Well, hello there! I hope you are well and have had a wonderful weekend. Can you believe it is already November? Where on earth has the season gone? Tena Tena is now closed for the year, and we only have a few more weeks left at Luangwa River Camp, Nsefu and Kujana. It has all flown by far too quickly.
But before I start dwelling on the speed with which time is slipping away, let’s talk about some incredible sightings and equally wonderful images shared by Simon and Isla Cousins, who were recently here with the whole family for a few days’ break. Over to Simon:
“We are home from yet another wonderful family trip to the Luangwa, and our recent visit certainly did not disappoint. We simply love being in the bush, and it’s not just about seeing predators. As a family of avid birders, much of our time is spent enjoying the birdlife, yet we still manage to see plenty of mammals, and this trip was no exception.
We always have a discussion on the drive home about our best sighting of the trip. It’s hard to choose when the Luangwa keeps putting on such a show for us!
Although difficult to capture on camera because of the distance from the vehicle, we had an amazing sighting of African skimmer chicks on a sandbank in the middle of the river. Their protective parents were regularly swooping at fish eagles in the area.
Another remarkable sighting was a martial eagle with a baby warthog in its talons. Shanie loves the little ‘wiglets’ or ‘wartlets’, and October is a great time to see them as they emerge from their underground burrows. It was rather bittersweet that our first sighting of one on this trip was in the grasp of a martial eagle! Thankfully, the following day brought sightings of others very much alive and zooming around the bush with their usual energy.
The wild dogs were, as always, fantastic. We had regular sightings of two packs in the main area and managed to get some fun photos of the dogs playing in the shallows of the drying Luangwa River. Watching them splash about was a very special moment.
As the river dries up, though, a harsher side of life in the bush becomes apparent. As often happens at this time of year, a few hippos had succumbed to the strains and stresses of October. Crocodiles were making the most of the carcasses, and there was no shortage of frenzied feeding activity. Those scenes were rather aromatic, however, so we generally moved on fairly quickly!
Once again, it was another wonderful family trip to the Luangwa.”
Thank you so much, Simon, for sharing these stories, and to you and Isla for the wonderful photographs. What a lovely glimpse into your family’s time in the bush.
That leaves me with little else to add, except for a small update on our tree hyrax family at Tena Tena. They are thriving, now with a couple of youngsters, and are, as always, such a treat to see.
So, before we melt away in the November heat, with our eyes on the skies in the hope of rain, I shall bid you a very fond farewell. Have a fabulous week ahead, with plenty of smiles and laughter, and don’t forget to look after one another.
