Its Monday with a hive of activity in the Luangwa

Well, hello there. I hope that you are splendidly well after another thoroughly enjoyable weekend. This time of year, here in the Luangwa, we find ourselves a little busier than usual as we prepare for the reopening of our seasonal camps. During the course of the green (emerald) season, we usually keep Nkwali and Robin’s House open, however this year…

Well, hello there. I hope that you are splendidly well after another thoroughly enjoyable weekend. This time of year, here in the Luangwa, we find ourselves a little busier than usual as we prepare for the reopening of our seasonal camps. During the course of the green (emerald) season, we usually keep Nkwali and Robin’s House open, however this year we closed Robin’s House. The house needed a new roof and whilst putting a new hat on, we also did a few little bits and pieces inside the house and are so excited and pleased with the end result. Having remained largely the same for the last few years this little upgrade has given it a new spring in its step, and we cannot wait for guests to start enjoying the new version of the house. Here are a few photos to give you an idea of what we have done, and I am sure we will have more photos coming soon.

Luangwa Safari House has also been having a good rest over the main rainy period of the year and today the entire team has come in and are ready and raring to get going with scrubbing, sanding, cleaning and painting. It’s always a big job when something has been packed up for a couple of months but there is without a doubt an air of excitement when the guys come in and the work gets under way.

Up at NsefuWillie has been busy zooming up and down the river getting his camp ready for a big group coming in in a couple of weeks and has also been putting together some lists of what he would like to get done for the new season. So, as you can see, we have not stopped. The wildlife has been similarly as busy with simply so much happening from incredible birds, hundreds of elephants, and predators at every corner.

The green season is often, and for absolutely no good reason, pushed aside. The game viewing and birding is great, and it must be said that the beauty, and awe-inspiring scenery makes for extra magical moments and plenty of them too. Whether it be the slow and slightly robotic movement of a chameleon crossing the road or a pack of dogs running down the road ahead of you every bit of it is as magic as the next.

Our guests have been spoilt with some wonderful sightings with the water levels having plummeted, there are plenty of large muddy swathes for the open billed storks to get busy digging around in for molluscs. Puddles drying up provide ideal fishing ground for yellow billed storks and the wonderful thick bush near the puddles provide an ideal hiding place for bitterns. The red chested cuckoo keeps on calling insisting that we are going to get more rain, but the storms seem to really be rather few and far between, and the banded mongoose have all come out to enjoy the warmer and sunnier days.

The big game has been tempting and teasing us with lions calling but remaining very well hidden this week however, the wild dogs and leopards have more than made up for their absence including leopard being seen prowling along the riverbank in front of Nkwali. The impala are bouncing around with enormous amounts of enthusiasm as the males start vying for the largest herds of females as the rut is about to begin. And the giraffe seem to be very happy now that the ground is a little less soggy and they are able to get around with far greater ease and far less mud stuck to their hooves.

It has been nonstop here, it really has, and the stories from the bush keep on coming. For now, though I am going to leave you to the rest of your day and wish you a wonderful week ahead with plenty of smiles and laughter. Don’t forget to look after one another!