Onto Kufue National Park - islands with seas of hippo!

An early start and we headed back to Livingstone airport for our flights to Shumba lodge in the northern part of Kufue National Park. The camp lies out on the Busanga flood plain and as such is completely inaccessible during the rains and even in the dry season it is quite a safari to get there.

The airfield lies on higher ground and we had to fly from there to the camp in a helicopter which was really amazing and saved us a ground trip of several hours.  The Park is huge, covering an area of 22,500 square kilometers and some describe it as Zambia’s Okovango because of the marshes and channels with islands etc. But besides the flood plains and lakes there is also extensive miombo woodland, mopane woodland and dry grassland so a whole range of habitats can be explored here.

Phoebe loved the camp and I must say it was great. There are six rooms located around large fig trees and palms on an island and we had wonderful views out over the plains which were filled with Lechwe and Puku antelope. Not only that but the management, guides and staff were warm, attentive, professional and fun.

The open grasslands are studded with islands which probably originally grew out of termite mounds and these are covered in trees and palms. The flood plain is mostly grassland with channels holding permanent water and these provide refuge for crocs and hippo.

 We explored one of these channels in the camp’s boat and got some really good views of the resident hippo.

We also found the local pride of lions, saw buffalo, elephant and most exciting for me the rare roan antelope.

This is the only park in Zambia where cheetah can be found and there are also sable antelope here. The helicopter is based here permanently and as well as providing a taxi service from the airfield is available for hire to explore the park from the air, an effective and exhilarating way to get an overview of the country. There is also a balloon which provides another airborne platform to enjoy the grassy plains and the wildlife.

Zambia, Victoria Falls

Earlier this month our daughter Phoebe and I went on a ten-day safari to Zambia to look at some of the camps and lodges they have there and to see if this would be a fantastic safari destination for our guests.  It was really wonderful to travel with Phoebe and we really had a great time together; she helping me with photographs and notes and me teaching her bush craft.

Our first stop was at Victoria Falls where we stayed at a couple of places. The first night was at Sussi and Chuma lodge, named after David Livingstone’s faithful porters and companions during his travels through Africa. This is a lovely lodge built up on stilts and connected by walkways overlooking the great Zambezi River a few miles above the falls. 

On our first night we enjoyed a quiet sundowner looking over the river from their pool deck and enjoyed the cheerful dancing flames of the campfire. After the bustle and hours of travel in big airplanes and regional airports the quiet rustle and flow of the Zambezi River and the orange orb of the setting sun was a wonderfully calming scene.  The ice-cold white wine, courtesy of South Africa's vineyards, was also of considerable assistance in helping to set the scene!

The following morning Phoebe and I went to explore the Falls.  Our first view of the Mosi Oa Tunyo (The smoke that thunders) was from the back seat of a microlight aircraft and it was an exhilarating ride. The flimsy machine soared into the clear blue skies and the wash of wind roared through my helmet. We circled around the falls a couple of times and the view from just a couple of hundred feet up was fantastic! We then explored a little upstream seeing elephant, hippo and crocs in the river and then more game as we came in over the park towards the landing strip.

After seeing the falls from the microlight the view from the ground may seem to take a second place but in fact it was also stupendous.  The roar of the falling water and the cool mist, the deep chasm and then the view of Rhodes’ railway bridge, “I want the passengers to feel the mist through their windows” all made for a wonderful experience.

Our second night was at The River Club, an old homestead converted into a safari lodge by Peter Jones a retired officer from the Black Watch; a history buff and keen oarsman.  In fact he was in the midst of organizing an international regatta to be held the following week with teams from Oxford, Cambridge and South African Universities due to do battle on the Zambezi. (http://www.victoriafalls-guide.net/the-zambezi-international-regatta-returns-to-livingstone.html).  

The lodge is filled with old sepia prints of early settlers, explorers, newspaper articles, WW1 recruitment posters and other collector’s memorabilia.  These all set the scene for sumptuous dinners by candle light with marvelous stories about the characters who carved out a home in the African wilderness. Since the lodge was quiet Peter invited Phoebe and I to dinner at his home and we chatted into the night over a bottle of Cabernet with the chirrup of crickets and the gurgle of the river outside.

Rwanda and the gentle giants

Its always good to see the gorillas and we had permits to go and see them for two days. Our first group was called the Sabyinyo group (guhonda) named for the volcano where they tended to be found. We drove from the early morning registration to the trail head which lies in rural farmland.

It was great fun to walk through this farmland greeting children and local people as they tended their fields. It made such a contrast when we reached the forest edge and were suddenly immersed in the deep cool shade of the bamboo and ancient trees which cut off the sunlight.

 It only took us another hour before we found the gorillas and one of our party had two artificial hips!

The gorillas were amazing! It is such a thrill to be close to such large and powerful apes and to be able to spend a little time of their day watching them playing, feeding and interacting with each other.

Rwanda is called the country of a thousand hills and this is certainly the case! It is also the most densely populated country in Africa with over 600 people per square kilometer so every inch of available arable land is utilized.

The second day we hiked to Agashya group, named after the new silverback who took over a few years ago. Agashya means ‘new’ and he was so named when he came out of nowhere (probably the Democratic Republic of Congo) and took over the group from the previous silverback.

It took us longer to hike to this family but we were rewarded with young gorillas playing and more wonderful interactions between the family members.

That afternoon we were all feeling weary and had retired to our rooms. All of a sudden there was a outbreak of drumming and song. Outside was a local dance troupe who entertained us with their athletic and beautiful dancing.

It seemed a wonderful way for my guests to wrap up their final day on safari with the chorus of song and the sun slowly sinking behind the volcanoes in the west.

The Mara produces great game and great wildlife behavior....

The Mara produces great game and great wildlife behavior on a consistent and reliable basis. It is possibly the premier African wildlife destination as many of the world’s documentary filmmakers would testify. The beauty of the rolling plains and the exuberant abundance of the wildlife are always breathtaking and this safari was no different.

Early on our first morning out we came across a young male lion who seemed to be intent on a mission. We followed him as he walked purposefully west for almost a kilometer before he topped out a ridge and headed down to the next valley where we saw three lioness and three cubs. Once I saw where he was headed we drove over to the family group to see what would unfold. The lionesses were very aggressive towards the male and they had several fierce altercations before he finally displaced them off their kill and they left.

We found the group of six every day while we were in the Mara, the second morning they had another kill and the cubs were playing in the long grass, chasing and ambushing each other.

Another great attraction of the Mara is the combination of wide open space and big skies which make the most dramatic landscape and wildlife photographs. Because of the proximity to L. Victoria the afternoons will often provide huge cumulus Nimbus clouds which force the sun’s rays to penetrate to the ground in dramatic beams. Throw a majestic giraffe into the equation and you get a haunting photograph.

The migration is here in full force, despite it being very dry and had arrived much earlier than usual in June instead of the end of July. We enjoyed scenes of zebras and wildebeests traveling around looking for the freshest grasses and covering the open plains like ants on a picnic rug.

Our last evening was spent celebrating a birthday party and we had a spectacular sunset and sun-downer cocktails to open the festivities.

Nakuru and Lake Baringo - the Great Rift Lakes

Nakuru Park is a rare gem of sublime beauty and spectacular wildlife. It is an important refuge for both black and white rhino and is famous for images of its lakeshores washed pink with the millions of flamingoes which rely on the soda waters to provide them with food.

With such spectacular and important fauna flying the flag for this beautiful park one can often overlook the smaller species which also call it home. A dung beetle industriously rolling its dung ball to a safe place to bury, taking time for a breather and to take stock of its bearings.

Or a Dikdik buck on one of the forest tracks nose twitching and warily keeping an eye on the giant Land Cruiser waiting to get by.

I love to wake up before dawn and drive my guests to the lakeshore to watch the sunrise over the water with a hot cup of tea or coffee and a freshly baked cinnamon roll. The quiet calm of first light seems to echo the dawning of the first day in Africa, where the bustle of our modern world is far away and not yet awakened to its frenetic pace. Coffee mugs steam in the chill air and the fiery orb slowly rises above the eastern wall of the Great Rift Valley touching the lake with gold.

On our last day we were lucky to find a baby white rhino with his mother. The youngster was in a playful mood and approached my colleague Ethan Kinsey’s car to within touching distance before prancing away with a joie de vie in his bucking and head tossing.

Just seventy miles from L. Nakuru but nearly three thousand feet lower in altitude, across the equator to the northern hemisphere and a boat ride away before we finally reach our next destination: Samatian Island on L. Baringo. This eco- lodge is another wonderful retreat from the modern world with views across the lake on all sides which clearly show the rugged grandeur of the Great Rift Valley.

The lake provides a home and living for the Njemps people, a branch of the Maasai who together with their pastoral lifestyle are also fishermen. They set their nets in the fresh waters of L. Baringo, criss-crossing the water lilies in traditional balsa wood canoes fishing for the delicious tilapia.

One of the residents on Samatian Island is Hoo Too, the second Verreaux’s eagle owl who was raised by the owners of the eco-lodge, Caro Roberts and her partner Ross Withey. Some mornings Hoo Too is fed a tasty mouse to keep him healthy as he learns to hunt for himself. At night it can be startling when he lands on the veranda of the open room and starts to hoot.