Lower Zambezi and South Luangwa Sept 2017: A Different View

[janzin]

6 hours ago, Towlersonsafari said:

What wonderful photos @janzin and our time at the Lower Zambezi was also memorable for the leopards, feisty elephants and absolutely no desire whatsoever to get in a canoe! why do you think the lions wanted to disguise their scent?

 

@Towlersonsafari I know, I really don't understand why several folks on this board have said to "skip Lower Zambezi" and that the wildlife was not as good there. We found it quite the contrary. And the habitat is gorgeous!

 

About the lions...I honestly can't say why, at that moment. I just know what I've read about it and what our guide told us. Perhaps they were trying to avoid meeting up with any other male lions...just a guess.

[janzin]

5 hours ago, vikramghanekar said:

@janzin Fabulous TR. Loving it! The Lion images (when the males is running/roaring) are stunning! Loved the leopard on termite mound as well. Curious about your experience in SNLP especially Bilimungwe. I had fabulous time there back in September 2014 with Manda Chisanga. I had my best leopard sighting with him (a pair of leopards, 1 vehicle, 1 guest: Me) I wonder what went wrong! 

 

@vikramghanekar Thanks Vikram! You'll hear very soon about Bilimungwe, but I'll say right now that we also had Manda as our guide, and he was wonderful...our issues were not at all with him! And it may just have ended up being bad luck.

Edited January 29, 2018 by janzin

[janzin]

Alas, it was now our last morning at Amanzi. Our flight to South Luangwa was at 9:00 a.m. from Jeki, so we had to leave quite quickly after breakfast, with not much time to dawdle enroute.

 

However, Lower Zambezi was to give us one last gift.

 

Not 10 minutes out of camp we ran into this!

 

 

Whoa....LZNP was delivering lots of leopards!

 

Frustratingly, we really couldn't linger and risk missing our flight (why does this always happen? Same thing happened in Botswana with wild dogs!) So we said goodbye to this leopard, fully confident we'd have plenty more leopards in SLNP.

 

 

We said goodbye to the many elephants and the gorgeous trees...

 

 

And our very last sighting, right outside the Jeki airstrip, gave us these cute baby birds....

 

 

Well okay, maybe they kinda look like chickens

 

 

So goodbye Lower Zambezi, we hope to be back! With so many great experiences already, we had high expectations for South Luangwa!

 

 

[janzin]

Since we were to arrive around 10:30 a.m. in Mfuwe, the plan was that we would be picked up at the airport, taken to Bushcamps' Mfuwe Lodge for lunch, and then on a game drive to Bilimungwe--about two hours south of Mfuwe Lodge.

 

 

 

The ride from the airport to the lodge for lunch was longer than I expected, and we were transported in a closed minibus for navigation on the tarred roads from the airport.  Although at first I wasn't thrilled about the minibus, after realizing just how far we had to travel on the tarred road, it made sense, although I would have liked to grab some photos, but it was impossible from the minibus.

 

In due time we arrived at Mfuwe Lodge and had a lovely, relaxing lunch. We were greeted by the manager of Mfuwe who assured us that after lunch, we were to be transferred to an open Land Cruiser for our "game drive" to Bilimungwe. However, we found that this was really not much of a game drive; the driver went as fast as the roads would allow, and being in the heat of mid-day there really wasn't much to see anyway. The driver didn't really seem to be a naturalist guide but just a driver, which was disappointing. The terrain looked much drier than Lower Zambezi, and I didn't take any photos on the entire drive--I don't think we stopped at all.

 

After two or so hours of this hot, dusty non-stop drive, we arrived at Bilimungwe in time for a short rest before going out for our afternoon drive. The camp is set back from the river, facing inland. The river in this area was almost completely dry, at this time of year.

 

We were introduced to Harry the resident Hippo, who lives in the waterhole that is in front of the majority of the cabins. The lounge and dining area also face this waterhole.

 

 

I actually found this tableau kind of depressing. I felt badly for Harry the lone hippo (even though he is perfectly free to come and go, and we were told that at times he did.) But this algae covered mud-pond really wasn't appealing. I was relieved when we were led to our cabin, which was the furthest out and instead of facing that rather dreary pond, faced a little marsh which was much nicer...and attracted a variety of wild life during our time there. (There was plenty of wildlife that came to Harry's pond as well.) Harry's pond did bring one excellent sighting, which I'll detail later.

 

Harry

 

This was the view from our cabin...nicer, I think. Over our time there we had warthog, buffalo, elephant, and a variety of water birds in this marshy spot. Unfortunately, during lunch hours the light was all wrong so it was not really good for photography.

 

 

And our cabin and our little marsh as seen from the other side (can't see this angle from camp, but from road behind.)

 

 

I don't seem to have any interior shots of the cabin but it was spacious and comfortable, with a huge shower area (both indoors and outdoors...but I am not really keen on outdoor showers in the bush--too many flying critters! so was happy to use the indoor one.)

 

As I hinted earlier in my report, we weren't wowed by SLNP and while we had issues at both Bilimungwe and Tena Tena, Bili was the more disappointing of the two overall. I may as well get the main issues out of the way up front. Someone earlier asked me to be honest...and I'll give my honest impressions.

 

I was aware going in that Bili will put six people in a vehicle if they aren't full...if they are full (8 people) they will need to use two vehicles. I had hoped that in high season, they would be full. Well, just our luck, there were just six people in camp, so we were all crammed into one vehicle. There were three rows, but even so, it was cramped; and six people just multiplies the time it takes to get moving (see below...)

 

We were also expecting that in a place like SLNP we would find mostly experienced safari-goers. Now I have no issue with first-timers...we were first-timers not that long ago! But the couples in our vehicle seemed oddly disinterested in being on safari. There was a mother with her 30-something daughter from Texas, and another older couple who were from Virginia. So here's the kicker---genuinely curious, I asked them, so why did you pick Zambia for your first safari? It turned out that both of these couples had won the safari in a raffle through a hunting club! (They didn't know each other and but I guess it was no coincidence that they were both there at the same time; Bushcamp probably specified the week of the prize.) Anyway, they didn't have a clue about safari and the monther/daughter especially didn't seem particularly keen to be there. Don't get me wrong...they actually were all very nice people, quiet, not obnoxious or annoying in any way. But it just was a really odd group.

 

Now all this is just luck of the draw and can happen on any safari, if you don't book a private vehicle. But I do think that the Bushcamp company policy of 6 in a vehicle is a major drawback.

 

Our guide was the well-known and excellent Manda, one of the best walking guides in Zambia.  And he was wonderful: no complaints at all about him! But none of these other people had any interest in walking--in fact they were aghast at the thought. We had really wanted to do some walking in SNLP--one of the reasons we decided to go there--and in the end, we did get one walk in (more on that later.) But only one, as it took a bit of arranging to bring in another guide so that we could walk with Manda while the others could do a game drive. So this is another drawback...walking needs to be pre-arranged and it may or may not even be possible, unless everyone wants to do it.

 

So all these were sort of minor annoyances, but it added up. But by far, the most problematic issue was the safari timings here. I was really dismayed to find out that wake-up was at 5:45, with a quite leisurely breakfast by the river at 6:15! That meant (especially with this group) that we weren't on the road until 6:45 or close to 7.  The sun is up fully at 6, with dawn around 5:40....that meant that we totally missed the best light of the morning--and the best time for animal activity--sitting around having breakfast.  And it gets hot very quickly, so we would come back to camp by 11...with lunch not until 1 o'clock.  I did express my frustration to the manager, but it was sort of met with a shrug and well, that's just how we do it, most people are fine with it.

 

And to add insult to injury, we had terrible issues with tse-tse flies in this area. We were both bitten extensively, making us quite miserable; and by the time we got to Tena Tena my ankle was twice normal size. Again, this is not the fault of the camp of course! But it certainly colored our perceptions. We've had flies before but nothing like this. Everywhere we went in this area, there were the hanging black cloths to deter the files, but they didn't seem to be working. The flies were not nearly as prevalent in the Nsefu section, except on one day when we went to the far northern end (more on that later.)

 

So enough complaining, let's see what we saw....

 

Edited January 30, 2018 by janzin

[Geoff]

Yep, I knew of the 6 people one vehicle policy there but Wow!!, were you aware of the wake-up call & breakfast timing before you booked?

 

I won't mention what i think of the walking fiasco.

[pault]

  

My trip report summary.... so far. 

 

The Lower Zambezi part was great. Super-nice pictures, fabulous light. All the freedom in the world and happy,, happy, happy. 

Now you're trapped like sulky teens forced to accompany their parents to a yoga retreat. Some of this is clearly just awful, awful luck but who on earth needs to fill rooms with prize winners in August (unless that is known peak tsetse frenzy time there?). I have to say I wouldn't be that interested in safari either if it seemed to involve being stung relentlessly by giant flies, and even the experienced safari "lovers" look miserable.  FWIW, in terms of influencing decisions, I knew or expected most of this, but the brutality of forcing you to order eggs and then sit crying into a bowl of muesli as you wait for them, while the best light of the day drains into the sand........ unspeakable cruelty.

 

Seriously though (when am I ever not serious?) I look forward to hearing the rest and especially to seeing all the beautiful pictures. I'm betting it is not going to look at all bad when you have finished with it.

 

 

 

 

[Towlersonsafari]

i must admit we have loved the south luangwa as much as lower Zambezi but I fully sympathise-to waste time over breakfast just seems perverse! and very unusual. and then the battle between being polite and yet wanting to go walking puts one in a very difficult position-if walking is advertised then they surely have to make proper provision for it. ( Our worst experience was at a camp now washed away where it has been the only time ever that the camp manager told my wife that she should not expect veggie food in the bush-!-our experience is that the veggie food is wonderful and amazing) We do try to ask our tour operators to mention several times up front we want to walk but it does not always work even with advanced warning ! and that hippo does look very forlorn @janzin

[optig]

@Janzin I'm so sorry that you had such a bad experience with Bilingumwe,especially since I'll be going there as well as to Kuyenda and Bilingumwe later this 

year. I'll certainly be prepared for the tse tse flies which have never been an issue in my 3 earlier trips to South Luangwa.

[Ratdcoops]

Your photos are unbelievable, I just called my family over to look at them they were equally impressed . I won't try to pick a favourite as I can't seperate them.

I struggle to understand not wanting to make the absolute maximum out of every minute on safari. I suppose we are all different, at least they were nice. I spent my first safari with one person I still have nightmares about, fortunately I didn't have to share a vehicle with him, around camp and in an adjacent vehicle was enough.

Cant wait to read and view more.

[janzin]

5 hours ago, Geoff said:

Yep, I knew of the 6 people one vehicle policy there but Wow!!, were you aware of the wake-up call & breakfast timing before you booked?

 

I won't mention what i think of the walking fiasco.

 

I wasn't aware that they would be this late. When I got home, I emailed Bushcamps directly to complain, and they basically told me that is their standard timings, but if I booked a private vehicle I could have set my own timings. Well...yeah...!  To be honest, the timings at Tena Tena were only slightly better. I think I had been spoiled by the East Africa scenario of leaving camp at dawn after coffee and biscuits and then having one's breakfast out in the bush.

 

Also, I don't want to make it seem like the walking was that big an issue.  They did arrange it but it just had to be requested the night before so they could get a guide. I was just surprised that a camp that was advertised as a walking-focused camp would attract folks who really had no interest in walking (but we learned why in this case), but it also seems that SLNP may be changing in that regard. No one wanted to walk at Tena Tena either, and we ended up doing no walks there at all (for a variety of reasons) which I'll get to later in the report.

[janzin]

5 hours ago, pault said:

  

My trip report summary.... so far. 

 

The Lower Zambezi part was great. Super-nice pictures, fabulous light. All the freedom in the world and happy,, happy, happy. 

Now you're trapped like sulky teens forced to accompany their parents to a yoga retreat. Some of this is clearly just awful, awful luck but who on earth needs to fill rooms with prize winners in August (unless that is known peak tsetse frenzy time there?). I have to say I wouldn't be that interested in safari either if it seemed to involve being stung relentlessly by giant flies, and even the experienced safari "lovers" look miserable.  FWIW, in terms of influencing decisions, I knew or expected most of this, but the brutality of forcing you to order eggs and then sit crying into a bowl of muesli as you wait for them, while the best light of the day drains into the sand........ unspeakable cruelty.

 

Seriously though (when am I ever not serious?) I look forward to hearing the rest and especially to seeing all the beautiful pictures. I'm betting it is not going to look at all bad when you have finished with it.

 

 

 

 

 

@pault haha thanks for the laugh. As a fellow photographer I think you know that it really was cruel to miss that beautiful light. We got the tail end of it but within an hour it was gone and getting very hot.

 

What killed me even more was that, at least the first morning, the prize-winners didn't bring their gear to breakfast (a rookie mistake) so after their leisurely breakfast they had to go back and collect all their gear. You can imagine my pain

 

Again, I want to stress that these were nice people and I'd rather have quiet and disinterested over loud and boorish, any day! But I learned one lesson, and that is that I really need to  get a private vehicle from now on.

 

You will see a few nice photos but actually I took relatively few in this area....

[janzin]

4 hours ago, optig said:

@Janzin I'm so sorry that you had such a bad experience with Bilingumwe,especially since I'll be going there as well as to Kuyenda and Bilingumwe later this 

year. I'll certainly be prepared for the tse tse flies which have never been an issue in my 3 earlier trips to South Luangwa.

 

@optig I'm sure you will have better luck than we did. And many others love Bili so I can only presume that we were just very unlucky, and maybe it was just a bad fly season. But I'm not sure about the timings, if that is their norm then I hope you have a private vehicle

 

[janzin]

As mentioned, I didn't shoot that much here as...well...we didn't have a lot to shoot. There were long stretches of seeing not much. And the bush is thick, and scrubby. The best areas were along the rivers and channels which had some water.

 

Our first afternoon drive started out promising enough.

 

We were thrilled to see our first Puku. I soon fell in love with these beautiful antelope and they are now my favorite. I don't really know why, perhaps it is their shaggy, but beautiful russet coat.

 

 

And there was the occasional elephant, although nothing like the numbers we saw in Lower Zambezi.

 

 

Soon we came upon what was to be one of the few cat sightings here...four lions resting by the river. So at this point, things were looking good! (click for full resolution photo.)

 

 

They didn't do much, and were mostly facing away, but still, at least we knew there were lions here

 

 

 

 

 

I could have stayed longer with the lions, but it seemed our vehicle-mates were not as patient. Again, they didn't seem very excited at seeing their first lions (!!!) so we moved on when the lions seemed to be going back to sleep.

 

Unfortunately, that was pretty much it for lions...but we didn't know it at the time. Anyway, I suppose we saw some other game but I have no other photos from this drive until our sunset stop. Sunset was lovely!

 

 

After sundowners, we continued on with a night drive. Of course, I was hoping for leopard. Manda tried hard of course, but no leopard was to be seen. No matter, we saw some other night critters but I did not get any decent photos. It was much harder to shoot, of course, with six people in the vehicle, and the spotlight used was not as strong as the one we'd had in Lower Zambezi.

 

We did see a hyena...

 

 

and a Square-tailed, or Mozambique, nightjar. He nicely posed so that we could see the white-edging that goes completely up the side of the tail; this differentiates it from the other species of nightjar that are there.

 

 

And a Cape Hare...

 

 

And another life mammal! A poor photo, complete with can, but a record shot of a Sharpe's Grysbok...a very difficult to see antelope!

 

 

So all in all we were not disappointed in the first game drive, and looked forward to our next morning.

[Kitsafari]

So sorry to hear of the awful starting times and their inflexibility to change it. We started out at 6am at the shenton safari camps . At Mchenja (norman  carr camp), the morning drive was supposed to be 6.30am but when we said we would lose the morning light, they asked our vehicle mates if we switch to 6am and eventually everyone sytarted at 6am. 

 

And we were always 4 to a vehicle in all the camps (except Tafika as we were the only ones there). So perhaps the camp operator was a main contributor to your poor experience in SKNP, sad to say. Ive also always thought the game density was much higher up north in the main park but that is just my impression. Nsefu was not as dense  in comparison to the main park when we were there. But im jumping ahead and shall wait to hear more.

[vikramghanekar]

oh oh. That's really bad luck. That's one big disadvantage of Bushcamp Company's camps. Since they have only 1 guide per camp, the safaris have to be by consensus. I lucked out on the 3 nights I stayed there. On first couple of days, there were 4 other people, all keen walkers. On the last day, I was the only guest in the camp. Bottomline, we walked everyday. Same for Kuyenda. We always walked and drove (Start with a drive, park and walk for a couple of hours at least, then back to camp as a game drive. Similarly, in the afternoon, starting with a drive, park, then walk followed by a night drive.) 

Kuyenda had 2 guides Phil Berry (who was 72 and couldn't do much walking due to Parkinson's) and Suzyo. Suzyo would take us walking while Phil and Babette would set up sundowners at pre decided spots where we would meet them! It was perfect.

 As for the late starts, I think the logic must have been a something in your tummy and some decent light before you start walking.

I remember starting walks much earlier, but then everyone in the camp was enthusiastic about getting out at first light. No lingering over breakfasts. 

However, after experiencing places like Mana Pools, I find walks in SLNP much more tame and unexciting. Zim style is actively tracking dangerous animals while SNLP is more about smaller things in the bush. I may be wrong of course as other camps like Tafika may be much more serious about walking. 

[janzin]

2 hours ago, vikramghanekar said:

As for the late starts, I think the logic must have been a something in your tummy and some decent light before you start walking.

 

Yes but one would think for walking one would want to start early, before the heat sets in. So really, I don't know what they were thinking  

 

 

[bettel]

What a beautiful trip report and amazing photos!

 

I feel your pain about car-mates and late starts. I had this for one day on my first safari and since then there is no safari for me without private vehicle (I want to do what I want to do and when I want it  ). 

[janzin]

It was at dinner that first night that we were informed about the start times. So of course, the next morning we were the very first out to the breakfast spot, which was by the river.

 

 

A lovely spot, for sure. Notice two things: Its already quite light, and there's no one else there. Even the staff wasn't there   (BTW I took this with my Nikon 1 and I never fixed the time on this camera, so disregard that the EXIF says 8:35.)

 

And then we waited for others to show up (and we had the furthest cabin from the river.) When eventually they showed up...without their gear as I mentioned...I knew this was going to be a problem! But of course, we were excited to (eventually) get on the road and see what we might find. We still had high hopes

 

I had mentioned to Manda that we were birders, but we didn't want to impose that on these other folks, so we didn't have to stop unless it was something special. I did add that we'd hope to see some Carmine Bee-eaters, and he said there was a colony which we would head to. Great!

 

I also inquired as to whether there might be dogs around. He said that yes, there was a pack and we would certainly look for them, but they had just moved the den and he was not really sure what area they were at the moment.

 

So heading out in search of whatever, we started down by a channel which held some lovely Puku. Luckily there was still nice light. I just love these guys!

 

 

 

There were some elephants, but the light was already getting quite harsh.

 

 

Manda stopped to look for tracks in the riverbed.

 

 

Aha! Lions were around...this track was very fresh.

 

 

We saw our first Giraffe of the trip. There are no Giraffe in Lower Zambezi! He was a huge male, but he seemed a bit out of sorts.

 

 

On closer inspection, we saw that there was a problem with his eye, apparently infected.

 

 

I might add that by this time the tse-tse flies were already getting annoying! Although I wasn't bitten to death--yet.

 

Anyway, still looking for the owner of that track, we continued on.

 

There were some spots where we crossed the low channel. Pied Kingfishers were diving...these were the first Kingfishers we'd seen this trip.

 

 

And we stopped for this Swallow-tailed Bee-eater.

 

 

Some more elephants crossing the river.

 

 

Finally, we found the likely owner of the track. But he was in the bush, it was very hot, there was no good angle, and so we left him fairly quickly. You can't really go off road in this area and the brush is quite thick, so even if you could, it would be difficult.

 

 

At this point, it was 10:37...and time to head back to camp!! As I mentioned, the morning drive returned by 11 a.m. or so. Granted, it was very hot by then, but not unbearable. Although honestly we were not seeing a lot, I hated to go back so early.  We'd not made it to the Bee-eater colony, but Manda said we definitely would get there in the afternoon.

 

So back to camp we went.

 

 

Edited January 30, 2018 by janzin

[janzin]

9 minutes ago, bettel said:

What a beautiful trip report and amazing photos!

 

I feel your pain about car-mates and late starts. I had this for one day on my first safari and since then there is no safari for me without private vehicle (I want to do what I want to do and when I want it  ). 

 

 

Yes I've learned my lesson. Private vehicles from now on!

[anocn4]

@janzin I have always loved your photos and the signature black framing. I am glad you had a great time in LZ.

 

Like you, I have heard many great things about SLNP and the walking safaris there. I appreciate your report shedding a different light about SLNP, which is not always rosy. It reminds people, including myself, who plans a trip to SLNP in particular, and to other safari camps in general, to always check the game viewing timings there, the camp culture, etc. I know it's easier said than done and one can only do their best given available info. That's why trip reports like yours are so valuable. I don't think I'll book with any BC properties.

 

I think I could live with 6 people per vehicle as long as we share the same goal. The biggest issue for me is when I do not share the same priorities with my vehicle mates. When on safaris, my priority is...well...the safaris, not sleeping in or having the best food. If the latter were my priorities, I would go to other destinations, but a safari. Though I can't ask for or care too much if one is enthusiastic on the drive, but it does dampen the mood when being surrounded by apathy. Another big fear of mine when sharing vehicle is when people are late and cut into my game drive time. I guess I am glad they were not loud and obnoxious. Overall, it was such as shame at Bili and I can see why you were disappointed.

 

I hope things will pick up at Tena Tena a bit. Many thanks again for not a only a beautiful but also informative trip report.

[janzin]

During the long lunch break I entertained myself by watching the comings and goings in our little marsh. The light was always very harsh so photography wasn't optimal, but here's a few of the critters that visited. These are all taken from our veranda.

 

 

These two warthogs were sparring for a long time...then they just gave up and went about their merry way.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was just too hot mid-day for any birds to be active around camp, other than the water birds in the marsh.

 

For the afternoon game drive, we first headed to the Carmine Bee-eater colony. On the way, we stopped to check out the area where we had seen the lion in the morning. Sure enough, he was still there, apparently under the same bush...and being just as lazy.

 

 

 

Figuring he still wasn't going to do much, and not wanting to miss the Bee-eaters, we carried on.

 

Soon we were at the colony. We were up on a high river bank, and the colony was nesting in the same bank, so it was hard to get an angle. Manda invited us to get down off the vehicle and shoot from the ground, which we gladly took advantage of.

 

 

 

 

Every so often it seemed all the birds would take flight and fly over the river, hunting bugs.

 

 

We spent about 15-20 minutes with the birds, but the light was fading. We had already planned to finally do our walking safari with Manda the next morning, and Manda told us that we could return here on the walk and stay as long as we wanted. So we took him up on that offer and didn't feel too badly about leaving.

 

We went to have our sundowners, and I don't think we saw anything else at all on the return drive to camp, as I don't have a single photo from the time after we left the Bee-eaters. Where were the leopards that SLNP was so famous for? We hadn't seen a single one.

 

But Bili did hold one more surprise for us that evening...a very exciting one. Just as we were sitting down to dinner, one of the staff came running over and told everyone to look in the hippo pool. OMG, there was a Pel's Fishing Owl perched really close, at eye level, on a branch in Harry's pool! And I didn't have my camera with me!  Telling the guides "keep him there!!!!" I ran back to get the camera (to the alarm of the guides, who were supposed to be accompanying us in the dark.)

 

Luckily the camera was already set up and amazingly the owl didn't move. This was handheld, 1/15 of a second, ISO 4000, braced against the railing.

 

 

Definitely the highlight of our time at Bilimungwe so far.

 

 

 

 

Edited January 31, 2018 by janzin

[optig]

@Janzin I decided to visit Bilingumwe, Chamilandu and Kuyenda because as much as I've  loved my previous 3 trips to South Luangwa where I stayed in 

Kaingo twice, Mwamba twice, Tafika twice as well  I wanted to stay in a new area of the park where the scenery was quite different. I also know that in this area of the park one is more likely to see wild dogs. I've also stayed at Chikoko Tree Camp and Crocodile River Camp as well as Mwaleshi Camp in North Luangwa National Park. I'll be staying for 3 nights at each camp as well as one night at Mfuwe where I'll be there relaxing. I'm sure that I'll be quite satisfied at all of them. 

[wilddog]

wow @janzin that Pels shot is fantastic. What a miracle it waited for you get the camera!

[Towlersonsafari]

i love the dragonfly @janzin and of course the Pels!

[Kitsafari]

That pel owl made the entire day worthwhile! What a stunnung bird, and patient one too to wait for you.