Hello there. I do hope that you are extremely well after another wonderful weekend. Here in the Luangwa my Its Monday news has been done for me as we hear from Simon Cousins who was here with the family over Christmas. He braved the rain and went forth and got the very most out of what the Luangwa has to offer. So, for this week Simon over to you:
“We had an amazing Christmas at Nkwali, courtesy of the RPS team. It was wonderful to have Shanie’s family out with us in the bush after quite some time. When discussing amongst ourselves, after the trip, to find out what everyone’s favourite sighting was, it was interesting to hear everyone’s views on this…
We saw so many wonderful sightings that it was quite hard to decide, and everyone approached it from a different angle.
But for me, the highlight was the complete change in the landscape and animal behaviour over the 4 days that we were there. From a low river and relatively dry South Luangwa on arrival, to the river coming up due to heavy rains in the area on the day we arrived. Over the time we were there all the lilies came out, the mass of flying ants (the winged alates / termites) joined us in the evenings, drawn to the lights, all the way to the cacophony of the frogs responding to the arrival of the rains and the booming bullfrogs in the puddles and lagoons as you drove along it was all very special.
On day one we were able to drive over Wakumba plain, just opposite Nkwali and by day two the river was so high you could have gone in by boat!
We had a fantastic sighting of 8 hyenas coming out of the thickets and walking across Lupunga Spur area – it was very special to see them communicating, scent marking and ‘chatting’ amongst each other. This was definitely a highlight of the trip as well, as you do not often see this sort of behaviour.
The wild dogs are always a firm favourite with everyone as they are often doing something or eating something! We were fortunate enough to see them quite often during our trip and to see 2 different packs was a real bonus.
Despite all the other wonderful sightings which included some very relaxed leopards, it was the cuteness of the lion cubs that won! We were very fortunate to spend a long time watching one of the mothers with her 3 cubs for ages, while they played around and pounced on each other. Who couldn’t be mesmerised by such a sighting.
No matter how many times we visit the Luangwa or how much time we spend in the bush, it always offers up something so very special each and every time.
Thanks to the wonderful crew at Nkwali for making our Christmas a special one.
See you again, soon!”
Wow, thanks so much Simon! It was as always simply wonderful to have you and the family visit us, especially over Christmas. Incredible sightings and photos are enough to make anyone jealous. With nothing to possibly compete with that, I am going to bid you a very fond farewell. Hope that you have a wonderful week ahead with plenty of smiles and laughter and don’t forget to look after one another.
