Hello there. Guess what… the rains have finally sort of arrived in the Luangwa. We had a couple of decent storms last week which did enough to make the roads up to Nsefu Camp a real challenge but then the rain held off for the last big group of the season and camp has now been tucked away for a good rest for a few months till we reopen for River Journeys in February.
Every year no matter what, I cannot help but be amazed at how incredible mother nature is. Just 10 days ago the landscape was dusty and brown and looking lifeless and now there are fresh green shoots everywhere you look and all the various flowers that just pop up out of the ground literally overnight. Everywhere you look and all the various flowers that just pop up out of the ground literally overnight and butterflies fill the air (enjoy this clip here).
Similarly, all the babies start popping out first the warthogs (Happy Warthogs video) and then the impala and each and every time they can’t help but pop a big smile across your face as they are just so super cute. The downside however means that the leopards have got all their snacks catered for, for the time being at least and really rather feast on the glut of babies than get busy hunting for anything much bigger.
All the puddles in the roads are busy with either hammerkops, terrapins, monitor lizards, warthogs and even Egyptian geese making the most of the moment (Egyptian Geese frolicking in a puddle video)!
The birdlife is in full swing with the dawn chorus starting as early as 4am and the red chested cuckoo belting out its song letting us know that the rains are here. Although when it starts outside your bedroom window at 3am it’s not that appealing. The woodland kingfishers are also here another clear sign of the rains and the Eurasian Storks are busy passing through on their way south.
The frogs are singing their rain song busy chirping away and driving up to Nsefu Camp last week after a big downpour it felt like the entire South Luangwa’s population of bullfrogs had congregated in the mopani forest. Between them and the cicadas the noise was really quite something.
As I mentioned at the beginning of this week’s newsletter, Nsefu Camp is now closed for this season and has had a fantastic last week with plenty of sightings. Olimba has been one of the leopards treating themselves to the glut of this time of the year and over the last 4 days she has been seen with 5 separate baby impala of which she had 3 stashed in 3 separate trees. The wild dogs even made an appearance for the last week of the season – they have been incredibly scarce everywhere this year, but the guests managed to catch a glimpse or two which was a real bonus and sundowners on the riverbank included watching lions mating across the river.
In other news we are in full festive preparation the Christmas cakes have been baked and are busy being brandied. The Christmas trees are being checked and all the Christmas decorations gone through. Sarel and the chefs are doing what prep they can ahead of time so that the big day goes swimmingly well and the turkeys and gammons are all on order.
As the clouds and the humidity build, we wait for more downpours but in the meantime, we can please ourselves by listening to the gentle distant rumblings of the thunder and the lightning lighting up the night sky. It really is an incredibly magical time of the year.
So, on that note, let me bid you a very fond farewell and hope that you too have a fabulous week ahead with plenty of smiles and laughter and don’t forget to look after one another.
