Who said Hyena aren't cute?

Whilst out on our game drive to the stork colony we encountered a mother Hyena with a pup.

Eventually they retreated to the den, but the cautious yet curious pup couldn't help take a look at the strange big beast that had followed them.

The Stork colony

No visit to Tena Tena is complete without a trip North to the Stork colony.

Here the Yellow Billed Storks have made a breeding colony in the Nsefu sector of the park, with trees white with their droppings as though covered in snow.

The area has featured in many wildlife documentaries, including one about a Leopard who had specialised in using the gullies acros the area as cover for hunting.

It's a special place. 

Tena Tena breakfast

In the early half light of dawn breakfast at Tena Tena bush camp is taken on the sand overlooking the main Luangwa river.

IMHO the best place in the world for breakfast.

Everything one would expect in a four star hotel - just served around a fire on camping chairs - the toast made on a charcoal grill and eggs however you want them cooked al-fresco.

My personal favourite - white toast with Marmite and two fried eggs - breakfast of champions before a game drive.

Python by torchlight

People often ask when they hear of our passion for African safari holidays "But what about the snakes - aren't you scared?".

The truth is we've only been lucky enough to see snakes in the wild a handful of times in more than 25 trips.

Here was a good spot - a young Python (only about 2m ) out hunting early in the evening, caught in the spotlight from our vehicle.

It was to be one of three snake sightings in the trip, more than in any other we've had, perhaps the product of some good rains earlier in the year which would have helped prey species thrive and thus the snakes.

Sundowners by the river

One wonderful African safari tradition is the "Sundowner".

For us, the traditional G&T, but whatever takes your fancy - and usually served with home made snacks .

The beauty of South Luangwa is that Sundowners are often taken overlooking the River, accompanied by the most breathtaking sunsets across the water, the sound of Hippo calling and birds finding their evening roosts.

Lamp

Views of Three Rivers Bush Camp

Cute Chameleon

This little fella had no problem whatsoever with climbing onto the hand of our guide during a night drive.

More to the point our guide had no problem with the Chameleon which is an animal rich in folklore and shunned by many in Africa.

Perhaps because it is predominantly seen at night, perhaps because of its ability to change colour the Chameleon is surrounded by myths and folktales many of which present it as an evil spirit.

Not a great deal of evil in this little one I suggest.

Safari silhouette

Sundowners overlooking the Luangwa River

Lazy evening Leopard

The classic image of Leopard is a cat dangling over a tree branch. Here we were lucky to find a Leopard near Three Rivers Camp who was one of the most photogenic we've ever come across - so placid and relaxed.

Across the river

A quick ferry they said.

Nothing to worry about they said.


And they were right - but only after a protective mother Hippo had been scared off.

From Three Rivers we crossed the Luangwa to take a bush walk.

Pel's Fishing Owl

Not the best photograph I'll be the first to admit, but included in the blog as this was a first sighting for us of Pel's Fishing Owl.

The Pel's Fishing Owl is the second largest owl in Africa. It feeds almost exclusively on fish and lives in dense forests near rivers. They are shy and are therefore seldom seen, so seeing one is always a thrilling event.

The Pel's Fishing Owl for many birders (we are not particularly birders by the way) is like the Holy Grail and it appears on many birding enthusiasts "top 10 to seek before I die lists". 

The birds are uncommon and often evasive, avoiding disturbance. They live in riverine forest and prefer to perch high among the thick foliage. They often hunt at night and are most active and vocal in the hour before dawn. The one we saw was in just this type of habitat - not that we would have seen it without the help of the sharp eyes of our guide at Three Rivers Bush Camp, Jebbez.

It is the second largest owl that occurs in Africa. They are a lovely ginger brown to russet colour and have black spots on both their wings and bellies. They have a rounded head and large black eyes like deep pools of pitch. They lack the soft flight feathers of other owls as stealth is not necessary for snatching their underwater prey.

They also lack the characteristic facial disks of many owls. This disc is believed to help with hearing, and as the owl's prey lives underwater, the owls seem to have evolved without this feature. They have a haunting, chilling call, which has been likened to someone calling up from the bottom of a well. Their cries can be heard over a kilometre away.

Anyone seen where all the bees have gone?

A pair of Bee eaters

Stork study

Yellow Billed Stork

Gone fishing

This trip was certainly the Yellow Billed Stork holiday. 

Here, near the Three rivers Bush Camp, they gathered in their hundreds to fish out the numerous channels.

Every now and again one would catch a cat fish prompting an outburst of flapping as others tried to get the catch of it.

Sunset colour

Ele family

One giant leap ...

A Puku jumps one of the many channels near the Three Rivers Bush Camp

Three Rivers Bush Camp

Our third camp for this holiday was Three rivers Bush Camp, run by Kafunta Safaris.

With rustic rondelles featuring decks overlooking wildlife viewing and "star beds where you can sleep on a platform with nothing above you but a mosquito net this certainly packs in the style.

Another super sunset

Elegance in the bush

The South Luangwa national park is the place to see Leopard. Normally elusive here they are likely to be seen more often than the Lion of the park.

To watch these powerful cats move silently through the bush early in the morning or into the evening is always a privilege.

Sacred Ibis

The African Sacred Ibis is a wading bird that belongs to the family Threskiornithidae which found near shores and marshes throughout Africa, including extensively in the South Luangwa valley.

A distinctive large wading bird it measures 75 centimetres (30 inches) in length and weighs 1.35 kilograms (3 pounds), with a wingspan of 112 – 124 centimetres (44 – 49 inches).

The plumage of the sacred ibis is mainly white in colour with black plumes on its lower back. Its small head and slender, curved neck are also black and practically bald. The sacred ibis has small black eyes and a long, slender, downward curved bill which is used to probe into sand and mud in shallow water or in grass and soil when foraging.

The legs of the sacred ibis are long and black and its feet are partially webbed like most wading birds. When in flight, the wing tips of the primary flight feathers are black which display a black border to the rear of the white wings.

In ancient Egypt he Ibis was sacred to and associated with Thoth the God of wisdom and writing. Thoth was often represented in the form of a man's body with the head of the Ibis and was the patron of the educated scribes who were responsible for the administration of the country. 

As a sacred animal the Ibis on death was embalmed and put inside the hollow body of a carved figure of the bird. Alternatively, the mummified remains were placed in pottery jars and deposited in vast underground galleries. Hundreds of thousands of such burials have been discovered at Sakkara, near Memphis the ancient capital of Egypt.

It's a tough life

The Hyena gets a bad rap in my opinion. Yes they may be scarred, but I love their faces and their clan system is fascinating. What would an african safari night be without the whooping of these dustmen of the bush?

Ebony Grove

Across the South Luangwa park there are a number of Ebony groves where these majestic trees ceat a dappled mosaic of light on the ground under the canopy.

Cool and shady, often with water, these groves are popular with Baboons.

Punk Zebra

Close to the action

Bush walks aren't usually the opportunity to see game - you take a vehicle for that. But here, in South Luangwa with the expert guides camps provide, even a walk can bring you into close contact with game.

Here we encountered a group of Giraffe, who, with our calm and quiet approach stood until we were less than 100m away - and even then they simply sauntered off just a few metres to maintain their comfort distance.

Every day is a learning day

Our guide form  Nkonzi Bush camp, Sam, like all the guides we have encountered in Zambia is an expert in so many aspects of the natural world.

From the habits and lifestyle of large carnivores, to the smallest of beetles these guides really know there stuff.

This is shown nowhere more than on a game walk. Here, immersed in the African bush they reveal the smallest details of plants, soils, geology, animal tracks and spoore. 

In one breath they will use the Latin name for the group a plant belongs to and detail the local medicinal or food uses the plant has. 

These are people with the perfect combination of book knowledge and practical know how. I am always in awe of how much our guides know and their ability to explain it to mere mortals like us.

There are worse places to eat breakfast

Breakfast on safari is an early affair. With a five fifteen wake up it's the opportunity to fully greet the day before heading out at six for the morning game drive.

Here at Nkonzi Bush Camp breakfast is taken informally on the sand of the dry river next to the main camp dining tent.

Sunrise at Nkonzi Bush Camp

Morning sun halo

Juvenile woolly necked storks enjoy the first rays of morning sunshine.

Eles under a big sky

Wild Dogs relax

A highlight of any trip on Safari is seeing African Wild Dogs - they are always doing something interesting and remind one so much of domestic dogs - like the one here having a roll!

There is a good article here highlighting the excellent work being done by the Zambian Carnivore Programme to encourage this threatened species to not merely survive in the South Luangwa valley but positively thrive there. 

Leopard with intent

Wooden pears

No, not pears on a pear tree, but hard, wooden seed pods. So often in the bush, nothing is what it seems.

An encounter with the scourge of poaching

One of the threats to wildlife in the National Parks of Africa is poaching.

Whilst out on a morning game drive we found fresh human footprints crossing a road. With one of the seven sets of tracks barefooted and another showing home made sandals it was clearly not tourists from one of the bush camps out on an early morning walk, but Poachers.

Sure enough when we got off our vehicle and walked a hundred metres or so into the bush, following the tracks, we found a very recently abandoned poacher's camp - fire still hot and smoking where they had processed the meat from the Buffalo they had killed. 

The picture here shows the fire used to smoke the meat which will be sold to truckers on the main road outside the Park, or taken to towns and cities like Lusaka where the middle classes have an expensive taste for bush-meat.

This was not a case of subsistence poaching (taking animals for the pot) which I can understand, but commercially driven killing of wildlife for profit.

Sam, our expert guide from  Nkonzi Bush Camp, called the find in immediately via radio to the national park authorities who sent three teams of park rangers out to intercept the poachers who, we believe, would have heard our vehicle approach as they set off South with their haul of illegal bush-meat. They also put up a plane to try and track the poachers down.

Make no bones about it - the fight against poaching is a serious one and the anti poaching patrols are up against well organised (and armed) gangs. You can find out more about some of the heroic people fighting this scrurge here at the Conservation South Luangwa CSL web site (you can also donate to keep the anti poaching aircraft flying!)

Our own little group then made our way back to our vehicle to carry on with our game drive - feeling more than a little pleased that our information would have given the anti-poaching patrols a bit of a head start.

Shimmering stork

Nkonzi Bush Camp dining area

Nkonzi Bush Camp is a wonderfully remote eight tent camp well into the South Luangwa national park.

This is really somewhere to experience the full feeling of the African bush - the sounds, the smells, the atmosphere of the natural rhythms of a world too many of us have lost touch with. 

This open tent is perhaps the focal point of the camp, where the bar is (excellent gin and tonics) and where some of the meals are served.

Other meals are served on the dry river bed visible just through the tent pictured. Under vast african skies it is a special experience to have dinner by candle light here.

Shadowland of south Luangwa

A quick wildlife snap

Let's get ready to RRRRumble!

Sparing Impala 

Long necked attraction

As the Rift Valley deepened, the giraffes in the Luangwa area became geographically separated from their original extended population and evolved based on slightly different environmental factors. This has given the Luangwa subspecies – known as Thornicroft’s – slightly shorter stature and unique coat markings.

Sightings of these stately mammals are very common throughout South Luangwa where they can be found selecting the finest browse with long, mobile lips and prehensile tongues.

We saw many on drives and got close to others on foot whilst walking in the bush with the excellent guides from Nkonzi Bush Camp.

Picnic - South Luangwa style

On a day long drive from Nkonzi Bush Camp we spent an idyllic three hour lunch break near (note NOT underneath) a Sausage Tree up-river near Lion Camp.

Here, after a cold beer and a delicious lunch, we sat and watched Yellow Billed Storks putting on an airshow worthy of the RAF, wheeling and whirling around as they came in to land on a sand bank in the river, Hippo wallowing in the cool water and Elephant coming down to drink. Then afterwards a snooze as the heat of the mid day sun eased.

The only downside was having to leave our comfortable chairs to drive back to camp - if a fascinating game drive can ever be referred to as a downside!

Peek-a-boo. Now I see you!

A Vervet Monkey peeps back at us.

Happy Hippos

The icon of the South Luangwa National Park has to be it's Hippos. There are thousands in the main river and many more in Lagoons and pools across the park.

The sound of them creates a sonic landscape like no other -with grunts, screams and the typical "Hippo laughter" filling night and day.

African Jacana

The African jacana (Actophilornis africanus) is a wader in the family Jacanidae, identifiable by long toes and long claws that enable them to walk on floating vegetation in shallow lakes, their preferred habitat.

This one was on one of the many lagoons still full of water after this year's rains.

Lion portrait