Zambia walking safari June 2015 report (six months late)

[deano]

@@Marks - thank you. I had read your August trip report while I was still a ''lurker'' and enjoyed that. Your variety in photographing places and animals reminds me very much of my own preferences and I particularly like the panoramas...iphone by any chance? I also researched trail cams as well because of your report....maybe next trip.

 

All I remember from the green five is Lions Tail and Leopard Orchid...anybody else know the others? I know of a Buffalo Thorn but am struggling to even guess the other two.

[michael-ibk]

Really enjoying this report, thank you for sharing! It´s obvious you are having fun with it and re-living your trip. The first time I´ve actually heard that somebody weighs the carry-on luggage, fortunately that never happened to me (yet). 5 kg is really nothing with camera(s) and binocs. Starting out in S. Luangwa with Leopards right away is remarkable - but then the park is famous for that kind of thing. Really like your high ISO lion photo - great expression you caught there. Honey Badgers and Porcupines on night drives - fantastic! And very nice Genet photo.

 

So, come on then, about these darned dogs - bring them on!

[deano]

@@michael-ibk - thank you for the comments. I am very much enjoying writing this report and have been finding that I am digging back through my files looking for photographs that tell the story better than the ones I had originally collected for the trip report. Would that include photos of wild dogs as well? What about my elusive shot of a leopard in a tree?

 

Day 10 - Kakuli:

 

Our last full day in South Luangwa - two activities today before the drive out of the park and back to the airport tomorrow in which to find some wild dogs, a leopard in a tree and/or anything else. We said our goodbyes today to the guests that we had met up with along the trip and we were sad to part company as they were great fun but we new that we would meet other folks and have a chance to make new friends.

 

 

 

 

During early breakfast, Prince had suggested that we do a short drive and then walk from there and then drive back for lunch. We were on board for that and didn't have to mention that we would really like to try and find wild dogs before we left SLNP. Prince could not guarantee dogs but had heard that lions were in the area and that we might have a go at tracking them . So we jumped on the vehicle and off we went. First stop was the high river bank where the dogs were often found - no luck so we continued on and saw a far off porcupine out in the early morning light. They move fast and we tried to catch up but he went to ground andPrince made a note to return tonight to see if we could catch up with him.

 

We arrived at a dried up lagoon that was home to a resident hippo and a gathering of impala, puku, water buck and a lone cooksons wildebeest. Prince had a good idea where the lions were last seen so we set off in that general direction.

 

 

 

 

 

We then found some white droppings and we just assumed hyena but Prince told us that since we were close to water that these could well be from a crocodile and that the only way to sometimes tell was to dig in and see what the droppings contained. Walking safaris are a lot about droppings and this was a great demonstration of the knowledge these guides have and what they will do to demonstrate it!

 

 

It wasn't long before we found fresh tracks and there was no doubt who these belong to.

 

 

We then lost the tracks however and could see that we were going slightly uphill towards some dense bush and that on the other side of that was the water course which fed the lagoon where we had started out. We opted for the lower down route and came out onto an open area facing across what was left of the water course and facing towards a high bank.

 

And then we noticed the tawny shapes deep in the shade on the high bank. We had found our lions and they were looking back at us. Prince had suggested that it was a good job that we had come around the way we did; had we taken the high road, we would have stumbled across the lions who would have had no escape route due to their position on the high bank with no way out except forward. Who knows what might have happened then but as it was we were on the low side of the bank looking up and the lions knew they were safe (we had walked in right across the back of those trees).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The lions were doing what lions do for most of their day which was pretty much nothing at all (they call it resting) but it was still thrilling being that close on foot and I could have stayed there all day. We closed the gap between us as much was deemed acceptable and then spent half an hour just watching and talking softly in the company of the king of the beasts. It was exactly the type of experience we had hoped for when we booked a walking safari but we had told our friends and family before we left for this trip that we would be extremely lucky to actually encounter lions on foot. We were extremely lucky today. Have I mentioned before that I love Africa?

 

 

After that we walked back to the vehicle and had a nice cuppa with some biscuits and then drove slowly back to Kakuli for lunch. We did check in to see if the wild dogs were in their resting place but no luck (again) but that didn't matter. We still had one afternoon/evening before we left for Lower Zambezi.

 

Back at camp we were introduced to new guests - all travel agents on fam trips - and had a nice lunch and good conversation which was the norm at all the NCS camps we had stayed at. I was actually a little tired today so decided on the shortest of siestas but not before sitting by the Lunagwa and enjoying every single little thing that was going on (or not going on) around me including a brave bush buck just outside our tent. He must have been sure that the leopard was nowhere around this afternoon.

 

 

For the evening drive the travel agents were off to check out a few other camps in the area so we once again had a vehicle all to ourselves and no need to guess what we were after on out last night in Lunagwa. Wild dogs please and if possible a leopard in a tree.

 

We saw an owl just outside camp (eagle owl?) and then spent some time with a small elephant herd as well as encountering some of the buffalo that were probably the ones that we had walked around on the walk down from Nsolo yesterday. Plenty of other animals in the area as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

.

 

No sign of the dogs by the time we stopped for sundowners by the Luangwa but that didn't seem to matter as we had had a great day and had Lower Zambezi to look forward to for 4 nights from tomorrow. But no need to think about that while we were still in South Luangwa which is a truly magical place and we had this final sundowner to enjoy with a nice "J".

 

 

 

 

We headed back to camp and saw the nocturnal critters that were active at this time but difficult to photograph. We watched genets and civets often but were rarely able to capture them but tonight our luck changed and I got a shot of a civet looking straight down the camera which was a nice way to finish of the day. Not quite a wild dog but ''dog like'' and not quite a leopard in a tree but ''on a tree''.

 

 

Tomorrow we say goodbye to South Luangwa and journey to Lower Zambezi and Old Mondoro Camp. If it was half as good as South Luangwa and Norman Carr's Camps we were sure it would be 4 nights of pure joy.

 

[deano]

Day 11 - Transfer from South Luangwa to Lower Zambezi:

 

We were definitely a bit sad to be leaving but at the same time excited to see Lower Zambezi. Prince and Charles would be driving us to the airport for our flight from Mfuwe to Lusaka which was leaving about 1PM. We were advised that we needed to be there about 1 hr before that and we knew that we had 45 mins or so on the main road from the park once we exited so we still had time for a game drive after breakfast. We had a larger breakfast today and Claire and the Kakuli staff packed us a lunch to eat later which was a nice touch and after saying goodbye we drove off heading West along the Luangwa.

 

Still plenty to see and I still had room on my memory card so the camera was still ready. Straight away we had a nice sighting of a buffalo and then a kudu and then a vulture in a palm tree and some elephants in a nice scene with the sun behind them.

 

 

 

 

 

And then two fish eagles in a lovely spot and they allowed us to get quite close for some pictures. I still managed to get the focus slightly off but near enough is good enough for my level of photography.

 

 

 

We resumed the drive along the river and spotted something crossing. It was a couple of bull elephants off in the distance and we drove closer and then got out to take in the scene and shoot some pictures. We were interested to see how they would climb up the steep bank but they managed it quite easily probably using a hippo entry/exit that had been collapsed and turned into the beach entry ramp. After we saw that the last elephant had climbed out we drove on and found the straggler close to the river bank and he gave us a pose and then a head shake to send us on our way. I didn't know if this would be our last sighting today so was silently happy that we had seen such a time honored classic such as this.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We stumbled onto two giraffes nibbling on a tree. These were the first giraffes we had seen since we arrived (saw 3 of them from Kapani) and it was definitely the case that they were found closer to the river and the trees in that area rather than the more dryer areas that we had just visited.

 

 

We were starting to see a few game vehicles from other lodges now - the first we had seen in days - and that told me that we were getting close to the main gate. Prince would stop and chat and was still asking on our behalf if anyone had seen the wild dogs. Some had been seen that morning but in a more remote part of the park but we might get a chance to drive over that way briefly depending on what else we might see in the area we were in now. It was a lovely place; a plain of sorts that was home to puku, zebra and impala and was a real contrast to the woodland we had been in for a few days. There were a lot of dead trees and old stumps that did their best imitations of lions and this sort of hazy blue light on the horizon at the tree line. As we were driving along my wife shouted "cheetah!" Fantastic, a cheetah to finish off the day. How cool is that? And then I simultaneously remembered that there aren't any cheetahs in South Luangwa whilst at the same time seeing that this was no cheetah or dead tree stump but a leopard; right there in the middle of an open plain in the middle of the morning - you could say she was hiding in "plain" sight !

 

I took tons of pictures and in my excitement I forgot the golden rule of dslr photography - remember to check the histogram on the LCD (and the highlight warnings and generally just check to make sure that you have something that is at least worth showing to other people). So, these overly processed images are not the best but they do the job of telling the story.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The leopard had been staring off initially at some impala to our left and then all of a sudden two puku came into view - you can just see them in the top left hand corner of the last image above (wish I'd done that blue haze justice).

 

Surely the puku would see her and give off that tell tale whistle as an alarm but it seems not. I suppose anything was possible given that we had practically driven straight past her but come on - these were puku and way better at observing these things than us mere humans. But, these puku had other things on their mind...or rather at least one of them did; this was a male following a female with the goal of mating. Would we get to round off South Luangwa with a leopard stalk, a hunt or maybe even a kill? Would this be the luckiest leopard ever as a result and us the luckiest tourists?

 

The leopard set off - classic leopard crawl through the long grass.

 

 

Then she stopped moving; the puku were actually moving closer to her and our position.

 

 

Can you see her? How about in this next one? How close is this for the middle of the morning with very little cover?

 

 

As it turns out - too close and the female puku sounded the alarm and that was it for this hunt.

 

 

The leopard actually looked annoyed and proceeded to strut about with her tail held curly and high showing her mood. Well and truly busted but it did force her to walk closer to the vehicle and allow me to take more pictures at least.

 

 

 

And one last shot with the puku leaving no doubt that she had been seen.

 

 

As you can imagine, the elephants crossing the Luangwa had been more than enough for what I thought was our last sighting in South Lunagwa but this was just brilliant. We still had some time left before we needed to exit the park so we drove on and Prince stopped again to chat with other guides and wouldn't you know it, the wild dogs had not only been seen that morning but the guests had witnessed them finish off a bush buck. Ah well; we'd had a fantastic leopard sighting and whilst it wasn't the leopard in tree shot I was after I was more than happy with what I had witnessed. Have I mentioned that I love Africa?

 

We were still encountering game animals including an injured zebra that Charles speculated had been attacked by a hyena and a slightly nervous looking bush buck; maybe this one had seen wild dogs just this morning?

 

 

 

 

Prince asked us if we wanted a drink stop or to drive on and see if we could at least go to the spot where the wild dogs had last been seen. Easy choice - drive on please. We were well West of the gate now and couldn't go too much longer before we had to turn back. We drove up and down a few tracks but no sign of the dogs but we did see this beauty.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another leopard but this one laid up in the shade just off the road. How Charles saw her in there is beyond me as we couldn't really see her until we sort of looked back over our shoulders. These guys are good. So, now my ''current'' last sighting in South Luangwa is another leopard. Have I mentioned that I love Africa? Okay, not a leopard in a tree but we have about 15 minutes before we need to had to the airport so thank you very much SLNP.

 

Prince turned us around and we drove back past the leopard on the other side of the road and we headed back East to the exit with a few minutes for a quick drink stop. And then Prince calmly said it - "there they are!" What? "there who are?" The smile on his face told me all I needed to know and then we saw them - wild dogs.

 

 

 

They were clearly resting after a successful hunt and were in the shade of a tree on the main track road. Prince moved us closer a bit at a time so that we didn't annoy them and I could see that he and Charles were as happy to have seen them as we were.

 

They didn't do much; but they didn't need to and I was rattling of shots with my 80-400mm and make no apology for the indulgence that follows including two different crops from the same image (the 80-400 on a full frame performed very well in that regard with near stationary subjects such as these);

 

 

 

 

It was especially nice to see a heavily pregnant female;

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, that was beyond anything we could have expected and truly is (was) the last sighting for us in South Luangwa. Unbelievable.

 

And we still had time for a drink stop where we shared the pictures with Prince and Charles before our journey back to Mfuwe.

 

 

We said our goodbyes to our guide and host and checked into a busy Mfuwe airport - the president of Zambia was actually in the region - and were soon tucking into our Kakuli lunch and reflecting on the first part of our trip. South Luangwa and Norman Carr Safaris was magnificent.

 

After a pleasant flight it was a quick beer for the wife in Lusaka and then onto the short hop over the Zambezi Escarpment to Lower Zambezi National Park and Old Mondoro Camp.

 

I had my iPhone ready to take snapshots from the plane and was glad I did. It is a stunning approach and I could waffle on about that all day and it is almost a shame that the morning part of today was dominated by a nice elephant sighting, two leopard sightings - one of which included a hunt - and then to top it all off a sighting of wild dogs as it sort of detracts from the beauty of Lower Zambezi. An honorable draw I think.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had a stop at Royal before our own at Jeki and it was exciting to see the game vehicles lined up ready to accept eager new guests - like us.

 

 

There were only the two of us left on the short flight to Jeki and so it was easy for Sebastian - one of the Old Mondoro Guides - to pick us out. We liked him instantly and he told us that we had a 50 minute drive to camp and that it would be almost dark when we reached there but there was a lioness with 3 cubs in the area close to camp that had killed a water buck earlier that day and would we like to try and find it? Have I mentioned that I......(you get it - right)?

 

Seb had just returned from leave so had not seen the lioness and the kill but that didn't stop a valiant attempt at finding it for us but he knew that we had to get to camp to sign in and so that is what we did. We did see some elephants on the way in and one of the females had a damaged trunk but she didn't look to be in too bad condition nor did her calf. We were told the injury was about 1 month old.

 

 

At Old Mondoro we were greeted by hosts Ryan and Pam and some of the staff. A wonderful, friendly, genuine greeting that was not as much as a surprise by now but still very welcome. And this was a fantastic spot right on the Zambezi and we were well and truly in the bush. After a brief orientation and safety talk, Ryan escorted us to our chalet that overlooked a lagoon and warned us of 4 to 5 'resident' buffalo, a wandering elephant and a crocodile that liked to rest under a log on the path outside our front door. Only in daylight would we be allowed to walk unescorted and even then we had to use caution. This place was truly wild and we loved it.

 

Ryan assured us that he had checked the chalet just before our arrival and was shocked to see the bathtub littered with bits of tree and proceeded to remove the twigs and leaves whilst all the time apologizing and telling us that there must have been an elephant here in the last 5 minutes. No need to apologize Ryan - I can't remember ever having to clean out a hotel bathtub on arrival as a result of an elephant picnic!

 

After a hot shower and some great food we met the guests in camp (more wonderful people...on their 10th visit...must be good eh?) and decided on our activities for tomorrow - an AM walk and a PM kayak trip on the Zambezi with a game drive after each of those.

 

More tomorrow....

Edited December 24, 2015 by deano

[Geoff]

@@deano

 

I'm only up to post #16 but it's a good report so far.

 

It looks like Luwi camp has hardly changed since my visit in 1998!!, though the hide at the upstream hippo pool is a new addition.

I remember reclining in a hammock strung from what i think is the very same tree limb.

[michael-ibk]

Ah there are the Dogs. Good timing!

 

Great sightings.

[Towlersonsafari]

Norman Carr and Old Mondoro-a great combination1 and we stayed at the chalet in Old Mondoro that you did in 2013-one of our all time favourite camps-looking forward to your next installment-but in the meantime Merry Christmas!

[RichB]

Absolutely amazing pictures..so beautiful..

[deano]

@@Geoff - thank you. I can't imagine that anybody would want to change Luwi (or any of the bush camps for that matter). They are close to perfect as it is.

 

@@michael-ibk - wild dogs just in time for Christmas. I didn't plan that but nice how it worked out eh?

 

@@Towlersonsafari - I am uploading Old Mondoro pics to my gallery tonight so I can spend Christmas day and Boxing day on the next installments - Merry Christmas back at ya!

 

@@RichB - thanks mate. Amazing and beautiful sightings take all the credit for the pics though. More to come in the next installment.

 

Merry Christmas everyone and thanks for following, liking and posting. I feel like I'm on the trip again!

[deano]

Day 12 - Old Mondoro walk, drive, kayak, drive:

 

We went to bed last night to the sound of hippos in the Zambezi and we could hear them sloshing around in the lagoon just outside the chalet all night. We were already awake when the human alarm call paid us a visit and we agreed that we'd need about 10 minutes to get up and dressed so that we could be escorted to breakfast in the half light. It was cold this morning but I could already see the glow of the fire and hear voices and pots and pans being assembled for our morning coffee. I opted for porridge today and it was just what I needed to warm me up. And the fire definitely helped too.

 

 

Today we would be guided by Joseph and a ZAWA scout on our walk. Joseph asked us if we wanted a fast walk or a nature walk. Nature walk please and off we went. The scenery was amazing as we walked out of camp away from the river and into woodland that was fairly open but with tall winter thorn trees allowing in just enough light to let the grass and bushes grow - browser heaven - and we were amazed by the numbers of impala, kudu and my favorite the waterbuck. We walked through the woodland and up onto one of the plains where Joseph talked toms about the villages that used to exist here and we even found old tools and pottery which was very interesting given where we were.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We observed a distant elephant for a while and walked slowly closer until we could hear him breaking the lower branches off and feeding them into his mouth. Totally unfazed by our presence.

 

 

 

We then headed back into the woodland and were met by a game vehicle for a tea stop by a beautiful lagoon; the sort of place I could just spend all day at listening to the bird noises and the animal sounds.

 

 

Joseph then drove us back towards camp via the area where we had been looking for the lioness yesterday. We found the remains of the well hidden kill which were a way off from where we were actually looking last night but no lions. Joseph then took us back up onto the edge of the plain we had walked on earlier albeit at the other end and wouldn't you know it there was the lioness and her 3 very shy cubs. Pam (camp hostess) had named the lioness Maggie due to her strong and independent nature - she would need every ounce of that with the various lion prides, male lion coalitions, hyenas and leopards that called this place home. You had to wonder what they had been through so far in their short lives but they looked well fed and seemed to be in good hands...if a little shy.

 

 

 

 

 

A great first morning in Lower Zambezi and I had to laugh when Joseph asked us if we had enjoyed it as we had been fairly quiet? We assured him that we were quiet because we were in awe of our surroundings. This place is amazing and we are fans for life now. On top of that, the guiding at Lower Zambezi added another dimension as there just seemed to be more audio to process and the hearing of the guides, scouts, tea porters and anyone else was astonishing with the the sounds they heard in amongst the ordinary.

 

After lunch we retreated to our chalet and I sat on the porch for about 2 hours and just watched and listened. I could honesty just sit there morning and night and I would wager that you would see and hear some amazing things in that spot.

 

We had arranged to join the couple that were 10 time guests at Old Mondoro on the kayak that afternoon and we were very excited about that. More nice folks who enjoyed the stuff that we did and we had already had two activities today and it wasn't even 3PM yet! So, after a pleasant afternoon tea we jumped into the motor boat and headed upstream where we would start our journey back down stream along what is known as the discovery channel. The first animal we saw was a massive crocodile on the bank - even Ryan remarked how big it was and that we might see something like that from the kayak but not to worry.

 

 

We saw the kayaks and jumped back onto dry land and were given a safety briefing mainly about hippos as we were sure to encounter them. There were a four guides on the kayak trip and all were clearly very experienced and I was paired with Sebastian who sat at the back and did all the work while the guy "with the biggest lens" (Ryan's words ) sat at the pointed end. Sebastian was lead guide so that put me...right at the front!

 

 

 

 

 

The kayak trip is without a doubt one of the highlights of this trip and since this trip is one of our bests trips anywhere that ranks it very high on our overall list. The different perspective and overall peace and quiet was extraordinary and I can't recommend it enough. It was even good exercise as the kayak actually moves quite quickly and I found my self twisting and turning to get shots of the various animals we encountered at water level, on the bank and in the trees (that will explain why the general composition of the shots is a bit dodgy; tough but good fun).

 

We saw our fair share of hippos and occasionally had to wait when they would duck under the surface and not appear for a few minutes but we never felt threatened at all and they generally gave us a wide berth. It was exhilarating though as we were well and truly in their domain and pretty much like ducks out of water if you catch my drift.

 

 

 

 

Plenty of other animals around as well; baboons, waterbuck, elephants and probably a ton of other stuff that I missed plus a huge variety of birdlife.

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of the other guides then spotted something in the shade so we pulled over to have a look;

 

 

Would you believe it? Lions. They were tough to see in the dappled shade especially from water level but I did snap off a few shots. There was also a buffalo not too far from them and we wondered what scene was going to play out later when the sun dropped.

 

 

 

 

There were a lot of hippos all the way down the channel;

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just before we rejoined the Zambezi we watched a goliath heron take off and then land on a small island in front of us in lovely light; Once back onto the Zambezi there were still more crocs and I managed a shot of one just after he surfaced which believe me was very hard to do (for me at least) and I must have missed about 200-300 like that over the course of our stay here!

 

 

 

 

 

We cruised back downstream to camp and hopped straight onto a waiting game vehicle for a night drive after a sundowner of course. They had Jamesons in Lower Zambezi too!

 

 

Tonight I would get to experience red filters on the lights - the vehicles and the spotlights; I am no expert but as far as I am concerned the animal behavior is much more ''natural'' under red light conditions. Just my impression and Ryan had given me tips and pointers on shooting in the red light which was much 'darker' than regular spotlights. I enjoyed messing about with high ISO (12800 if something was moving so that I could use the 80-400mm lens with a decent shutter speed...you can't have everything though) and metering (my D750 had a highlight weighted setting that seemed to work best for me).

 

We soon found Maggie and her cubs and the shy by day cubs were completely different by night and one in particular practically walked up to the drivers door of the vehicle. Clearly, being lions they are more relaxed at night and I think that the red filter added to that. I have decided to convert all the night shots to B&W mainly because I like them better but also because my photo editing skills are even further behind than my actual photography. We finished off the night with a sighting that even the guides in camp were surprised by - we followed a porcupine for about 15 minutes. Just sniffing around doing his own thing with just our red light for company. Unbelievable first day at Old Mondoro.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is still Christmas Eve as I finish off but likely Christmas Day as some of you read this so Merry Christmas everyone. More to follow...

 

D.

 

 

 

[Kitsafari]

Late to this TR but oh how wonderful to relive SLNP through your report. it brings back such fond memories. Lions, Leopards and Luangwa - unbeatable combination. And icing on the cake - wild dogs to round off your stay in South Luangwa! they eluded us when we were there, but I'm making a mental note to stay close to the Mfuwe gate the next time we are there since the wild dogs are often seen in that vicinity.

[TonyQ]

@@deano

Great to see South Luangwa again - I really enjoyed your walking - it brought back lots of memories.

Is there a better place than SLNP for leopards I wonder?

A good contrast on the Zambesi - it looks very peaceful.

The black and white conversions for the red spotlight photos work very well - and they are very good photos in those conditions.

[deano]

@@Kitsafari - Wild dogs were something we really wanted to see and were one of the reasons we opted for SLNP this year. I often find that we have good sightings of other animals when go in search of something in particular but to see them at the end of the last drive after good sightings was indeed the icing on the cake. Thank you for reading Kitsafari and glad you're enjoying it.

 

@@TonyQ - Thank you. I really liked South Luangwa but I think I've made that obvious. A fantastic mix of plains, woodlands, walking, driving and of course the rivers. Top notch guiding and camps as well. The Zambezi was just as fantastic if not a bit better due to the array of activities on offer and I uploaded the photos from day 13 yesterday and will definitely have to split that day into two or maybe three segments. Thanks for the photo comments in particular. Still looking for my leopard in tree shot though....

 

Working on the next installment now after a cup Harrods Christmas Tea. Not bad but good old English Breakfast is still the best for me.

[deano]

Day 13 - Old Mondoro drive, fish, drive:

 

I have split today into two because I have a lot of pictures...

 

Another nice meal beside the Zambezi last night with some lion vocalizations carrying on the wind (that we heard thanks to Joseph and his amazing hearing). We had some good conversation again and I was particularly interested in the construction of a new chalet that was about to begin. It will be further up the lagoon from the chalet we stayed in which you can just see in the bottom left of the shot below along with the fallen tree in the foreground where Ryan was once startled by a croc...or was it the other way round?

 

 

 

 

We opted for a game drive this morning and Sebastian took us to the edge of one of the plains where Maggie and her 3 cubs liked to hang out and after a few false alarms we eventually found them. Not quite as inquisitive as they were in the dark of night but looking very playful.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sebastian then alerted us to some distant noise he had picked up (I thought that the guides sight was beyond amazing but now with their hearing included I am convinced that they are super human). It was the lions again and Maggie had heard it too but not before one of them showed off its jumping skills right on from of my camera. Say aww in 1...2...3...

 

 

 

 

 

We stayed with her for a while until she moved into thick cover. We were sure she had done this a few times and was sure to be okay but you had to wonder how she kept herself and the cubs safe from other prides, roaming males, leopards and who knows what.

 

 

 

We headed towards the area where we had heard the vocalizations and in the direction of the river where we had a fishing trip planned for the afternoon so it nice to stop and get some tips from the experts.

 

 

 

 

We soon heard lions vocalizing and it wasn't long before we caught sight of them. They looked to have come from the direction of the discovery channel island where we had seen lions on the kayak trip yesterday so we were pretty sure it was the same lions. I took a lot of pictures because there is something about lions on the move that thrills me. These guys didn't look like they had any plans to hunt so maybe that buffalo didn't make it last night?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An older lioness then approached and I got a picture of her looking right down the lens and as a result I now have two amber eyes staring at me in my office. I look into them every day and I am instantly taken back to Africa. I have it framed tight around the eyes and mouth. My wife has a long slender frame and just has the eyes in it and bigger that the full size and it greets you as you walk into her office and, like the image of her walking with lions, leaves you in no doubt that we love Africa (but I think I have mentioned that once or ten times already).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The lions headed up to the plains and Maggie but we didn't think she had anything to worry about with these lions at least. They did leave some slightly worried looking animals in their wake though.

 

 

 

 

 

Time for a drink stop and leg stretch (anybody who has been on safari knows what leg stretch really means); No sooner had we stopped the vehicle and we heard a very distinct alarm call. It was a baboon and Sebastian was in no doubt that a predator had been seen and in particular a leopard and we headed straight toward the area where the noise had come from. Would it be a leopard and would I get my leopard in tree shot at last?

Part 2 to follow.....

 

[Atravelynn]

That civet at the base of the tree at night is a beautiful, sharp shot. Staring right at you. Walks may be a lot about droppings but you found the lions. So much more exciting to see them on foot. I wish I could use your excuse about consuming the biscuits for all of the holiday treats I've eaten, but there was no man with a gun prompting me to consume them.

 

It may not have been in a tree, but your leopard appeared with nice views. And then those dogs! That calm, "there they are," followed by a big smile is how I recall some memorable dog hunts ending. What a sendoff from S. Luangwa. It made things exciting for you.

[Towlersonsafari]

Hi ho ho @@deano The Doctor Who Christmas special strictly and splendid food and beautiful lion pictures! And I was wondering when you would get to the leopards!

[pomkiwi]

@@deano

Enjoying this a great deal. It must have been great to have so long for the trip. Enjoying the slow pace of the trip and your description of it.The night photos are excellent and enjoyed the dog portrait shots.

[Alexander33]

Wow. It sounds like you had a wonderful visit to South Luangwa. It may not have been a cheetah, but who can quibble when it's a leopard instead? South Luangwa's reputation for leopards seems well-deserved indeed. And then wild dogs!

 

Am I the only one to chuckle that your guide and tracker were Prince and Charles? I keep feeling like you were being guided by the royal family. (Maybe you were, in a sense.)

 

Lower Zambezi looks amazing. I've heard of certain mishaps involving canoes and hippos, but I'm willing to risk it. Looking forward to more!

[deano]

@@Atravelynn - Those wild dogs were worth the wait and the chase and it was a great end to South Luangwa. And you don't need an excuse to eat biscuits at Christmas but if you do need one then spending time on Safaritalk is as good an excuse as any. Full sensory participation is in order and for my next report (next year's trip) I will definitely add video and we can ask Mr Game Warden if he can work on some type of "Safaritalk scratch and sniff App".

 

@Towlersonsafari; glad that my lion pictures made it onto your Christmas entertainment menu. Thank you.

 

@@pomkiwi - Thanks mate; the trip was only a couple of weeks but we definitely felt like we had been away for longer which is always the sign of a great trip. Glad you enjoyed the dog portraits (I have one hanging on my office wall and nobody understands what it is and how endangered they are).

 

@@Alexander33 - Wow indeed; leopards, wild dogs, lions and the beauty of South Lunagwa; a great combination and we will be back next year to see what it produces for us (been counting the days and full moons until the next trip). Prince and Charles were a great combination and took us all the way to check in at the airport and waited until we went through security which was nice for us 'commoners'.

 

Lower Zambezi was suggested to us by the travel company we use and they pretty much insisted that we stay there last and I can see why. South Luangwa was amazing but Lower Zambezi just had that extra something.

 

Working on the next part now.

 

Thanks again for all the comments and the likes and I am really enjoying writing this.

 

 

[deano]

Day 13 continued - Old Mondoro:

 

Our drink stop location; shame we didn't get to spend more time here.

 

 

Sebastian then drove up and down the place in search of the baboons and we were enlisted to help with spotting baboons and what direction they were looking. We ended up at the side of a beautiful little water course that had some tall grass and was a lovely open area in among the woodland.

 

 

 

Sebastian then heard something that we didn't and was pointing his ear in that general direction (just behind that fallen tree); whatever he had heard had come right from the middle of that tall grass. Then we heard it too - a sort of low growl and I really couldn't tell what it was. Then we heard it again and I thought it was lions eating and arguing with each other but why in that long grass.

 

We repositioned and still couldn't see what it was but the noise was there again. Sebastian then told us that we had stumbled onto a leopard. In fact from the noise he heard it was two leopards and they were very likely mating; we moved closer still and got the briefest of glimpses of a spotty coat - barely visible in the long grass;

 

 

We repositioned again and waited; we could see the grass moving but not much happening but I did see a nice horn bill watching and waiting along side us;

 

 

And then a better look;

 

 

And then, finally, one of the leopards revealed itself and I fired off a quick shot; we think this was the male judging from the size and shape of the head and Sebastian reckoned he was a youngster;

 

 

He then started moving through the grass;

 

 

 

And then he suddenly growled at the female and in one leap jumped across the water and disappeared up the bank on the other side. The female had been startled by this sudden aggression and had herself disappeared....but I had seen her out of the corner of my eye and she had run up a tree just in front of our position; So here I was watching a leopard in a tree and with camera in hand I rattled of tons of pictures including here eventual descent from the tree and off into the woodland in search of the male;

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

She took a good look at us at one point;

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That was my leopard in tree shot; not exactly the shot I had expected but if there is one thing I have learned from Africa it is always expect the unexpected! We tracked the leopards for a while but never saw them again nor did we hear any alarm calls; they just disappeared.

 

We did then have a short stop and then headed back to camp very satisfied with our morning drive; some warthog, kudu and an elephant and finally our bull elephant friend blocking the route back to camp; my guess is that he is responsible for the bathtub picnic that greeted us on our arrival!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We shared the photographs of the leopards with guests that had recently arrived and who had just missed them and then had a nice lunch. I was starting to feel tired in the middle of the day now and should have had a siesta but that lagoon off the back of the chalet we were in was just too hard to pass up and today I watched another elephant grazing on the water hyacinth with a croc and birds for company.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We met for afternoon tea and loaded our gear into the vehicle that we would be meeting later; next up for us was a fishing trip on the Zambezi. Neither of us are keen fisherman but we can't pass up an opportunity like this and I knew that there would be hippos, crocs and birds to take pictures of;

 

 

Neither of us caught any fish although my wife did have a number of bites so the fish (tigers) were there; that didn't stop us enjoying ourselves though and when we beached the boat onto a bank so that we could have a sundowner (a very large "J" for me of course) I thought that was probably one of the most beautiful places I had ever seen; the river, the scenery, the setting sun and the distant mountains - the very mountains I had been reading about in the Livingstone book. Just an awesome place.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After that magical afternoon on the river we then hopped back onto dry land and the waiting vehicle and headed off on a night drive; We saw civets, genets and honey badgers but all just beyond the reach of my lens. We also bumped into the lions who were on the prowl and I managed to capture at least one of them along with a white tailed mongoose. What a great day we had.

 

 

 

A little bit late back to camp and my wife wanted to head to the chalet while the rest of us had pre dinner drinks; Ryan escorted her and when they returned they both told us that they had been surprised by 5 buffs who were lurking in the grass alongside the pathway. Ryan's instructions were to head for the closest chalet if the buffs tried anything which made us all laugh...imagine complete strangers crashing into you room in the dark in the middle of the African bush! Dinner tonight was a spectacular braii enjoyed under the stars. Perfect.

 

 

More to follow tomorrow; have a good night/day everyone.

 

 

 

[marg]

@@deano...great shots of the leopard in the tree. The light is nearly perfect.

[deano]

@@marg - thank you; we got very lucky with the sighting but the shade and dappled sunlight actually helped a lot.

[deano]

Day 14 - Old Mondoro drive, walk, fish, drive:

 

I had another one of those memorable "sightings" last night - the type that you don't photograph or even share with anyone else but one that I will remember for a long, long time; I woke in the night needing to use the bathroom and as the chalets at Old Mondoro are wide open I glanced out at the lagoon which was lit by the moon; I thought I saw something large and black just off the corner of the balcony and when my eyes adjusted I could see that it was a buffalo - just sat there chewing the cud not 10 feet from where we were sleeping. I watched him for a while and contemplated getting my camera and tripod out but decided to just enjoy the sighting instead; magical.

 

First thing I did in the AM was check the spot. No buffalo but a very flat patch of grass. Have I mentioned that I love Africa!

 

Our last full day today so we were wanting to take advantage of the activities on offer and couldn't pass up the chance of a walk so we drove a way out from camp and started walking. I had seen a couple of places where the light was shining through the trees so rattled off some shots before we walked past a hippo in a small pond as we got deeper into the bush.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Suddenly Sebastian stopped and said ''there is a lion on the track straight ahead....and he's seen us..."; Not what any of us were expecting but sure enough there was a lion and by the time I had swapped lenses he was moving away from us but I did manage to get a picture through the thick bush along with some iPhone shots of us using termite mounds as cover;

 

 

 

 

We did see glimpses of more lions but they were moving away from us. We soon found tracks and Sebastian suggested that we try and locate them in the vehicle so we headed back in that direction and then drove back to find the lions.

 

 

Some waterbuck and an elephant along the way.

 

 

 

We found the full pride resting by a fallen tree and stayed with them for a while before heading back to camp.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After a nice lunch I watched the lagoon animals going about their business; I was sure I heard baboons alarming in the distance which had me on high alert for a while. I dozed off and was woken by the sound of bits of tree hitting the roof of the chalet; was it an elephant again? No, this time it was baboons feeding in the tree above us and they soon cleared off once I opened the door. I could watch them all day though.

 

 

 

 

 

It was soon time for afternoon tea and we gathered for the last time on the banks of the Zambezi where this time we enjoyed home made chocolate eclairs. Amazing. We then headed off onto the river where we (well my wife actually) caught three good tiger fish; I took plenty of pictures including one of a vary large glass of Jamesons that was poured for me - no wonder I didn't catch anything!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We hopped off the boat and onto a waiting vehicle and set off into the night to see what we might find.

 

 

A relatively quite night drive with genets, civets and porcupines all paying us a visit but just far enough away for a picture. It didn't matter - it had been a great last day at Old Mondoro and we turned for camp one last time. And wouldn't you know it a male leopard came strolling into view right along the track we were driving on. He was clearly patrolling and marking his territory and we enjoyed watching him before leaving him to his important business. A fantastic end to the day for us.

 

 

 

 

 

One final game drive tomorrow morning before we leave this amazing place.

 

 

[Marks]

@@Marks - thank you. I had read your August trip report while I was still a ''lurker'' and enjoyed that. Your variety in photographing places and animals reminds me very much of my own preferences and I particularly like the panoramas...iphone by any chance?

 

Thanks - good eye for the iphone shots!

 

Awesome owl shot on the last page. The civet is also especially captivating.

The dogs were indeed a great sighting, and your nocturnal photos are very good, as well.

 

The leopard climbing around in the vines makes for a great scene, too.

[ZaminOz]

@@deano

Fantastic trip report. I enjoyed all of your South Luangwa and Lower Zambezi posts and photos very much.

Memories came flooding back.