Hello there. I hope that you are superbly well and have had a lovely weekend and are ready for the week ahead. Here in the Luangwa having recently closed Nsefu for its annual green season shutdown and starting to get ready for the dry season, we were certainly surprised with the onslaught of 100mm of rain on Saturday. This was further topped up on Sunday, and by this morning, the drive to work was certainly a little on the muddy side.
It seems like we were not the only ones dealing with the mud as the elephants crossed large puddles formed by the latest onslaught, the puku looked particularly unimpressed by the down pour and the zebras opted for walking down the centre of the road as the bush was way too muddy for their liking.
In camp Daniel needed to get his laundry back to Robin’s House so took an ingenious approach making sure that the guests got all their clothes back clean and dry. The chefs cooked up a splendid breakfast mid-morning to keep everyone going until tea as the guests had decided to make the most of a break in the weather and went out whilst it was dry.
Out in the park the sightings have as always been fantastic with everything from the migratory birds to some very muddy elephants. We have been having increasingly regular sightings of the wild dogs. Obi while out on one particular morning drive spotted 10 wild dogs on the road, but they were quickly disappearing into the thick bush.
That afternoon though as the river was super high, they decided that they would boat downstream and take a walk through the park before jumping back in the boat for sundowners. Walking through a big open area through some tall grass there was a suddenly deep and low grunt. Stopping in their tracks they looked around and realised that there were dogs scattered in a very relaxed fashion in the area. Staying put they watched as some impala in a similar situation ambled along unknowingly when all of a sudden, the dogs leapt up and took chase. Straight past where Obi and his guests were standing, so close that the guests couldn’t quite believe their eyes. A sighting surely doesn’t get much more exciting or closer than that.
Not to be overshadowed by Obi’s incredible dog sighting the Nkwali team found lions with 9 cubs all playing around irritating the heck out of the 3 females that were attempting to look after them. But despite the grown-up’s irritation of not being left to enjoy a lovely cool morning it was a fabulous sighting for the guests.
Luangwa River Camp has also opened its doors for the season which we are super excited about and as the water rises, the guests are certainly getting quite the river view at breakfast. They have similarly been having some fantastic sightings with not only the big game but plenty of birding which is always a treat this time of the year.
Quite some incredible times and sightings in the Luangwa! I shall now leave you to your day, have a fantastic week ahead with plenty of smiles and laughter and don’t forget to look after one another.
