I hope that you are well and have had a fabulous week with plenty of fun and games. Here in the Luangwa as we are talking of fun and games lets fill you in with what has been happening up in the Nsefu Sector, home to our Tena Tena Camp and Nsefu Camp.
It has undoubtedly been a tough start to the season for both guides and animals as the animals are still cut off from accessing certain areas due to the uncommonly high waters in the streams which in previous years were simply gulleys which held water only during the height of the rains. The giraffes have been spotted wandering across the sandbags that we have put into some of the crossings and Olimba the movie star leopard has had her territory almost halved, and she or her tracks can regularly be seen checking out croc river trying to get across but not taking the risk.
And as for the dogs well we all know what happened to them when they did take the risk and they have still not settled although we have had a few glimpses of them over the last few weeks.
However, all of this has not stopped the guides and guests having some amazing sightings over the last few weeks. Whether it be the ever-glorious lilac breasted rollers who never cease to impress everyone with their stunning colours or the regal stroll of a great white egret or the rather (some would say) foolish taunting of a crocodile by a pair of skimmers.
The hippos are lining the beaches with their young and seem to be covered in oxpeckers and the crocodile seem to be ever abundant and a constant source of game viewing. There has also been some slightly more unusual and incredibly exciting sightings and in the last few weeks the Tena Tena guests have been treated to aardvark which is always a real showstopper and even an interesting interaction of warthogs chasing away some hyena.
True to the opening scene of the latest wildlife documentary “mammals” the Tena Tena team has also had a few sightings of their resident leopard leaping through the ebony trees hunting baboons on more than one occasion and even saw the successful aftermath of one of the hunts. This time though she seems to be showing her cub how it’s done so they have both been spotted up in the ebony trees munching on the remains of a baboon.
Over the last week or so the buffalo have started coming into the area and one afternoon game drive the guests found the herd and one of the buffalo was definitely flagging and when lion tracks have been seen in the area that’s never a very good sign for the buffalo. Sure enough the following morning two stunning big male lions had killed the buffalo and were busy stuffing their faces. After they had eaten all that they could they did start to call for the rest of the pride but they didn’t seem to be in too much of a hurry to return so we can only assume that they had had success elsewhere. The boys were not too bothered as they had eaten more than enough and it wasn’t long before the vultures and the hyena came in and joined the feast.
Speaking of hyena, they have been rather unsettled and have recently vacated their den site so no one is entirely sure where they have moved to but I am sure that it will become apparent soon enough.
Walks have been really popular recently because its lovely and cool and so the guests have been stretching their legs and seeing the smaller animals and lots and lots of birds as well as taking a moment that seems quiet to stop, wait, listen and watch as all the animals just seem to suddenly appear out of the bush in front of you.
So, all in all as you can see its been a wonderful week with plenty happening both big and small. So having pretty much covered all the stories 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.
