Well, hello there. I hope that you are well and have had a wonderful weekend. Here in the Luangwa we have really had a rather dry week, with a couple of large but very isolated thunderstorms but it has meant that the building teams at Tena Tena and Luangwa River Camp have had no excuse to slow down. Now we just want the river to come up a little bit more ready for us to open Nsefu for our River Journeys. Anyway, let me not get waylaid too much and instead hand you over to the team at Kuthengo across the border in Malawi for the latest news from there:
“At Kuthengo, we were blessed with earlier rains than expected, transforming the woodlands into a lush green landscape filled with beauty, breath-taking sunsets, and unforgettable sunrises.
Although there were a few areas where our vehicles got stuck in the unforgiving clay soil, the adventure never stopped – if anything, it added to the experience.
We had our last lion sighting early in the rainy season (watch here). After that, nature surprised us with visits from some of the smallest creatures, like a tiny leopard tortoise, fascinating birdlife, and calling frogs. From there, the scale grew larger – elephants came down regularly for a swim (watch here), a lone bull wandered past camp, and cheetah sightings (watch here) became a regular highlight, seen at least every third day.
Almost every night, a civet became a familiar visitor around camp, quietly making its rounds and adding a special nocturnal charm to our evenings.
One truly special moment was watching a Palm-nut Vulture enjoying the leftovers from a cheetah kill, leaving the bird looking thoroughly full and satisfied (Watch here).
In the evenings, when the rains gave us a welcome break, we gathered around the campfire. Guests shared stories of their day’s adventures – there really is no better way to end a day in the bush.
We also have exciting news from Liwonde: wild dogs have been introduced! Although they are still settling into the predator boma, they are expected to be released in the coming month, and we cannot wait for their first appearance.
As with all good things, this season has come to an end… until we reopen for the new one! For now, we are busy preparing and getting everything in top shape for Kuthengo’s reopening. We look forward to welcoming back familiar faces and meeting many new ones in 2026.”
Wonderful, thank you so much; sounds like its been a fabulous end to the season and I hope that everyone enjoys a well-earned break and we look forward to hearing more when you open later in the year.
On that note, that is all for this week, save for one small thing from me. If anyone is keen or knows someone who might be keen for a 6-month stint in South Luangwa, Zambia – I am looking for a young and enthusiastic cook/chef to work in our camp kitchens during the peak season. I shall not delve into all the details on here but suffice to say, for more information please do pop me an E-Mail on emily@robinpopesafaris.net.
So, all that is left for me to now say is a fond farewell and hope that you have a fabulous week ahead with plenty of smiles and laughter and don’t forget to look after one another.
