Labor Day, part 1

It's Labor Day back home. I can't think of a better way to spend a holiday than by going on a safari all day!

Itinerary

5:00AM - Wake up to the sound of hippos munching on grass outside my door. Think it's the wake-up call. go back to sleep.

5:30 - Guard knocks on my door, "wake up, madame!"

5:45  - Breakfast. Just enough time in between to put in my contacts and suit up in layers. These mornings are chilly, but by noon it will be 80 outside.

6:15 - Morning Drive

9:00 - Midmorning coffee break

10:30 - Brunch

Noon-3:30 - Pool Time

3:30 - Tea Time (not to be confused with "tee time")

4-6 - Evening drive

6:15 - "Sundowners," on Chichili (Salt Springs), site of many hotsprings

6:45-8  - Night drive

8-9 - Dinner

September 3 was a perfect day. There was excitement, relaxation, great people, and perfect weather. The whole time we were in Zambia it was in the 50s and 60s at night, and sunny, dry and 85-90 during the day. 

After a breakfast of fresh fruit, granola and freshly baked bread (which the Aussie keeps calling a "light breakfast"), we got back into the rover for another drive! We went a different route this time, using the main bridge to the park instead of using our hand-drawn ferry. It was a beautiful, elephant-filled morning. 

We also saw a rare--and dangerous--sight: a lone male buffalo. Usually they are only alone when they've been booted from their herd. Needless to say, they're pretty angry (and extremely aggressive) in that state. 

Andrew, our guide, also gave Vicky, Dan, Amanda, Jason, MaryAnne and I a very important lesson on puku warning calls, which came in handy on the night drive.

We saw storks eating fish in the river, saw our first buchbuck, and were treated to a small group of Zebras.

Family of giraffes

      On our way back we saw a family of giraffes. I don't think I'll ever get over how beautiful they are. 

Vervet monkey leaping up into a tree

Mama is helping baby out of the mud

Hot-spring fed stone tub, overlooking the plain.

Lunch was great. They served eggplant chips, baked squash and more hearty bread. Then we all lounged by the pool and natural hot tub...which was glorious.

I shot an email to my family, and one to Drew. My family was up at Wabedo Lake with the whole Lempke side for the long weekend - I missed them dearly! It was great to be able to connect. A quick little lizard stared at me from the wall while I typed...

No, it's fine. Come swim with us....

I came back to the pool, and while we were lounging a couple critters decided to hang out with us. ...two huge lizards, to be exact. I was glad they weren't anything dangerous. They were actually pretty cool. But HUGE.

I got dressed before tea time and, lo and behold, I had a new friend in my chalet! This day was FULL of critters. Below, you can see the giant spider that was having a grand old time on my curtain. He didn't seem to mind that I was there. ... I took the photo of him next to my water bottle for a size reference.

During tea time I had a lengthy conversation with Andrew and Mario about which spiders, snakes and lizards were and weren't poisonous. They both reassured me that the one above 

1) couldn't jump

2) didn't WANT to bite me

3) wasn't poisonous (I told them I'd believe them when I woke up the next day!)

Yes, but would it be gone when I got back? I'd have to find out. They also said that most of the snakes around here aren't poisonous. And you really never see snakes anyway unless you're walking in the grass (duly noted). 

Poolside lounge chairs, the view of the riverbed

 Now that I've given you the creepy-crawlies, it's time for me to go to bed. Tomorrow I'll write about the most exciting evening and night drive ever.

For now, I'll just keep wishing I was back in Africa :]

September 2, continued

Sorry for the delay!

I've been working hard to prepare the report and recommendations from my experience in Zambia. But now that the second draft is in review, I can start posting again. I still can't believe how long I've been back. It feels just like yesterday that I was in the middle of all this.

...
After church we had a quick lunch at the guest house and departed for the airport...time to go to Mfuwe!
Our little puddle jumper made it for the 1-hour flight. My mom would have hated that tiny plane. Mom--you and Dad should go to a different national park when you go to Zambia :]
We had an hour drive, and then we arrived at the glorious Kafunta River Lodge.

Mario and Alison, the German and South African managers, greeted us by name with cool damp towels. While this lodge is pretty exclusive (a maximum of 20 guests can stay at one time), we got the star treatment. There were only 5 of us and one kooky Australian woman there for the whole stay.

When we first walked out onto the deck, our breath was completely taken away. Just down the bank past the deck and the chalets, antelope, warthogs, birds, crocodiles and monkeys were grazing and playing and drinking. We freshened up and got dressed for our first safari. First, we were treated to a lunch of delicious fish, quiche, and freshly baked bread.

The view from the pool. Impala and warthogs are grazing on the plain.

 This lodge isn't right on the river like most of the others. It's set back where the riverbank reaches at the peak of the rainy season. Yet, this place pumps in water from a natural well to create a march and a stream. Since there isn't any water around on the plains this time of year, all of the animals congregate at the footsteps of this beautiful lodge.

Puku, impala and warthogs grazed just a half mile from our table as we ate. And the silence, save a few bird calls, was breathtaking. Binoculars gave us a view of a crocodile who was barely visible in the murky swamp. We could also see a Red Ox Picker on an impala's back, crowned cranes, and countless other chattering birds.

From each of our chalets, which had private bathrooms, a tented bed (left), an indoor seating area and a furnished balcony, we could see the same view. 

The view from my balcony

We were truly in the African wilderness. Welcome to South Luangwa National Park!

To illustrate just how "wild" it was, Mario have us a warning talk when we first arrived at the lodge. "Do not go to or from your chalets after dark. Clap and a watchman will come and get you. If there is an emergency, there is a whistle on the inside of the door to your chalet." He followed this up by saying, "You don't want to startle a hippo at night. And if the hippos can walk up here, you can imagine that everything else can, too."

After getting our warnings and seeing the first animals from "afar," it was time to go on a real live safari! I couldn't even contain my excitement. During the day drive, which lasted from about 4PM-6PM, we saw...

• elephants (a mother and her first- and second-born)
• male thornycroft giraffe
• puku (a small antelope, solid brown)
• impala (more slender antelope with black and white striped markings)
• striped mongoose
• crowned cranes
• storks
• a fish eagle
• two huge crocodiles
• pods of hippos in the water
• a large pack of baboons

Warthog on her front knees so she could reach the short grass more easily with her snout

And we were so close to the animals--closer than in any zoo I've been to. And they were in their natural habitat, which made it that much more amazing. 

The mother elephant was calm with us nearby

The thornycroft giraffe was more shy than I expected him to be

Crossing over the river was an adventure in itself. They call it a "ferry," but I'm not sure what we'd call it. Our guide had us all exit the big truck as he drove it carefully onto a metal raft. We all boarded again, and two men with wooden sticks with grooves in them pulled us across the river using a cable and the notches in the sticks. These same two men (below) pulled us back and forth across the river each time we went. 

The river ferry

The night drive was so exciting. After a short stop for a couple Mosi, we turned the spotlight on to see nocturnal animals. 

A giraffe walked past us in the sunset

That part of the safari was my favorite. Getting up early and having blankets and coffee was great, but being on the night drive and swiveling our heads back in forth to see glimmering eyes in the jungle was a complete thrill. On the night drive, we saw:

• puku and impala, getting ready to sleep
• hippos eating out in the field
• elephants
• a baby elephant and a hippo eating side by side
• 2 mongoose
• a civet
• a lone hyena, scavenging (if he finds something big, he starts howling. Something small he'll eat on his own)

Andrew, our guide, was a total riot. He had great tales of close encounters, hilarious jokes, and loved to talk about his family.

He was almost killed TWICE on the same walking safari. First he had to stand down two male lions. Then, he had to avoid a herd of charging buffalo. I wasn't too upset that we didn't have that much excitement. 

"To beat lions," Andrew said, "stare them right straight in the eye. Don't run, and don't shoot. They're faster than you, and you would probably miss." In his case, he stared them down and they turned and walked away grumbling.

He also told us this: 

If a hippo charges you, either jump over a fallen tree (hippos can't step over it), or simply side-step right before he's on you (they run with their mouths open, so he'll run right past!).

At 8PM we returned for red wine and a four course dinner on the deck overlook under a star-filled sky. All was quiet and peaceful except for the occasional grunting and snorting of hippos over by our chalets. 

It was a full day, and the next would start bright and early. I got under my mosquito net to get some rest.

I felt like a true adventurer. It was only day 3, and already the experience of a lifetime!