Well, hello there. I hope you are well and have had yet another fabulous weekend. Here in the Luangwa the season is in full swing, and the teams are smiling from ear to ear as they welcome the guests in.
Whilst this may seem like the start of the season as finally the camps are all open for us it started months ago preparing ourselves for our busiest 6 months of the year. And each department and area of the company gets a thorough checking through. The tailor is nonstop making curtains, mosquito nets and all manner of other items the camps need. The carpenter is sanding and re-varnishing all the furniture in the camps and checking for any wobbles that may have happened during the packing and unpacking process. Not to mention the chefs who have been really laying it on after a wonderful couple of weeks of training. We opened the doors to the Nkwali kitchen and gave 6 of our chefs a wonderful opportunity to have 2 intensive weeks training with a professional chef from South Africa. Not only did the chefs join in but the kitchen porters got fully involved learning how to make new breads like ciabattas and cinnamon buns. Let me tell you, a few kg’s were gained over this period and the problem is the treats have kept on coming.
Everyone has been enjoying the enthusiasm from Bianca decorating her daily menu boards very beautifully and making the slightly less artistic hosts a little bit jealous. A great team effort of the porters and chefs alike as delicious meals get popped on the table for our guests to enjoy.
Whilst obviously it’s not a competition between the camps, someone hasn’t told the lions… in the last week both Nsefu and Tena Tena have experienced a “roar off” between lions in camp and lions on the opposite side of the river. Whilst the Nsefu lions waited until 3am to have this competition the Tena Tena lions generously took part just after dinner, so Bertram was able to scoop up his guests and beetle down to tent 1 in a game viewer to see them.
Besides the lions keeping everyone awake at Nsefu, the elephants have also been giving it a good go and have wandered through camp slightly perplexed over no longer having the run of the place… a few trees and even the car port have born the brunt of their presence! Needless to say, there are plenty of elephants around and the full moon has meant it’s been simply wonderful lying in bed at night being able to see them as they wander through camp. Daudi however is not so happy that the hippos are relishing his lovely green lawn but has accepted the fact – almost!
The game drives have been coming back with plenty of wonderful sightings whether it be small bird parties gathering in the drying up lagoons or giraffes looking down on the game viewers with a certain amount of disdain. However, it’s the leopards that seem to be stealing the show and all the camps are having some incredible sightings including a gorgeous female with 2 cubs up at Nsefu – she was quite far off so identification has not yet been possible but just a magical thing to see.
Lastly, I previously mentioned about the Nsefu wild dogs and their now slightly more nomadic approach to life and it seems that at the beginning of the week they were at Luangwa River Camp albeit rather fleetingly, so we wait to see where they settle as the season progresses.
Quite a broad round up this week but lots going on. For now, it’s time though to get going with my day so I shall bid you a very fond farewell for this week and hope that you have a wonderful week ahead with plenty of smiles and laughter and don’t forget to look after one another.
