Zambia Safari - Part one
Zambia Safari - Part one
Thursday, September 6, 2007
I’m not always the best planner at times and true to form my trip to Africa came about with a last-minute decision and I booked a trip to Zambia. I selected Zambia because in many ways it seemed less commercial and it was the home of the walking safari pioneered by the conservation leader Norman Carr. The valleys of the North and South Luangwa River are filled with ox-bow lakes and abandoned watercourses, especially during the second half of the dry season, which is when I went. Surrounding the waterways are mature bush and grasslands, which are home to large numbers of elephant, hippos and buffalo and is famous for the high number of predators, especially leopards and lions.
In preparing for the trip, one of my biggest challenges was the weight restriction of just 30 lbs that I would encounter on the local flights in and out of the bush. Considering that on many trips I can easily double that, I had to make some hard decisions like not taking a tripod, but opting for a much lighter monopod. After much debate I was ready.
After a variety of flight delays, I finally made it into Lusaka, the capital city of Zambia. The country’s name comes from the Zambezi River. The country used to be called Northern Rhodesia in the days of white rule and today has a population of about 11 million people.
Almost there, flying over the bush
After a couple hour stay in Lusaka I hopped onto a small plane and took the hour or so flight up to Mfuwe, in the Southern Luangwa Valley, followed by an open truck drive for another hour to finally arrive at Kafunta Safaris. Two days of traveling and I needed a shower! That evening we stayed in the lodge, had dinner and met the guides and other folks on the trip and then had an early night.
Four Runner in the morning sun
Most people expect that safaris are typically viewed from vehicles, and that’s how we set out the next morning for our first trip into the bush. These drives would leave super early in the morning before sunrise and you would spend three to four hours before returning to camp to eat brunch, followed by taking a rest during the midday sun - Mad dogs and Englishmen only!
The other truck in our group
Not only do these vehicles give you added height to see everything but they also help to disguise both the shape and smell of the viewer. From talking to our Luangwa Valley guides, I was relieved to learn that the animals apparently don’t perceive us seated within these cars as humans and attacks are very rare. Assuming that you don’t try and get too close to the animals too quickly this can give you a great opportunity to see animals quite close. However, this also assumes that you are seated and being still. The big cats especially react and can return to their predator status if you move around or stand up abruptly. During one day’s viewing, while I was watching three female lions devour their well-earned breakfast of a tasty impala, I made the mistake of moving from one side of the vehicle to the other too quickly. Even this slight movement got the attention of one of the females and she was clearly getting very agitated with her watchers. Greg, our guide, spoke very softly, telling us to stay very still. A few minutes later she relaxed and returned to her breakfast.
Another type of safari is known as spotlighting, and takes place as darkness approaches. The guide takes his usual position in the driver’s seat, while next to him is the “spotter,” who uses a super powerful spotlight to search the surrounding bush for nocturnal animals such as owls, bushbabies and nightjars. During these outings, you soon realize that it’s also the prime hunting time for the large predators that use the cover of darkness in search of their next pray. The key to the technique is to actually search for animals’ eyes.
Leopard just wonders past
Some animals will either turn away or close their eyes as the spotlight sweeps past them. Often our guide would focus on a dark subject, waiting for the animal to move to catch their eyes — a short of standoff of wills to see who will move first. On most occasions the animal did! The one exception is that guides were careful to avoid shining the light in the direction of elephants, as that annoys them and they have been known to charge the trucks.
Female lion, waiting with 2 other females for the evenings hunt to begin
These safari’s typically last only a couple of hours after sunset, because with the darkness comes a very quick drop in temperature that encourages you to search for your own supper and the warm light of the camp fire. Although these nighttime safaris don’t give you “classic” photographic opportunities, as the animals don’t seem quite so natural all lit up, they do offer a unique way to view creatures that you otherwise wouldn’t see and are well worth the couple of hours before heading back for your own supper.
“If we see lions, the most important thing to remember is do not panic and do not run!” This came from our guide, Greg, as part of the safety instructions just before we were about to embark on our first walking safari on the second day into the trip.
The intimacy of the walking safari is hard to beat; you consistently have this feeling of being super close to everything and come to expect the unexpected. The Luangwa Valley, especially the remote North with its meandering river, lagoons and dambos that support spectacular wildlife, is almost too perfect to be experienced in any other way.
The single line keeps the size of the group smaller
After a thirty minute drive from the camp to take us into the center of the bush we set off for our walk in a single line. The bush here is very thick and it’s hard to see anything and soon we hear a crashing noise in the bush. We walk slowly forward a few feet, and to our right in the distance we just catch visibility of the gray trunk of an elephant. As we wait the trunk becomes easier to see now, swinging as it hunts for food, sweeping the bush for the most succulent leaves.
first the trunk appears, searching for food
It walks slowly forward, crashing loudly as it breaks the smaller branches of the tree. Now we can see the lower head, with the two ivory tusks shining in the morning light, the lower part of its body through the dense bush. It’s this intimacy of being only 20 feet away from one of the largest mammals on earth that makes these walking safaris so special. Within a few minutes the sound is all gone and we are left in relative quietness of the bush.
Feelin very small at that moment
In additional to our main guide, Greg, much of our safety, was in the hands of our scout. He would lead the walking safaris armed with his rifle. His name was Danger, and although he was a man of few words he had a great sense of humor and a sarcastic side to him that I liked. I never did get around to asking him how he got his name.
Danger in his office
We got to see Danger in action a few times during the trip. One time Greg, our guide, told us to stop, having heard something ahead in the bush. We waited, unsure what it might be. Again, the dense bush made things difficult to see. After a few minutes we saw this large grayish-brown object move into view between the branches. We heard more noise as the animal came crashing through the bush in our direction. First the head appeared, with two large horns of the very distinctive African Buffalo. From where we stood at ground level the animal looked huge, and I started to feel my place in the animal kingdom — very low down in the food chain. At this time Danger slowly moved to the right of the group, removing his rifle from his shoulder and checking to make sure it was loaded. We watched our guide waiting for a signal from him.
One of the two dagha boys
Older male buffalos are known as the dagha boys and typically live away from the main herd outside of mating season. We were not reassured by the knowledge that these males are known to charge, using the “attack is the best form of defense” tactic that makes them very dangerous. By now my heart rate had increased somewhat, and the rest of the group was equally quiet: everyone was holding their breath. Then without warning the buffalo shook its head at us, turned and ran away, leaving us in peace. He was quickly followed by a second male who gave us just a passing glance as he ran after his friend. The group took a collective unconscious breath, a sigh of relief as we realized the potential danger had passed. Greg moved back into formation at the front of the line, looked around and smiled and we continued our forward movement.
That morning we continued into the bush, tracking both a recent lion spoor and our lone male bull. We didn’t find any lion that day, but we did catch up with our elephant as he wandered through the valley.
Our leader Greg walking
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