The Lords of Luangwa and the Kings of Kafue

[Biko]

@michael-ibkand @Zim Girl, thanks for this wonderfull trip report and beautiful pictures. Looking forward to the info about the camera trap. I may buy one too.

[ElenaH]

@michael-ibk, you made a pause and then just post so many beautiful pictures that I am overwhelmed !!

Especially I like your Pied and Grant Kingfishers in flight and Elllies! I put Red-Headed Weaver and Böhm's Bee-Eater on my wish list to see. I was lucky to see Red-Troated Twinspot in Kurisa Moya in South Africa. I love also Lesser Masked Weaver pictures.

Hippo Hughie is very impressive!! I would probably be scared! Very intimate photo of baboons drinking water where a baby-baboon has an eye-contact with you. Nice! I am jealous about leopard sightings! ;-) thank you for sharing!

@Zim Girl,  thank you for your beautiful pictures as well. Love your leopard pic and video! And pictures from a trap-cam! It shows whom belongs the camp ;-) or at least the territory. 

Amazing Trip-Report! It takes me back to Zambia, I almost can smell that dry air and hear all birds and wind... I think, such reports make us feeling better, be more optimistic about the future! Thank to all of you for TR!

[AKR1]

4 hours ago, ElenaH said:

@michael-ibk, you made a pause and then just post so many beautiful pictures that I am overwhelmed !!

Especially I like your Pied and Grant Kingfishers in flight and Elllies! I put Red-Headed Weaver and Böhm's Bee-Eater on my wish list to see. I was lucky to see Red-Troated Twinspot in Kurisa Moya in South Africa. I love also Lesser Masked Weaver pictures.

Hippo Hughie is very impressive!! I would probably be scared! Very intimate photo of baboons drinking water where a baby-baboon has an eye-contact with you. Nice! I am jealous about leopard sightings! ;-) thank you for sharing!

@Zim Girl,  thank you for your beautiful pictures as well. Love your leopard pic and video! And pictures from a trap-cam! It shows whom belongs the camp ;-) or at least the territory. 

Amazing Trip-Report! It takes me back to Zambia, I almost can smell that dry air and hear all birds and wind... I think, such reports make us feeling better, be more optimistic about the future! Thank to all of you for TR!

+1. I could not say it better. Thank you for taking us along on your extraordinary safari, made so much more special during these awful times. 

[Peter Connan]

Thank you all for a magnificent trip report, filled with great stories and sightings and magnificent photography.

[Towlersonsafari]

hurrah! @Zim Girl and @michael-ibka splendid trip and thanks for sharing!

[Zim Girl]

21 hours ago, LarsS said:

Watched the videos now, those ellies are impressive. Must have been a nerve wracking experience! Unforgettable moments and behaviour. In addition to the videos, I really like yout photo where they are ligned up in the bush. A bit of a scary sight with their presence and flapping their ears. You don't want those giants coming after you for real.

 

Already love the prospect of another TR at the end of this year!  

 

Can I ask, what kind of camera trap do you use? Really wonderful to see those photos at night/morning in camp. Really shows the wild side of the camp. Lions in camp when you're about to get back to your tent or getting up. Amazing!

Hi, we have an Apeman Trail Camera, model H68.  It was a cheap one we bought from Amazon for approx £65 in 2018 as it was getting fairly good reviews.  I don't think this model is made any more but there are similar ones out there.  Quality isn't fantastic but it does the job, it can be set for video as well as still playback.

[Zim Girl]

21 hours ago, AfricIan said:

What a fantastic end to your trip, so many great experiences and, of course, fabulous photographs all round!

 

A huge thank you to all 4 of you for letting us share the journey with you.

 

@Zim Girl Another 10 days with Phil to come - we spent 8 with him back in 2015 and could easily have stayed longer. Do our paths cross at Musekese, we're due there 23-27th Sept? 

 

Thank you very much Ian.  Shame, we will miss you, our first night is 30th Sept.

[Zim Girl]

17 hours ago, ElenaH said:

@michael-ibk, you made a pause and then just post so many beautiful pictures that I am overwhelmed !!

Especially I like your Pied and Grant Kingfishers in flight and Elllies! I put Red-Headed Weaver and Böhm's Bee-Eater on my wish list to see. I was lucky to see Red-Troated Twinspot in Kurisa Moya in South Africa. I love also Lesser Masked Weaver pictures.

Hippo Hughie is very impressive!! I would probably be scared! Very intimate photo of baboons drinking water where a baby-baboon has an eye-contact with you. Nice! I am jealous about leopard sightings! ;-) thank you for sharing!

@Zim Girl,  thank you for your beautiful pictures as well. Love your leopard pic and video! And pictures from a trap-cam! It shows whom belongs the camp ;-) or at least the territory. 

Amazing Trip-Report! It takes me back to Zambia, I almost can smell that dry air and hear all birds and wind... I think, such reports make us feeling better, be more optimistic about the future! Thank to all of you for TR!

Thank you very much Elena, for such nice comments.

Your Zambia TR also made really interesting reading, and your photographs were stunning!

[Zim Girl]

Thank you very much @AKR1, @Towlersonsafari, and @Peter Connanfor reading along and I am very pleased you enjoyed it.

[AfricIan]

1 hour ago, Zim Girl said:

Shame, we will miss you, our first night is 30th Sept.

So near yet so far....

[Kitsafari]

thanks much @michael-ibk @AndMic @Zim Girl for bringing us along for such a marvellous ride and help make up for what we couldn't have in 2020. what a thrilling and probably heart=thumping last morning watching the lions so close. I often wonder if they would just walk into the open lounge room even with humans there, or would they rather avoid humans altogether knowing they are there? a rhetorical question!

 

 

[Zubbie15]

Thanks for sharing this @Zim Girl, @michael-ibkand @AndMic, it was great to get a taste of the bush right now. Really enjoyed the great storytelling and the lovely photos. 

[Alexander33]

Well, leave it to me to not only be late to the party, but to show up only after everyone has cleaned up, left, and locked the door behind them. Between COVID, work changes, the holidays, and a US presidential election (and the ensuing orange-tinted sh**show that continues to unfold), I’ve been preoccupied and away from Safaritalk for far too long. 
 

Thank you, @michael-ibk and @Zim Girl, for a welcome reminder of what I’ve been missing. I’m thrilled that you were able to get back on safari during that small window of opportunity last fall and that you made it back home in good shape. What an adventure. Thanks for sharing it with us, and congratulations @Zim Girl, on your night photo of the leopard quenching its thirst. After all this time, you deserved to come home with a “keeper.”

 

[Zim Girl]

I am glad you enjoyed it @Alexander33, and thank you very much!

[Atravelynn]

as it turned out our decision did not have to be "Leopard or River".

 

I think these types of sightings are not so rare anymore, which is quite amazing.

 

Glad you can appreciate the roots too.  The baby baboon drinking along the roots really elevates that vegetation shot. 

 

That was an interesting account of habituating the elephants to vehicles.  I recall when we (Michael, Andreas, Kit, Lynn)  encountered a couple of elephants off the road, Tyrone was so pleased that they were not running off. 

 

Back again!  You'll be rivaling the guy I ran into at Musekese who was on his 6th visit.

[Athene]

Thank you for sharing your very enjoyable trip report to South Luangwa and Kafue @michael-ibkand @Zim Girl 

Beautiful photos and storytelling. So much reminded me of our trip to the South Luangwa valley in October 2019. 

[ZaminOz]

@michael-ibkand@Zim GirlFantastic photos

"Meanwhile, we noticed what we thought was the hyena walking along the top of the ridge above the pool.  However, on closer inspection we realised it was a female lion and she had a kill!  Jona quickly drove back up the slope to the top of the ridge to try and find her, once there we caught sight of her dropping back down to the pool.  We went back down and this time she was stood there in front of us with a large, freshly killed warthog on the ground next to her."

It is quite possible that the warthog was killed by the leopard and then stolen by the lioness, I have seen that a few times in Luangwa.

[ZaminOz]

On 12/1/2020 at 1:59 AM, michael-ibk said:

 

The area around Manzi River has a lot of palm trees - very pretty.

 

This is the area that Kuyenda bush camp (The Bushcamp Company) is located. One of my favourite areas and camps in South Luangwa.

[ZaminOz]

On 12/6/2020 at 9:53 AM, Kitsafari said:

 

Not sure if this was said anywhere - Tafika is outside the Nseful game reserve. If i can recall from our stay there, it was a short drive to the gates of Nseful reserve - maybe about 30-40mins to the gate? and there was a  lot to see even before we reached the reserve. bushbucks, elephants...

 

still enjoying your days at SLNP.....

Hi @KitsafariTafika is located north of Nsefu Sector of South Luangwa National Park (a sector of SLNP located on the east bank of the river). Nsefu Game Reserve is an area in the Upper Lupande GMA (south of Nsefu Sector) and is not actually part of the National Park. It is an area that is owned by the Kunda chief.

[Kitsafari]

3 hours ago, ZaminOz said:

Hi @KitsafariTafika is located north of Nsefu Sector of South Luangwa National Park (a sector of SLNP located on the east bank of the river). Nsefu Game Reserve is an area in the Upper Lupande GMA (south of Nsefu Sector) and is not actually part of the National Park. It is an area that is owned by the Kunda chief.

 

 

thanks much for the correction! that was what I meant but named the areas inaccurately. 

[Galago]

Now this is what you call really late to the party! I didn't really look at ST much during 20/21, it was such a weird time. But we've just got back from Musekese/ Ntemwa, having had the pleasure of meeting @Zim Girland Adrian there, along with @CaroleEand @Seniortraveller.@Zim Girltold me about this report and I've been so absorbed in it, a real panacea to my post-safari blues when all I want to do is just be back there! 

@michael-ibkI just loved all the bird stuff and, whilst I have the enthusiasm, I just don't have your knowledge and ability (as you'll see from my rubbish photos when I add to @wilddog's TR in a while). And, yeah, let's hear it for Cisticolas! In fact, my only lifer of the trip was Short-winged Cisticola......... 

I'm still buzzing from the adrenalin of your final 24 hours there. The ele encounter was quite extraordinary and, even on video, not a little unnerving. And the lion episode was remarkable. I can see someone looking out from the kitchen door, possibly Kapaipi? 

Ah, I could go on, but enough from me. Just to say thanks for such a brilliant TR!

Edited October 3, 2022 by Galago

[michael-ibk]

@GalagoThanks, glad you enjoyed it. Great to hear you had a good time and met so many Safaritalkers, I´m looking forward to all your reports! :-)

 

Sorry, no idea who that was looking out from the kitchen any more.

[Galago]

On 1/10/2021 at 6:13 PM, michael-ibk said:

 

Unfortunately this green Snake was much too quick to get a real picture. Phil told us what it was (no Boomslang, no Vine Snake) but I forgot.

I was wondering if it might be an Angola Tree snake. Don't know anything much about snakes but it looks very similar to one I photographed at Musekese in 2018.

[Zim Girl]

Pleased you enjoyed the report @Galago.  So very nice to meet you at Musekese and we had a great time chatting!