May 26, 2012 - Day 128 to 131 - South Luangwa...Caiparinas, rampaging bulls and therapy

Arriving in Chipata, Zambia our first stop was the Spar supermarket where we shopped for provisions to last three days. Our plan was to visit South Luangwa national park then return to Chipata, restock then carry onto Lusaka.  After spending the night at Mama Rulas campsite in Chipata, we set off the next morning for South Luangwa. After three hours of some pretty rough dirt roads, Anna and Chris pulled up alongside a white land cruiser heading in the opposite direction. It was a German couple, Martin and Julia who they had spent some time...

May 16, 2012 - A great day all round

Up at 5, a quick breakfast and off on our game drive by 6. We see many elephants, some as young as a couple of months. The usual Impala and one lone male kudu. A few giraffes, and for the first time, hyena. We then come across a male lion and are able to get really close (within 5 metres). Our driver is fearless and, unlike other parks, he does not restrict himself to the roads. Despite the sign saying we have to stick to the roads we do quite a bit of four wheel driving up and down gullies – just as much a thrill as the animals. We come...

May 15, 2012 - The end of a long journey

We are supposed to sleep in – breakfast not till 8pm – but newly developed habits die hard and we are all out and about by 7. Not helped by a hooter to wake the Malaysians up. We set off half an hour earlier than planned. Today we travel 120kms and it takes us four hours – a new road is being built and we mostly travel on detours. Our truck rocks and rolls and bumps its way to the Croc Camp near the South Luangwa National Park. We arrive just on 1.30 and within minutes see two hippos out of the water. Very unusual and I am thrilled. Our...

Feb 3, 2012 - South Luangwa National Park

The highlight of our 5-day stay in Zambia was our visit to South Luangwa National Park. The journey to the park was an adventure in itself and our two overnights allowed us to get closer to wildlife than I ever imagined possible. Over the months I have written repeatedly about the condition of African roads but nothing prepared me for the 130 km (80 mile) stretch of road between the city of Chipata and the entrance to the park. Our guide, Mike, warned us that this is the worst stretch of road he's ever driven and it took us almost six...

Oct 16, 2011 - Wildlife Camp - Zambia

Wildlife Camp - Zambia It was way to hot to sleep last night so our five o'clock wake up call felt way to early. Our drive this morning was quieter. We saw four lions in two different sightings. Crested cranes were also something we hadn't seen here yet. Hippos, elephants, giraffes, water bucks, puku, and many varieties of colorful birds. One sad sighting was a young  dead elephant with vultures and marabou storks viciously feeding on it.  Lunch was an African dish called Bobotea which was some kind of maize flour mixed with curry, raisins...

Oct 15, 2011 - Double Game Drive Day

Pick up for the tasty set breakfast was 5:30. Our guide then loaded us into the safari vehicle for a six o'clock start. Everyone was very excited as we entered the South Luangwa National Park gate. A park fee was paid depending on nationality. For Canadians it was $25 US each for the day. Not bad.  Shortly after we enter through the gates we hear, then see so many hippos in the river. Watching their antics  and listening to their laughing grunts was entertaining but there was more to see.  Our guide picked up on the cues of baboons sitting...

Oct 14, 2011 - Walking Safari - Is It Safe?

The night watchman provided us with our five o'clock wake up call. For our safety a jeep picked us up at our tent half an hour later to take us for breakfast. The night was quiet except for the sounds of hippos as well as the sounds of the thunder storm that rolled in during the wee morning hours. This sure cooled the tent off nicely. Al and I had set up our own mosquito nets so were free to kick off the covers when we were too warm. Lots of rain came down so I thought perhaps the walk may be cancelled.  Our morning walk was not cancelled...

Oct 13, 2011 - Wildlife Camp; Here We Come

Patrick our tour guide picked us up at 7:30 from the Korea Garden Lodge to drive us to the Wildlife Camp in Zambia. We paid him the remaining money in US and Euros. The scenery is unlike Uganda. Everything looks parched and each village is unique. There is no evidence of advertising for air time or anything on the buildings. As we go farther west towards the Zambian border villages go from brick buildings to mud huts. Now this looks more like Africa. The road is paved to the border. The border crossing was not busy at all. Filling out the...

Dec 24, 2010 - Weihnachten in Sambia - Noel en Zambie

Nach unserer super Zeit in der Flatdogs Lodge in Sambia Anfang November hatten wir uns entschieden, dort auch Weihnachten zu verbringen. Wir haben zuerst meinen Vater in Lilongwe in Flughafen abgeholt. Sein Gepaeck kam leider nicht an, hing wohl noch irgendwo in Amsterdam fest, wir waren aber froh, dass er ueberhaupt bei dem Schneechaos aus Europa rauskam. Nach 1 Stunde Formualare ausfuellen mit dem Gepaeckbeamten sind wir dann mit einem privaten Taxi ueber die Grenze nach Sambia gefahren und von dort dann nochmal 5 Stunden durch den Busch,...

Nov 1, 2010 - South Luangwa

South Luangwa est le nom de la réserve naturelle qu'on a visitée en Zambie. Comme pour tous les safaris en Afrique, les lodges (c'est-à-dire les hotels) sont plutôt chères (en tout cas les prix ne correspondent pas au budget d'un routard), mais on a quand même décidé de se faire plaisir et de passer quelques jours ici pour profiter du cadre. On loge dans une tente luxuseuse, elle doit faire environ 20m², est aménagée de vrais meubles et est accompagnée d'une grande salle de bain ouverte sur l'extérieur, tout ca au bord de la rivière. Ici il...

Jul 9, 2009 - South Luangwa National Park

Drove nearly three hours on a dusty, corrugated, gravel road to the village of Mfuwe. So much rattling it was unbelievable! However, we did learn that it is true that if you drive at exactly the right speed on corrugated roads it becomes a smooth ride. There is no camping in South Luangua park so we based ourselves at a beautiful camp outside of the park about 10 minutes from the gate. We had a campsite overlooking the Luangwa river, where we could watch crocs, hippos and elephant at our leisure. This was the nicest campsite yet! Late one...

Jul 1, 2009 - Zambia

After relaxing on Zanzibar and Lake Malawi we were ready for more game drives and Zambia was our next opportunity. We had to get through the border between Malawi and Zambia first but ended up getting through with only a minor hitch (although I was told the prison cells did look quite spacious – I won't elaborate here but will fill in the details later). Our destination was South Luangwe National Park and it took us a day to get there from the border. Our campsite was on the Luangwe River and had hippos lazing in it enjoying the sun. The...