Hello there. I hope that you are well and have had a fabulous weekend. In the Luangwa what a week!!! Our Mobile Walking Safaris have closed for the season and the Samil truck has made its way back down the 05 road with the team closely following behind. Everyone is excited about seeing their friends and families again but sad that another season has come to a close. Like a well-oiled machine, the Mobile Walking Safaris’ team arrive to our Main stores area and unpack the truck in the blink of an eye and before you know it all the tents are up and being washed. All the linens are washed and counted, and all the metal work is sanded down and repainted. Once all the counting is done and replacements handed out it is all packed up into the container and the doors are closed until next year. I always find it amazing how we can get the entire camp into a container but then again there is some very careful packing that happens.
Out in the Park it has also been nonstop with some wonderful sightings. Paul had a great moment up at Tena Tena with a big bull elephant getting up on its hind legs to reach the fresh leaves of a tall tree. The Nsefu lions have also been around the Tena Tena area causing general chaos wherever they go and the elands have come back in which is always fantastic.
The river is now super low but at least still has some water in it as most of the lagoons have completely dried up. This means that whatever water there is around becomes a total hotspot for all animals and the lagoon at the old Tena Tena site is one of them with a constant stream of animals coming to drink including some magnificent kudu bulls and a never ending stream of impala and puku who prefer to bother the hippo that has taken up residence there rather than risk the crocs down in the river.
October is well anticipated for those of us who enjoy some birdlife as the carmine bee eaters come in and start nesting, and we have a couple of fabulous colonies dotted around. In their full breeding plumage these magnificent birds are really looking at their very best and flitting in and out of their nests resting in trees and on the banks. It’s a wonderful opportunity for any photographer but similarly just sitting and watching is equally rewarding.
Down at Nkwali it really has been an insane week for sightings with the lion pride camped in the Robin’s Bridge area for a few days and some amazingly constant sightings of the wild dogs and their puppies who are now fully out and about and enjoying causing trouble at every opportunity. This year we have in fact seen very few wild dogs, so this has been a real treat and let’s hope that this marks the start of a more settled pack in the main area as it’s always a real highlight for anyone to see them.
However, after the strange little rain flurry of a couple of weeks ago the elephants have just disappeared from the Nkwali area. It’s absolutely incredible how they suddenly all decided that it was time to head further afield but I am sure it won’t be long before they are back as they really are missed when they are not around.
So there you have it for this week, as you can see another packed week here in the Valley and I am sure more to come 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.
