Kasanka, Bangweulu & Liuwa in Nov-Dec with Robin Pope Safaris

[graceland]

Loved Lady Liuwa's stunning photoshoot; I can see she was quite the model for you once she appeared and thankfully for Chris, she did!

 

Echoing JohnR, Brilliant indeed. Specific details and the photos show the grace and beauty of the park. I too would like a personal look.

 

 

...I'll take his cranberry allotment too. (GL cannot believe I actually give Virginia BOILED Peanuts as gifts but heat them up & they are fantastic)

 

 

[Atravelynn]

I'll swap you some cranberries for boiled peanuts, Graceland. Hopefully there will be some cheetahs for us to visit in the Serengeti, Hari. No cranberries for JohnR. How about some beer soap instead? That's my other gift.

 

After Zambia, I spent 4 nights in Phinda in South Africa. The link to the report is here:

 

Phinda--where the h is silent, as are the egg-laying Loggerheads

Edited February 3, 2013 by Atravelynn

[ElaineAust]

Hi Lynn,

Thanks so much for this great report.

Namibia for me this year but maybe Zambia again in 2014.

Did you realise that if you scoll the mouse wheel up and down very fast on your bat pics their wings flap.

Or is that the wine talking?

Cheers

Elaine

[Treepol]

Lynn,

 

thanks for this interesting and informative TR - as usual! I'm going to sit and watch the Last lioness again during the week on the strnegth of this. Right now I'm away to read about Phinda.

 

 

Regards,

 

 

Pol.

[Atravelynn]

Hi Lynn,

Thanks so much for this great report.

Namibia for me this year but maybe Zambia again in 2014.

Did you realise that if you scoll the mouse wheel up and down very fast on your bat pics their wings flap.

Or is that the wine talking?

Cheers

Elaine

I'm thinking Namibia in 2014. We're criss-crossing paths.

You've discovered how I can get videos without taking videos. Just scroll fast to animate.

 

Treepol, you may recognize some cats from the Phinda report. But they've grown up a bit.

[matnikstym]

Great report! Beautiful pictures! Liuwa is on my list.

Edited February 8, 2013 by matnikstym

[Atravelynn]

Great report! Beautiful pictures! Liuwa is on my list.

From the kiddie pool to Liuwa, Matnikstym!

[Kitsafari]

@@Atravelynn I've come to your TR a year late, and all because I've just watched The Last Lioness and googled her, and found your trip report there! How beautiful Liuwa is in December. Now I wonder if one can combine busunga plains, south luangwa and Liuwa in one trip. Just seeing the lady will be so worth it. Her story is so compelling. Thank you for the pictures of the royal Lady.

[Sangeeta]

@@Atravelynn I've come to your TR a year late, and all because I've just watched The Last Lioness and googled her, and found your trip report there! How beautiful Liuwa is in December. Now I wonder if one can combine busunga plains, south luangwa and Liuwa in one trip. Just seeing the lady will be so worth it. Her story is so compelling. Thank you for the pictures of the royal Lady.

Aha! I may have found my safari companion after all

 

You know, @@Kitsafari, have been trying so hard to put together a Busanga + Musekese + Liuwa + Kasanka combo for two years now, but costs can be very high for a solo or two people. But get 6 together and this works really well.

 

Depending on your budget and available time, you could certainly start in SLNP in 3rd week Oct, spend 4th week Oct in Kafue, 1st week Nov in Liuwa and then cap it all off with the Kasanka bats in 2nd week Nov! I would join you for the Kafue plus Liuwa portion of the trip for sure! And the bats could be an add-on...

 

I have been in talks with various people about this but hard to find people for such a specialized safari

[egilio]

That would an awesome trip! Good luck finding people for that

[Atravelynn]

You are welcome for the Lady Liuwa photos @@Kitsafari. She teased us throughout our stay by being absent and then made the grand entrance and posed for us. Her behavior seemed purposeful but perhaps I am reading too much into it.

 

Not sure how much longer the Lady will be around. I think she is about 12-14 years old now. Combining S Luangwa, Liuwa, and Kafue's Busanga Plains certainly can be done, even without the group charter that Robin Pope Safaris provided for our scheduled group trip. You could depart Lusaka and drive/be driven to Liuwa Plains via Kafue Nat Park and spend time in Busanga Plains. I was planning such a trip with Rod Tether of Zambian Expeditions (rod @zambianexpeditions.com) when he encouraged me to do the scheduled Robin Pope Safaris trip. I think RPS may be halting their group trip to Liuwa. A flight to/from Mfuwe for S Luangwa is easily booked on your own online, as I did.

 

I think I would do S Luangwa first, then Kafue, then Liuwa Plains. You'd like have to stop in or near Kafue on the way back. The timing of this trip had to coincide with the bat migration but if I was not including the bats, I'd go in Nov rather than Dec. I think @@Sangeeta just returned from the type of itinerary you are asking about.

-------------

 

Ha ha ha. Just saw on the next page where Sangeeta has jumped in. Looks like the trip is upcoming. I thought she was planning for 2013. Egilio is right it would be an awesome trip. Perhaps you and Sangeeta can pull it off.

Edited January 4, 2014 by Atravelynn

[SafariChick]

Sorry to kind of hijack your TR, @@Atravelynn - but @@Sangeeta and @@Kitsafari I might be interested in a S Luangwa, Liuwa, and Kafue/Busanga Plains trip too! Not sure if I could pull it off in 2014 though or if it'd have to be 2015. I'd love my husband to come if we could afford it and figure out what to do with our kids, but I don't think he can take enough time off in 2014 since we already have 2 weeks of vacation planned for this year. I might be willing to go without him with a group of like-minded friends though. Would be a shame if I waited too long and Lady Liuwa were no longer around.

Edited December 15, 2018 by SafariChick

[Atravelynn]

@Paulo, in Dec 2012 I was told that the second female looked pregnant.

 

I think you should all go for the baby shower safari, assuming female #2 is pregnant now.

[SafariChick]

Here's an update about the two females and pregnancy status from October 2013 - apparently only one of the two introduced lionesses survives. That surviving lioness was pregnant, they think, but they believe she lost the cubs, sadly, but there's hope she will get pregnant again. And Lady L is apparently 13 so the sooner we all get there to try to see her, the better!

 

http://www.african-parks.org/Blog_91_An+update+on+the+lion+queen+of+Liuwa+Plain+National+Park%2C+Zambia.html

Edited January 5, 2014 by SafariChick

[Sangeeta]

Haha, Lynn! I was indeed planning for 2013. Then I was planning for 2014. Now I am happy to plan for 2015 as well At this point, I'll take anything, but 2014 is obviously better for Lady.

 

I have been in touch with Rod about this also so he is aware of my plans. We could grab him for the SNLP portion. And our own @@egilio? Perhaps we could collectively persuade him to join us in Liuwa. Not to mention, @@KafueTyrone who I plan to snag for Kafue...and what a super safari that would be?

Edited January 5, 2014 by Sangeeta

[egilio]

The remaining young lioness was indeed pregnant in November, fingers cross things go well this time! It looks like 2014 will be my last field season in Liuwa, after that I'm going to the US to pursue a phd on the collected data.

[Sangeeta]

When will you be all done, @@egilio? Will you be there 2014 Nov?

[Kitsafari]

@@Sangeeta wow that would be so awesome if we can get going as a group! I would definitely jump in if the dates fit in with ours.

 

My husband is only available for September, early Oct or Dec this year and I can't take leave from late October to early December. He can't take more than 10-12 days, but I wouldn't mind going on a 2-week plus trip and perhaps continue without him?! I can't imagine what he's going to say to that....

 

It would be fantastic if @@egilio could go too.

 

We just watched the Painted Dog Conservation docu and that's somehow going to land in our must-go places too.

[Kitsafari]

So sorry @@Atravelynn for hijacking your thread but you may have just started something special here!

[Sangeeta]

@@Kitsafari - taking this offline and giving Lynn her TR back We can report back if a plan emerges?

[egilio]

In Nov 14 I should be in the US unfortunately But in Liuwa there will be ZCP presence!

[TonyQ]

@@Atravelynn

I have come to this report very late

Superb writing and photos

Liuwa looks wonderful

[sugarpond]

HAAAAAAA!!! poor skinny bats!!!

[SafariChick]

@@Atravelynn just re-reading your fabulous report on Liuwa for the umpteenth time and soaking up the lovely photos, helping to get me in the mood for our upcoming trip! I realized I don't think I had seen this which you mentioned in post # 75

 

 

In the “It’s Monday” newsletter, are more insightful comments about our Liuwa trip plus photos, from Chris.

http://www.robinpope...2/mon-20121217/

So I went to check it out now - the report is great to read but sadly, I cannot see the photos - perhaps Chris moved them from the location to which the newsletter had linked. Did Chris ever become a member or are you still in touch with him? Would love to see his photos too!

[Atravelynn]

@@SafariChick, I don't think Chris became a member. He had a very nice camera and was especially good at birds taking off in flight. Sorry they are not available. I just re-read some the final comments and am honored your upcoming trip may have had the initial planning stages right here!

Edited October 19, 2014 by Atravelynn