LOWER ZAMBEZI VALLEY

DAY 6 OF OUR AFRICAN ADVENTURE

5.30am is our wake up call for our game drive – which is of course high on the priority list if you are in this area. If you want good game viewing then The Lower Zambezi National Park has a greater density – check when you book your accommodation that you are in or very near the park. Only to the east of the Chongwe River are you in the National Park and this area offers a vast amount of the bigger game – mainly elephants and buffalo regularly crossing the river. We saw lion and leopard, but not the spotted hyena. Lots of impala, zebra, kudu and waterbuck. There are no rhino here, nor giraffe and cheetah. Lots of crocodiles and hippos can be seen in or near the water and if you’re a birder you’ll be very happy. But if, like me, elephants are your favourite animals and you could sit and watch them all day long in every sort of scenario imaginable, then this is the place for you.

Breakfast overlooking the river and the sunrise:-

Being on safari is not about rest and relaxation. More about action, exertion, motion and a healthy dose of being scared shitless or vaguely horrified, on an hourly basis.

First stop. A recent lion kill. Buffalo not looking so good:-

Our guide Victor appeared to know everything about everything and was ultimately dubbed “The Lion King” for his ability to track down a lone female in what appeared to be miles and miles of random bush. He knew about every bird, every animal and every ecosystem. Fascinating to listen to and incredibly impressive:-

He tells us about his children. Where he lives. He takes video footage of the animals to show his kids on his return. He wants to give them a good education and thinks having six children these days is quite large. He remembers the time when everyone had 12 children because the mortality rates were so high. Infant mortality is still nearly 9% in Zambia but the average life expectancy has risen recently to 46. That doesn’t seem very old when we are all talking about living to be well over twice that age.

Classic comment in the bar, later that evening that my brother overheard from an American woman asking some members of staff about their families. “If you want to have kids” she said, “then my advice is to get the best obstetrician you can – it makes all the difference”.

Within the park there are large tracks of seemingly dry, dusty, red empty land, but as we drove further into the escarpment the scenery changed, more in the flood planes so much more green – the area contains the latest albida forest in the world – the winterthorn trees – which explains the prevalence of elephants.

In the 1940’s due to several outbreaks of sleeping sickness, several villages were evacuated from this area – amazing to think that these shapes in the rocks were created by human habitation:-

Sadly, whilst Zambia is committed to the conservation and sustainable use of the valley’s wildlife and natural resources, hunting is still permitted because it brings in so much money. Many Americans are still prepared to pay a hefty bounty for a lion’s head – “the unspeakable, in pursuit of the stuffable”.

We get back for lunch and more elephant visits to our tents. Then my brothers go fishing for Tiger Fish and I go on another safari. I feel like the Queen (except that I am wearing my hat inside out, I discover later). I am the only one on our jeep. We find a lioness and her two playful year old cubs that we watch for ages – light very bad for taking photos though and I didn’t really get any good ones:-

We stop for me to have a lone gin and tonic for one, which makes me feel a little bit ridiculous and then, on the way back, in the dark, we search for leopard. Sadly although we found his tracks, we didn’t find him:-