Well, hello there. I hope that you are splendidly well and have had a great weekend. Here in the Luangwa the guides just keep on upping their game and Yona certainly made a good first impression with some recent guests at Luangwa Safari House.
Arriving all the way from the States slightly exhausted and bewildered by the extreme change in – well – everything. Yona scooped up a group of guests mid-morning to bring them to the house. The drive through the village with the kids waving and the ladies at the market stall is an eye opener in its own right, then leaving town you are immediately in the bush and the wild just opens up in front of you. I always think that for new guests this must all be such a sensory overload… then as the roads get just that little bit more bumpy the animals start to appear, first the impala, then the elephant, closely followed by giraffes all of this before even getting to the house or starting the safari. Not to mention a real showstopper of a midday leopard 5 minutes from Luangwa Safari House. I mean WOW!
Lunch is served in the shade of a cluster of magnificent ebony trees out on the deck in front of the house with warthogs and elephants cruising past to have a drink from the lagoon. The baboons still a little flustered from the leopard still offering up an occasional bark just to remind us that it is still around. However, after a well-earned siesta the baboons start up their barking again so after a quick cup of tea or coffee and a slice of cake the team head out to find out what the noise is all about. And low and behold Wild Dogs.
If you are regular reader, you will be fully aware of the chaos in the ranks of the wild dog population here this year and the packs are just zooming all over the place trying to find a place to settle. So, the fact that just behind Luangwa Safari House there was a small pack of dogs was a massive bonus. Spending an hour or so with these wonderful animals without any interruptions was absolutely fantastic – however, all good things must come to an end and soon the dogs started to feel the need for some food and headed off on a hunt. This being a simply impossible thing to try to follow. Quitting whilst he was ahead Yona continued his game drive finding the leopard from earlier that day again before a short bumble back to the house.
The following day similarly didn’t disappoint with plenty of elephants, giraffe and other plains game as well as a couple of magnificent male lions and now having seen all but hyena on the big carnivore front the rest of the safari is just a massive bonus.
Meanwhile up at Nsefu the day got off to quite a start as the sun came up and coffee started to clear everyone’s focus. Looking out over the magnificent view the serenity was soon interrupted by a hippo and her youngster who came bursting out of the bush towards the river followed by what everyone thought was a second calf. However, it soon became apparent that it was not a calf instead it was a hyena trying to hunt the calf. Another full-size hippo that was in the river came out and soon put itself between calf and hyena protecting it until eventually the hyena gave up and retreated back into the bush.
So, as you can see there is never a dull moment here in the Luangwa whether it be guests coming in from the airport or sitting having coffee at breakfast. We can only pick some of the fantastic sightings to share with you and look forward to sharing more next week. But for now, I shall bid you a very 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.
