A Southern African Safari in Zambia
If you want to explore the allure of Africa and be seduced by a Southern African safari, head to Zambia.
An hour after our arrival in to Mufuwe, we walked in to the Luangwa Safari House in South Luangwa National Park, where safaris happen spontaneously. I stepped out on the deck of the rustic chic, African Castle, which doubles as a dock during rainy season and saw a herd of elephant elegantly saunter by. There were mothers, teens and babies heading in every direction right before us. It was so surreal, it looked choreographed. It was that iconic Africa moment one could only imagine. And so the trip began. Welcome to Zambia.
After a leisurely lunch with several crisp South African wines on the deck, we were off with our ranger Jacob.
As day light waned, we came upon a leopard with its kill. It was in its second or third day with its captive prey, licking the bones of what was left of an impala while a hyena, patiently waited below. The gorgeous female leopard would not dare eat until the male is finished. She waited high above in the opposite tree for days, across from the male. It was pure bush theatrics.
The male had his fill and finally exited safari stage left, while the female took center stage up in the tree. To add to the climactic performance, another character, a hyena approached to get in on the kill clearly infringing on his nemesis’ territory. Apparently, she let out a sound to alert her baby in the bush, hidden away from the hyenas.
As the leopard tried to get a few licks in, she dropped the dangling head to toe carcass to the ground. The new hyena swooped in and took off with it all. Drama! That is what rangers call "a moment." Apparently leopards drop 70% of their kill. It works well for opportunistic hyenas, who are scavengers.
As we sat in the dark, we could hear the hyena, which has the best jaw in the jungle, crunching bones in the background. In true theatrical fashion the sound was the score to the dramatic scene that eerily seemed to surround us.
The allure of Zambia is that you can be the only jeep experiencing a moment like that, but ten feet from the African action. Unlike other parts of Africa, Zambia’s parks are not private reserves. So, you don’t know what may wander in or what is to come. It is that element of surprise that is inherently Zambia or the "real Africa" as it is called.
“Safari walks are about the little things,” Shaddy our guide and a longtime walking safari guide from Nsolo pointed out. The abundance of Zambian birds, the famous sausage tree with oversized rock like sausages known to enhance male endowment and the art worthy mahogany flowers complete with stems picked from the bush floor were some of those things. What was grand was the African sunset over the pearly dry river bed that is typically the raging Luwi River in rainy season.
It was an otherworldly experience that could only be topped by a traditional brai (barbecue) in the bed. The succulent steak, sausage and lamb enjoyed by a fire in the wild were a sliver of safari life I will not soon forget.
After an evening of snorting buffalos seemingly outside my luxe rustic villa and hyenas howling in the distance, we set off to Kakuli in the morning. Our new camp was set right on the Luangwa and Luwi Rivers. On our walk with our ranger Aubrey, we watched a hundred hippos with a dozen crocs nearby. Apparently they get along, but they are opportunistic. If your hand drops in the water while rowing, a croc will nick it and if you fall in the water, game on. Same goes between the species.
That night we experienced a blissful sundown, a makeshift bar overlooking the water in the middle of the wild, mid drive. Comparable to the brai in the bed, it just doesn’t get any better. With a glass of champagne in hand, soaking up that last bit of the Southern African sun, immersed in silence and looking out at the grand expanse of the wild before me, I smiled on the inside. I could get used to this.
Images by Karen Loftus / Last image: Ted Alan Stedman
