Zambia Trip 2008: Day 7 - 10 Safari Time!

Hello,

We returned yesterday from Safari in South Luangwa National Park. What an amazing experience. We stayed at a camp which was a combination of camping spots, tents and chalets.
We opted for staying in a chalet given the wildlife in the area. Our camp was outside the park on the banks of the Luangwa river (opposite the park). Our neighbours (i.e. wandering outside our chalet) included baboons, elephant, leopard, impala, hippos and civet.

In the park, zebras in the background

We arrived late in the afternoon and we were picked up at the airport and whisked off to the park for an evening/night drive. On these drives you view animals in the daylight/dusk for about and hour and a half. At sunset the driver stops in some beautiful part of the park and you have drinks (sundowners). After that point the spotter (a second guide) gets out a very bright spot
light and you drive around the park looking for eyes. The night time is the best time to find the predators in the park (lions, hyenas, leopards) . Our first night drive was probably the best. Highlights included stopping in the middle of the bush, and realizing we were in the middle of large heard of buffalo. The spotter shone his light around and all over in the bush we could see them. The noise was quite loud as well. Later in the evening just before leaving the park, we got a tip from another driver and were able to find a lioness and her two cubs wandering around nearby. Luckily for us they were in an open area, as this time of year the grass and the bushes are very thick lush and green, and is quite hard to find the cats and smaller mammals.

Bull elephant in the pond

Our striped friends

Thornycroft giraffe by the roadside

The next day we were up at 5am so that we could be on our morning drive by 6. The day drives were quite amazing for the number of birds we were able to see. Many different types of eagles, storks, herons and song birds. One of the more interesting birds was the masked weavers. The weavers (there are many varieties) build enclosed nests. The masked weavers are very colourful (bright yellow and black). The masked part is the black strip that goes across the face and covers the eyes. The males will build a nest (the nest hangs from a branch), and the female will come and inspect it. If she likes it she will enter the nest, and the male follows (the rest is left up to your imagination). If she does not like the nest, the male destroys it and starts again. While we were watching there were probably about a hundred males building nests on a single tree. Quite a site.

Tree full of masked weavers

Close up of masked weaver building their nests

The flora (or at least the trees) in the park were amazing. There were mahogany, ebony, marula, baobab, and many others. The trees were huge and green, and many had huge vines growing off of them. There was also a very interesting tree/shrub. Although the name escapes me, this particular tree is a favourite of the elephant. The elephant will eat the bark, to get the minerals it needs. This will in turn kill the tree. Elephants can wipe out a large track of land filled will these trees. (they turn a forest into a plain). The plant the grows back after is a shrub (of the same family). The elephants will eat the leave of the shrub, but will not kill it. As the shrubs fill the space left by the trees, new trees start growing under the shrub. By the time the are large enough to be noticed by the elephants, they have enough years of a head start to establish themselves. It really is quite an amazing eco system!

Heidi with massive baobab tree in the background

Interesting enough we some some of the best mammal viewing just outside the park. The thornycraft giraffe is a endemic species to the park. One of its favourite place to browse was on the road between the park gate and our camp. Along this road we also saw the largest bull elephant as well as hippos. All together we were able to see the following species: elephant, zebra, giraffe, warthog, hippo, lion, hyena, puku, impala, waterbuck, buffalo, crocodile, storks, eagles, and many birds. Unfortunately we saw no leopards. The park has the highest concentration of leopards in the world, but it is so lush and green that is very hard to spot them.

Baboon on the road

Baby baboon with mother

A pregnant chameleon (you could see the eggs in it's sides)

On our way to back to the airport we stopped at a factory called tribal textiles. The factory is owned by a white woman (I don't know her background/story), but employs many locals. She does the design for the textiles and then the designs are passed onto the factory floor where they are reproduced. It was a very interesting process and of course we left with a souvenir. The finished product is sold in up-scale stores in Lusaka and other locations.