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My first TR - a return to South Luangwa and Lower Zambezi National Parks


Tdgraves

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Afternoon drive

 

During our rest, we were treated to a display by two african harrier hawks (not sure if it was fighting or mating behaviour). A herd of elephants returning from a drink in the river spotted some of the nearby pride and two of them went trumpeting after them - would've been a bit of a shock if we were actually asleep!

 

Next stop were the sub-adult males

 

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We then caught up with the cubs again :D

 

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Because we were on our own, we were able to stay as long as we wanted and filled our memory cards according!

 

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An elusive LBR in flight shot...

 

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Me under a huge Baobab, after having a bush break and then back to camp

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You did well on the LBR for the picture really shows off all his shades of blue. That is a huge Baobab. You look so tiny in front of it.

 

Loved the pictures of the lion cubs. They make me wish I could just scratch their tummies... for a half a second until I think of Mother lion coming after me! Enjoying your trip report immensely!

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You did well on the LBR for the picture really shows off all his shades of blue. That is a huge Baobab. You look so tiny in front of it.[/size]

 

Loved the pictures of the lion cubs. They make me wish I could just scratch their tummies... for a half a second until I think of Mother lion coming after me! Enjoying your trip report immensely![/size]

I always think that - i'm sure they'd enjoy it (mum wouldn't though).....

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Very nice trip report and beautiful photos! Looks like Lower Zambezi NP makes a great combination with SLNP. Thank you for sharing!

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@FlyTraveller it definitely does. It is really nice to be near the water after the dry luangwa valley. It is also good to be able to do something other than a drive or a walk. I would recommend however to stay within the park, which gives more flexibilty with the afternoon activities. At chiawa and sausage tree it was possible to do a canoe or boat safari and then connect to a night drive. In chongwe it was not worth doing a night drive and consequently we did not see leopard on this trip, but saw several in 2009 :(

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Terrific!

 

Love all the pics, I can't choose a fav, though I am a bit of a cat and ellie gal.

 

Thanks for continuing on!

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Those cubs look darn cute, even when they are snarling!

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Day 12 (our last) morning drive

 

We drove back into the park and the large pride hadn't moved very far. Again they were split into subgroups: subadults, mating pair, lioness with cubs...

 

The subadults..

 

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unfortunately the cubs weren't in the best position

 

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But the mating pair came out and put on a show for us....

 

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Another vehicle arrived while we were sat watching this pair (hoping that they would mate). They drove straight up to us, stayed a while and then left, completely missing (or ignoring) the fact that the subadults were just 20 metres away in the opposite direction...

 

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And out of the other side of the vehicle - this vulture was creeping up to eat the lion poo

 

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These eles were a bit grumpy, not sure why

 

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This snake eagle caused some consternation as Sam wasn't sure what it was. We were having lunch and he brought the head guide to us in order to identify it - that's service for you!!

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@@Tdgraves

Excellent lion pictures - and I really like the vultures!

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  • 2 weeks later...

Day 12 Final evening drive (Chongwe)

 

Finally, our final activity :(

 

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This was on our patio

 

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The End!

 

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What a great place to end a safari Lower Zambezi looks again. Just looks so pretty and relaxing, but full of a wonderful variety of wildlife. And for some reason the lions are particularly attractive -love this page for that alone - and there is lots more. Some lovely shades of colour and a couple of cracking ele pics - love the "behind the ears" one. Nice you got your own vehicle by misunderstanding.

 

Thanks. Will now go back and check if I missed anything else.

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the lion pix-fest was fabulous.i love it. love the cubs especially. your pictures are so good.

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@@Tdgraves

Excellent report - very enjoyable all the way through

It is good seeing the contrast of dry Zambia and wet Zambesi

Lots of lions on this trip!

Thank you

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