens at 6am and closes at 6pm and unless you stay at one of the upmarket tented camps or at one of the lodges inside the park you have to be out by this time, if not you face a fine. To enter the park  costs $US75 for the two of us but this is for 24 hours so if you enter at midday you have till midday the following day minus of course the hours between 6pm and 6am.

Enjoying an early morning cup of tea and some melon while enjoying the views we watched as the other campers packed up and left leaving the whole camp to ourselves, another good reason to take advantage while we could.

At 1.30pm we left for the park arriving at the gate 15 minutes later and after paying our fees were in the park five minutes later, the day was very very hot with a clear blue sky and we were constantly drinking to keep hydrated.  

November sees the onset of the rains in Zambia but this year they were very late. Even so we were pushing our luck coming to the park so late in the month as once they start in earnest it becomes almost impossible to get around so the plan was to stay until the rains hit then get the hell out.

South Luangwa is a very pretty park with the Luangwa river and hidden lagoons but at this time of year when it's at it's driest then away from the river there is very little game to be seen but along the river we came across large flocks of Marabou and Yellow Billed Storks feeding on the catfish trapped in the low water.  

South Luangwa is Zambia's flagship park and the one that gets most investment but even so game wise it pales in comparison with the parks in East Africa such as the Masai Mara. Sure we came across a few groups of Elephant but all very small in number and mostly youngsters and the only other game was the odd Kudu or Bushbuck and herds of Impala.

The big problem is the park is surrounded by hunting areas and this is now starting to show in the diminishing amount and variety of game. Lions in particular have suffered as they stray out of the park and get hammered by the hunters, it is now even rumoured that they are being lured into the hunting areas to ensure the high paying overseas clients get their trophy's?

It was a beautiful sunset as we crossed the bridge over the Luangwa river on our way back to camp. To our delight no one  had arrived in our absence so we had the whole campsite to ourselves and by now the sun had set leaving a magnificent orange glow across the valley as we enjoyed our drinks.

It was another very hot night and while we drank Buck's Fizz followed by G&Ts once again we had a small group of Ele's and a lone Hippo silhouetted in the moonlight below us in the river bed, a perfect end to the day!

Three am and once again we were woken by the sound of an Elephant moving around in the bush, to the untrained ear it sounded like he was right behind us but we know in the bush sounds are deceptive at night and guessed in reality he was a little further away than that but still close enough to keep us awake for a while.

Although we had had little sleep we rose at 5am to a beautiful sunny morning, even at this hour it was hot, a sure sign the rains were overdue.  After making tea and filling our flasks we headed back to the park gate arriving there just after 6am, our permits from yesterday were still valid up to the time we had entered the park yesterday which meant we had about seven hours to play with.

Within the park on the appropriately named  Elephant loop we  came across Buffalo, Kudu, one of Africa's largest Antelopes, Puku, one of it's rarest and ubiquitous Impala and Warthog but no Elephants!

Then as we rounded a bend we suddenly came across an Ele on the track with a very very new baby, still very wobbly on it's legs it was probably just a few hours old and easily the youngest Ele we had ever seen. So young that the umbilical cord was still visible and there was fresh blood down the Mum's legs, an absolute first for us in 20 odd years of game watching!!

The baby fell down and his little legs were spread out on the ground so he was unable to get up again - very gently his Mum put her trunk around him and lifted him, it was such a beautiful moment and in a nutshell the reason why Elephants are my favourite animal!

Clearly we were not the only ones who realised this was a special moment as just then a game viewer from Mfuwe Lodge arrived and amongst it's passengers was none other than Jonathan Scott of Big Cat Diary Fame who immediately started taking photo's himself.

As far as we know Jonathan lives somewhere in Karen, Nairobi where Karen Blixen in Out of Africa lived and close to where we stay when in Nairobi but we have never seen him knocking about there so it was a big surprise to see him while on a game drive  in Zambia of all places. 

He and his wife take people on photographic safari's so we guessed this was what this was and the other people in the vehicle where his clients, whoever they were from the look on their faces they didn't much like us being there (even though we found the Ele first) clearly they believed after spending all this money they shouldn't have to share it with the like of us, if only looks could kill!  

Another game viewing vehicle arrived from one of the Norman Carr tented camps further up the valley. In any park the drivers of the lodge and camp vehicles normally blank self drivers like ourselves as they resent us being there however, the driver of this vehicle was a good guy and what he now told us made our whole journey to Zambia worthwhile.   

He told us he had seen some Wild Dog's on the Zebra loop and if we hurried we may still find them there. Now to put the significance of this in context in 22 years of visiting Africa we had only seen Wild Dog's once before in the Kruger NP as we travelled through South Africa in 2006 and the Kruger is pretty much a fenced park so if what he said was true then this would be the first time we would see Wild Dog's in the true wild!

However, we now had a dilemma did we stay with the Elephant Mum and baby or take the chance the driver was telling the truth and go look for the doggies - we decided we must go check.

Wild Dog range over large areas and are notorious when spotted of moving swiftly off into the bush where you can't follow so even though the Zebra loop was a short drive away we didn't really expect they would still be there so we were amazed when we quickly found seven dogs relaxing in the shade, well I say relaxing they were constantly up and down, looking around or mooching around just like an ordinary dog. 

When we arrived yesterday we asked the rangers on the gate if anyone had seen Wild Dog lately and  he said they had last been seen about a month ago so we were very very lucky. What a morning it had been, first the Ele with the youngest baby we had ever seen and now seven Wild Dogs and it still wasn't yet 9am!

A vehicle was already parked up with two girls in it, they were from the Wild Dog Conservation Society of Zambia monitoring the dogs, chatting to them from our vehicle they confirmed it had been a quite while since they had seen the dogs but now they were back they hoped to collar one tomorrow - if they could find them.

Wild Dogs hunt in packs and unlike Lions and Leopards who stalk their prey they rely on running their victims to standstill so they have incredible stamina and once an animal has been selected it is usually done for. Sadly this perfect killing machine has been persecuted by livestock owners for years so they are now very rare and even extinct in some African countries

The pack is based around the eldest female who is the Alpha dog and the only female in the pack who mates and produces pups, the other dogs role is to help her bring up the pups, a bit like a Queen Bee I suppose. 

As we watched them we couldn't believe our luck in seeing them as even in Luangwa sightings are few and far between which explains why very soon more game viewers from the camps arrived then Jonathan Scott and his mob pitched up, clearly the driver who had told us about the dogs was blabbing it to everyone.

Interestingly although his clients were taking lots of photo's we noticed Scott himself showed scant interest in the dogs, it couldn't have been because he was used to seeing Wild Dogs frequently as his stomping ground is the Masai Mara where Wild Dogs have not been seen for decades,  it struck how strange this was for a Big Cat Diary presenter?

Soon even more vehicles started to arrive and it was becoming a bit of a circus, something we hate to be involved in so reluctantly we decided to leave and try and find the Ele with the new born baby again, hopefully with everyone now here we would have them to ourselves.  

Sure enough when we found them again they were on their own, all the vehicles having presumably raced off to see the dogs. They were moving further into the bush, Mum Ele was browsing stretching to feed on the branches of the trees clearly hungry after giving birth, although the baby was still a bit wobbly on it's legs it was amazing how in the space of just a few hours it was able to move through the bush, a human baby would be completely helpless.

Still it was also a poignant reminder of how vulnerable baby Ele's are at this age and how sad it is that an increasing number are ending up as orphans due to the increase in poaching again.

Leaving the Ele's we went off to find a nice spot for some coffee and biscuits. South Luangwa is a very pretty park and at this time of year when a lot of camps are closed or closing down for the rainy season so away from the main routes we didn't see another vehicle for long periods.

Stopping under a big Sausage tree we made some coffee, all the while keeping a wary eye on the huge 'Sausages' hanging many feet above us. As we got out the Landrover a large monitor lizard disappeared up into the tree, drinking our coffee we gazed out on Zebra, Puku and Marabou Storks, lovely views.

Returning to Wildlife camp at 1.30pm we headed to the main lodge reception to book a night drive in the park later tonight,  costing $35 per person which included one beer per person it was the only way we could be in the park after dark. We would be picked up by Billy the driver at 4pm, till then we could have some lunch, shower and relax.

It was very very hot and we were constantly thirsty as we sweated in the humidity.  The rains were long overdue and each afternoon as the clouds built up but failed to deliver it got hotter and hotter.

At 4pm Billy arrived dead on time, already in the vehicle were a couple staying at the lodge proper otherwise we were the only passengers. Arriving at the park gate we paid $25 per person entry fee, $10 less than we would normally pay in our own vehicle and entry was valid for 24 hours so if we came back in the morning we were expected to pay the difference unless....

First stop was the Zebra loop where the incredibly the Wild Dog were still lounging in the shade, they probably wouldn't move until it got cooler, the conservation girls were just leaving  but there were still quite a few game viewers from the camps still there, Billy recommended we carry on and come back later when hopefully the others had gone.

As the sun went down Billy stopped at one of the lagoons so we could drink our beers. Knowing the park as we do we knew it wasn't one of the better spots in fact due to the trees we couldn't even see the sunset but it was quiet and this was the first visit for the other couple so we just enjoyed the moment.

Later as headed back to the dogs we passed Jonathan Scott and his party out of their vehicle enjoying their sundowners, once again they glared at us as we went past so we didn't stop to chat! Not surprisingly when we got to where the dogs had been they had gone, by now it was dark and Isaac our local spotter switched the spot light on to catch the nocturnal animals.

A White Tailed Mongoose scurried across the track in front of us, also a four toed Elephant shrew, like a big mouse but with an elongated trunk like nose. A genet walked by then sitting on the track we came across a Pennant Winged Nightjar, with a beautiful long pennant feathers on the tail and wings they come out at dusk to feed and are rarely seen so this was a bonus.

Finally we came across two Lionesses, unfortunately a number of vehicles were already there, all jockeying for the best place to get photo's. This is the worse part of allowing night drives in the parks as animals like Lions need the night hours to hunt and this badly disrupts them.

We didn't want to be part of it so we asked Billy to move on, he was surprised that we didn't want to stay, as he told us these were the first Lions that he had seen for two weeks, more a comment on the stories that Lions are now being lured out of the park to be hunted!

By now a full noon was out and it was starting to rain heavily so we started to leave the park arriving back at our camp at around 9.30pm to find it had suffered a downpour so our camp chairs were wet as was my side of the bed, foolishly we had left the side flaps up on the tent. It was still very very hot and we felt exhausted so despite the damp bed we fell into a deep sleep!