The Lords of Luangwa and the Kings of Kafue

[michael-ibk]

Logistics - a bit more relevant than normal since it was a special time to go. I´ll get this out of the way before we get to the good stuff. (And if you are having a feeling of deja vú reading this, no, you´re not going slightly mad because of lockdown, I already posted most of this in the "Where in Africa can I go at the moment?" thread.)

 

Our planned itinerary was:

 

Vienna/London to Lusaka via Addis, arriver there at 1330 p.m.

1 nt Pioneer Camp, Lusaka

Fly to Mfuwe, South Luangwa, in the morning

4 nts Robin´s House (Robin Pope Safaris) in the Southern/Central area of the park

3 nts Tafika Camp in the Northern Nsefu sector of the park

Fly back to Lusaka late afternoon

1 nt Pioneer Camp, Lusaka

Drive to Kafue NP early morning

4 nts Musekese Camp

Drive back to Lusaka early morning, fly straight out home at 3:30 p.m. to Vienna/London via Addis

 

@Doug Macdonald handled everything for us and did a great job as usual. South Luangwa was the tricky part, most lodges were closed, and flights a bit of a headache. But all worked out in the end. We wanted to see different areas, and Tafika in the North and Robin Pope in the South complemented each other well. Musekese was a logical choice for an add-on. It´s quite easy getting to the Kafue by car (5 to 6 hours to camp), and we had absolutely loved it here back in 2017.

 

Insurance: Our general travel insurance was still valid for Zambia but does not cover anything COVID related. We were able to get COVID medical insurance for only EUR 50,-- per person. That price range will of course differ a lot depending on your country of residence.

 

Quarantine: In Austria we have to quarantine after returning from any "non-safe" state (all African countries are at least on that level or higher, ie. high risk) but can end the quarantine with a PCR-test. We did one at the airport right after arrival and got the results the day after. So could go straight back to work. This trip would not be possible for us anymore - we´ve been in lockdown for a few weeks now, and are no longer be allowed to go to the airport to fly out for holiday. So this was a well timed trip indeed! Been lucky the second time this year, shortly after our Tanzania trip in February the world stopped - as we all know.

 

 

Vienna´s non-Schengen terminal was a bit spooky in the evening. Such a lively place normally, but now most restaurants and shops had closed down for the evening. Not worth it given the lack of non-EU-travellers.

 

We used Ethiopian Airlines. Emirates also fly to Zambia but they demand a COVID-test for both ways meaning you´d have to get tested somewhere in Lusaka. Oddly, Ethiopian stated on their homepage back then that no hand luggage at all was allowed which was a bit of a scare given our camera gear.  I was prepared to beg, scream and shout at the airport. But this never came up during the actual booking process (done directly via their Homepage). At the airport nobody mentioned restrictions, and we (and pretty much everybody else) travelled with quite a lot of Hand luggage. @Zim Girlwas less lucky on the way back to the UK and had to check in their hand luggage although we are not quite sure why she was singled out for that. The Ethiopian hand luggage restriction seems to have been totally abandoned now, at least I can no longer find it on their page.

 

 

Since we trusted the plane would not be very full we played Ethiopian´s bidding game for business class for the VIE/ADD legs and back and won unsurprisingly. A very pleasant flight therefore, even with masks. We paid about EUR 1.300,-- pp for our internationals after the upgrade.

 

Flight from Vienna to Addis was not very busy, but the one to Lusaka was completely full. Most passengers (but not all) wore their masks correctly. Cabin crew did not really intervene. We had FFP2 masks for the flights just to be on the safe side. Judging by several studies on this risk seems to be quite low on flights with proper air ventilation systems anyway. Addis Airport has further expanded, a new pay-per-use lounge has just opened, as has a (very spacious and much better) business class lounge. You don´t need a COVID-test to transit through Addis. IIRC there were no fever checks. On checking in you have to show your PCR-COVID Tests for immigration to Zambia - printed out, mobile is not sufficient. Angie and Adrian gave us a bit of a scare, they just would not show up in Addis, and we were already queuing for boarding to Zambia. Finally they came running - their London flight had been delayed. Phew!

 

I quite enjoyed the flight to Lusaka. The route followed the Rift Valley, and we passed some familiar safari landmarks, including the Ngorongoro Crater. At least I think that must be it? (3rd and 4th picture)

 

 

 

 

 

Immigration in Zambia: Not too bad. You have to do a health questionare (which you already get on the plane). Fever checks are done with a very fancy automatic system. We were all quite shocked that our temperature was way over 37 °. Probably the heat, you have to walk from the plane to the building. Or it was not calibrated correctly . Anyway, one is only treated as a COVID suspect when temperature is higher than 38°. A quick demonstration of the COVID test (not older than 14, yes incredibly generous 14!) days from testing. Show the health questionaire. Visa on arrival as usual (but as far as I know only in Lusaka). From hitting the ground to leaving the building we needed maybe 30 to 45 minutes. Lusaka airport seemed to be good and strict with COVID guidelines. Lots of checks and sanitising going on.

 

Shortly after our departure the rules changed - suddenly a COVID-test was required before departure. It´s doable, can be arranged in Lusaka. There was a fellow traveller from the UK with us in Musekese who flew with Emirates, and she did that test. It´s not that problematic, but obiously takes away a good day one could better spend on safari. Thankfully Zambia has done a U-turn again - last I checked the test on departure requirement was abandoned again.

 

Flights to South Luangwa were more tricky. Proflight only had two scheduled flights per week, Friday and Sunday. We had planned to use the Sunday one for getting to the park. Unfortunately they only guarantee they are flying when at least 10 are booked. Our Sunday departure flight to South Luangwa was rescheduled to Saturday because a group had expressed interest in going then - they had not even confirmed. So this leg of the journey was very uncertain, and we ultimately decided to charter a four-seater to the park with StarAvia. Not cheap, but doable for a party of four. On the way back we could use Proflight. A very cramped flight in a small airplane. To be honest this is probably the most risky thing COVID-wise, I´m pretty sure their ventilation system cannot be compared to the ones on international flights. I´d recommend FFP2 masks. BTW, one can of course also drive to South Luangwa (9-10 hours I am told). Quite oddly we also had to show the COVID test certificiate after arrival at Mfuwe Airport. Made no sense to us, and I don´t know what would happen if one stays the first 10 days in other areas of Zambia and then flies to Mfuwe with a test older than 14 days now.

 

 

Our 4-seater taking us to Mfuwe.

 

 

Landing in Mfuwe.

 

Camp: Most staff members wore masks (although mostly half-way, ie. under the nose). We did not really mind (I think out in the open the risk is minimal). We were the very first international tourists Robin Pope Safaris had this season. Also the only guests at Tafika. Musekese was more lively, almost fully booked, although most guests were Zambian residents. We were very welome everywhere, people were really happy to have guests again. Given that one never is in closed quarters with others during safari I felt very safe. I am way more exposed to Corona risks when working.

 

 

Generally the COVID Situation in Zambia does not seem to be bad. Certainly way better than in Europe right now. The official numbers probably don´t tell the whole story (and there´s of course much less testing than in Europe for example), but everybody we talked to said they don´t know anybody having suffered from it. Zambian residents living in Lusaka and Livingstone told us they had discussed the "real state of things" with medical experts, and indeed apparently the case numbers (with severe symptomps at least) are low, with no excess deaths reported. That said, quite many people in Lusaka were wearing masks. For whatever reasons, Zambia (like many other African countries) seems to have largely escaped the virus. The economic impact, of course, is totally crippling.

 

We asked in advance what would happen if we´d be unlucky enough to having to quarantine in Zambia. And were told the government has designated some decent hotels for tourists for that purpose. Costs to be covered by the tourists of course.

 

Cancellation - what would have happend if Corona would have gotten in the way? Ethiopian will provide a voucher in such a case valid to the end of 2021. And all camps (and other services in Zambia) guaranteed to honour the booking until the end of 2022 if need be. That did give us some peace of mind.

 

Phew, enough "red tape" - onwards and upwards now!

 

Edited November 21, 2020 by michael-ibk

[michael-ibk]

We stayed at Pioneer Camp after arrival, a well-known place to many here on Safaritalk. A good choice to stay in Lusaka. The rooms are fine, staff very friendly and helpful and food was surprisingly good - definitely a step up from our stay last time.

 

 

Our "Miombo Chalet":

 

 

 

 

I really like it here - they have a beautiful garden which is sensationally good for birding. Actually I was sorry we had so little time here - just about 90 minutes after arrival and one hour next morning. (And no time at all when we stayed again before heading West to the Kafue.) I already threatened @AndMicthat I want to stay two nights here next time.

 

 

Chinspot Batis

 

 

White-Breasted Cuckooshrike

 

 

Terrestrial Brownbul

 

 

Fork-Tailed Drongo

 

 

Reth´s Helmetshrike

 

 

Kurrichane Thrush

 

 

African Yellow White-Eye

 

 

Southern Black Flycatcher

 

 

Dark-Capped Bulbul

 

 

White-Bellied Sunbird

 

I´ll leave it to @Zim Girlnow to (finally) take us into the park.

Edited November 21, 2020 by michael-ibk

[AKR1]

@michael-ibkExcellent synopsis of the logistics of getting to Zambia, early intra-country travel and the Covid situation. I must say the bush flight landing video, which would normally be fairly routine, is anything but now and makes one nostalgic. I assume you fully understood you would need to charter a one way flight and the cost, safety of operator etc prior to getting there. Pioneer camp looks unusually good for what effectively is an overnight place to stay in Lusaka. Quite different but reminds me of Emakoko in Nairobi which is a far cry from a hotel. 

Edited November 21, 2020 by AKR1

[ElenaH]

gorgeous bird-photos, @michael-ibk!! I am learning Bird-identification on your pictures ;-) what Lens are you using for birds?

The camp looks also nice. Is it possible to park a vehicle near the chalet? You are driven there on such bumpy dusty road, right?

Driving to SLNP was actually not so bad. I expected much worse. Maybe it is possible to arrange  road-transfer through some Zambian travel agency. Just a thought for future.

Enjoying your report so far 

[michael-ibk]

22 hours ago, AKR1 said:

I assume you fully understood you would need to charter a one way flight and the cost, safety of operator etc prior to getting there.

 

Thanks @AKR1, and yes, we did work through all that in advance of course.

 

56 minutes ago, ElenaH said:

what Lens are you using for birds?

 

Thanks, Elena! A Canon 100-400II.

 

56 minutes ago, ElenaH said:

The camp looks also nice. Is it possible to park a vehicle near the chalet? You are driven there on such bumpy dusty road, right?

 

Yes, absolutely, you can drive right to the chalet, no problem. The road is very bumpy indeed for the last couple of kilometres.

 

57 minutes ago, ElenaH said:

Maybe it is possible to arrange  road-transfer through some Zambian travel agency.

 

It is, that was our back-up plan in case the flights would not have worked for us.

[offshorebirder]

Nice White-bellied Sunbird @michael-ibk - I missed seeing that one during my time in Zambia - jealous.

 

 

[Sebastian Kennerknecht]

Great synopsis, and I love Phil and Ty, they are the best. I am sorry we didn't run into each other. I have been in Kafue since August and will depart in a week. Spent a week at Musekese, before you arrived there. Glad you had a wonderful time!

[Game Warden]

On 11/19/2020 at 8:46 PM, michael-ibk said:

We actually had planned to go to Portugal for two weeks  in October

 

I'm sure between @pedro maiaand myself we would have provided a packed itinerary. (Birding and Templar castles spring to mind). Perhaps though not as wildlife dense...

 

 

[michael-ibk]

I had fully counted on that @Game Warden! Hopefully next year.

[Game Warden]

12 minutes ago, Game Warden said:

(Birding and Templar castles spring to mind)

 

And wine. Plenty of wine...

[Zim Girl]

We were to meet Michael and Andreas at Addis airport for the final leg into Lusaka.  Our flight was due to depart at 9pm from London Heathrow.  We boarded on time but then spent the next 2 hours waiting for cargo to be loaded!!  I was sat by the window above where they were loading and kept hoping each big metal box I was watching would be the last but then another trailer would turn up with more of them .  Finally we took off but there is nothing worse than spending the flight wondering whether you were going to get there on time. 

A note on the flight, we were expecting it to be pretty empty given the current situation but it was absolutely packed.  So no hope of getting a row to ourselves.

Time was getting a bit tight as we approached Addis and we did ask the flight attendant if the next flight would wait for us, she assured us they would.

A little bit of excitement came with the landing.  As the plane hit the tarmac it skidded over to the left quite severely and for a split second I thought it was going to crash (as did the rest of the passengers from the looks on their faces).  No idea what happened there but we made it and then we were up and ready for the mad dash through the airport.  Luckily it didn’t take too long and we made it into departures to find Michael and Andreas waiting for us ready to board. 

 

Everything else went smoothly although the temp check in Lusaka airport was funny.  We were boiling hot after walking across the tarmac and inside we were told to wait for a second.  I didn’t realise we were stood in front of some kind of auto temp checking machine, but then I heard Adrian whispering behind me that I was reading 37.9!  They waved us on but that was close!

 

This was the first time we had stayed at Pioneer camp and it was indeed very pleasant.  Rooms are basic but spacious and the food at breakfast and dinner pretty good.  I spent some time walking the grounds with Michael looking for birds which was great for me to be with someone who knew what they were looking at.

 

Inside our room at Pioneer.

 

 

Breakfast

 

The charter flight the next morning left at 8.45am and we reached Mfuwe at 10.25am.  We were met by Jona from Robin Pope safaris, who was to be our guide for the next few days.

Following the pilot to our charter plane.

 

In the cosy cabin.

 

Now, when we booked, we had originally expected to be in the Nkwali camp, but then we were told they were going to put us in ‘Robin’s House’, one of Robin Pope’s two houses, and we all thought, great, no problem.  Then, when we drove through the Nkwali area we passed by the Robin’s House sign and instead pulled up a couple of minutes later outside this beautiful big thatched house  -  we had been upgraded to Luangwa House!

 

Jona was all smiles, “do you like it”, he says as he leads us inside.  Well, to be honest, we were all a bit blown away.  Definitely not the usual standard of accommodation for any of us!  He couldn’t wait to show us the bedrooms.  There were four, two upstairs on either side of the house and two downstairs.  They all had fantastic big open views of the surrounding landscape, which was stunning.  The house was completely on its own set in front of a waterhole which proved to make excellent downtime wildlife viewing.

The beds had a nifty air-conditioning device that I had never seen before.  Behind the bed, but inside the mosquito nets, there was a kind of fabric balloon which filled with cold air and was controlled by a remote behind the bed.  You switch it on at night when the nets are down and it cools the area inside the bed but without actually blowing cold air on you.  Very nice!!  (wish I had taken a picture).

 

Our room upstairs with balcony.

 

 

 

Inside the main house.

 

 

Jonas showed us where the drinks were kept and checked what time we wanted lunch then left us to get unpacked and settle in.

Well, we were a little bit like kids in a sweet shop, the place was amazing.  There was a plunge pool (more on that later), and a deck that led down to the waterhole where lunch is set up for you.  Already we could see elephants in the distance heading our way.  It was idyllic. You felt like you were in a different world.  Coronavirus, what coronavirus??

 

Lunch was amazing, plenty of really tasty food (I hope Michael or Andreas got some pics) and by the time we sat down to eat, a family group of elephants had reached the waterhole and proceeded to entertain us with their antics.

 

 

 

 

 

 

There was a very small baby with the herd who was having lots of fun playing in the mud.

 

 

 

More elephants arriving

 

After a while, Mum decided it was time to go and tried to persuade the little one to get up.

 

 

There we go, finally on his feet.

 

Heaven!!

 

When lunch was finished we stayed on the deck to continue photographing the ele’s.

 

 

After a while the boys disappeared and after a few more photos (you cannot have enough photos of elephants) I eventually walked back to the house. 

And there to my surprise were Adrian and Michael gingerly getting into the pool.  You know, the pool that we all scoff at not needing on a safari!  “Well it is very hot”, they said and “it’s here so we might as well use it”, they said, “are you coming in?”

Well I couldn’t as I hadn’t brought a costume but I had fun taking some pictures instead and in a couple of days I was also relaxing on the giant cushions with my legs in the water  -  well it was hot😊

 

Joined by Andreas with his very fetching hat.

 

The staff and Jona came back at 3.30pm for tea and cake and to prepare for the afternoon/evening drive at 4pm.

 

Luangwa House is located on private land owned by Robin Pope on the other side of the river from the National Park, so all game drives start with a short drive to Nkwali and then you take a boat to the other side where another vehicle is ready and waiting for you.

 

 

 

Our first drive was fairly quiet but I don’t think anyone cared, we were back on safari and that was all that mattered.

 

 

 

 

 

Setting up sundowners.

 

Quite a muted sunset this evening but we had a couple of giraffe to keep us company.

 

A relaxing end to a brilliant first day!

Edited November 23, 2020 by Zim Girl

[wilddog]

Oh wow. @Zim GirlHow lovely; posh house and a pool, as well as real live African wildlife. 

 

Sorry you did not manage a dip, but someone had to take that memorable photo of the 3 guys succumbing to the temptation 

Edited November 23, 2020 by wilddog

[BRACQUENE]

@Zim Girl

 

I will not say to much that I am jealous  but paradise for me looks like that  ! Like a well known jury member would say "A - ma -zing !"

[AfricIan]

Quite a contrast in flight comfort there @michael-ibk& @Zim Girl and whilst a plunge pool is most definitely "not needed on safari", after 1 1/2hrs in that "shoebox with wings" I'll let you off this once  

[ElenaH]

Amazing house! @Zim Girlit is great that you are travelling together. You could have documented using a pool by three hot men ;-) I must grinse all the time - I am happy you went to that trip!

[ForWildlife]

Upgrade to Luangwa House !!! That's a very significant upgrade from Nkwali! Fantastic!

[Zim Girl]

19 hours ago, wilddog said:

Oh wow. @Zim GirlHow lovely; posh house and a pool, as well as real live African wildlife. 

 

Sorry you did not manage a dip, but someone had to take that memorable photo of the 3 guys succumbing to the temptation 

I was happy just dipping my legs in and watch the wildlife wander by.  (The four-legged kind not the ones in front of me)

 

18 hours ago, BRACQUENE said:

@Zim Girl

 

I will not say to much that I am jealous  but paradise for me looks like that  ! Like a well known jury member would say "A - ma -zing !"

I know exactly who you mean!

 

17 hours ago, ElenaH said:

Amazing house! @Zim Girlit is great that you are travelling together. You could have documented using a pool by three hot men ;-) I must grinse all the time - I am happy you went to that trip!

Thank you.

 

15 hours ago, ForWildlife said:

Upgrade to Luangwa House !!! That's a very significant upgrade from Nkwali! Fantastic!

I know, we did all feel very lucky to be there.

[LarsS]

I'm loving this trip report so much! Excellent writing and introduction to the build up of planning this trip. I actually read the introduction twice and felt a bit goosebumps thinking about how planning this trip must have felt for you. Interesting to know about insurances, I assumed they wouldn't be valid, but I'll dive into that for my own insurance as well. Seems to me despite all the covid adjustments, the trip went pretty smooth overall, except for the proflight flight. Luckily you managed to arrange a good alternative.

 

Photos are already sublime, really looking forward to more of your joined TR!  

 

 

On 11/19/2020 at 9:46 PM, michael-ibk said:

 

All bird pictures will be of amazing, absolutely top quality!

Is this what I think it is? And if so, I really hope you had the opportunity for a better picture. Otherwise I do feel guilty os stealing a sighting...

 

 

On 11/20/2020 at 11:26 PM, Zubbie15 said:

I'm about 80% excited to read this, and 20% very jealous @michael-ibkand @Zim Girl. Boy do I miss the bush... But off to a great start, and these reports are a nice substitute for not being able to travel.

If I'm honest, I would say I'm 100% excited to read this, 100% very jealous of @michael-ibkand @Zim Girlbut also I'm 200% happy for you to have been able to go to Zambia!

 

 

 

20 hours ago, Zim Girl said:

Now, when we booked, we had originally expected to be in the Nkwali camp, but then we were told they were going to put us in ‘Robin’s House’, one of Robin Pope’s two houses, and we all thought, great, no problem.  Then, when we drove through the Nkwali area we passed by the Robin’s House sign and instead pulled up a couple of minutes later outside this beautiful big thatched house  -  we had been upgraded to Luangwa House!

 

That's really awesome! My wife and I are watching a dutch tv show literally translated 'Upside down of Africa' (for Dutch speaking safaritalkers like @BRACQUENEyou might be able to watch it online here if you're interested). They visited Luangwa House as well. It looked so good! We both immediately grabbed our phones to check this place out. Must have been an incredible experience to stay there. Btw, I think the guy with the green shirt on your photo with staff inside the house, might be in the tv show as well (together in a short but interesting interview with Robin Pope).

 

Please tell and show more how fantastic it was!  

 

[BRACQUENE]

@Zim Girl @michael-ibk

 

I can confirm what @LarsSsaid about that very interesting dutch TV Show ( Africa  visited on a  motorbike ) which I have recorded by the way and in the meantime started to look at  (apart from Zambia  Malawi and Rwanda are in the spotlight ! ) 

[Zim Girl]

Hi @LarsS, thank you very much for your comments, I hope you continue to enjoy it.

[michael-ibk]

 

It felt really good when we were finally past Mfuwe Airport. Until now I had still had a lingering feeling that some nasty Corona stuff could get in the way. That we were not yet on safari. That one of us could be "too hot". In a very literal sense, after all we had been pretty close to the 38 ° degree line in Lusaka. And temperate checks were waiting for us again. But - phew!!! - this time we all were quite cool. The weird thing was officials asked for a COVID test certificate again. No clue why they did that, after all we could have been in Zambia for weeks and only then decide to go to South Luangwa. And no clue what would have happened if we had not had one. But we did, so all fine. And once we were met by our guide Jona and entered a good old open safari vehicle (Yeah!) my anxiousness faded. We had made it! We were really on safari!

 

 

As Angie mentioned the first drive was very very quiet. But it was wonderful. Just being out there, feeling the hot African sun on our skin, listening to the Ring-Necked Doves cooing all over. Oh, a new bird for me there! And over there! And here too! Hearing the Hippos snort, feeling the breeze coming up from the mighty Luangwa River, listening to every rustle in the thickish hoping it could be a Lion! A Lepard! A Pangolin! Life was good.

 

 

Better than good.

 

 

 

Getting into the park required some balancing over these sandbags. Might be an issue for guests with mobility issues, Jona told us they have to drive around to the main gate when someone has problems doing that.

 

 

The Twin Baobabs, had looked forward to seeing these trees almost as much as to seeing animals. I do love them. Unfortunately for these two Elephants love them too - a bit too much.

 

 

Ah, and proper Sundowners, another thing I had really been looking forward to. Gin Tonic, finally! With Giraffe view!

 

Our nightdrive sightings were a bit, let´s call it low key. Much more excitement to come up for us on that front.

 

 

Water Thick-Knee

 

 

Square-Tailed Nightjar

 

 

African Savanna Hare

Edited November 24, 2020 by michael-ibk

[AfricIan]

Your first game drive may have been quiet @Zim Girl& @michael-ibkbut YOU'RE BACK IN AFRICA 

[PeterHG]

Amazing story of the preparations and the actual travel, @michael-ibkand @Zim Girl! And even more amazing photos. I've never been to Zambia, but it looks like a wonderful destination.

[michael-ibk]

Exactly Ian! AFRICA! SAFARI! Yes! Yabba-Dabba-Dooooh!!

 

You´ll have to excuse me for going back to our house again after Angie already described it so well. But it was just too good not to reminisce about it one more time.

 

 

 

Definitely the most posh, beautiful place I´ve ever stayed at. I do like my more down-to-earth accoms, love mobile and fly camping and don´t mind roughing it at all. And probably would never pay (regular rates) for something like Luangwa House. Then again, after I´ve enjoyed it so much I just might.

 

And it really was "our" house. Staff left after meals, so we really had everything all to ourselves. And made good use of the infinite numbers of drinks in the fridge.

 

 

Golden sinks.

 

 

Copper bathtub! (Which admittedly was only ever used for putting my feet on it when applying sunscreen.)

 

On 11/23/2020 at 3:11 PM, Zim Girl said:

The beds had a nifty air-conditioning device that I had never seen before.  Behind the bed, but inside the mosquito nets, there was a kind of fabric balloon which filled with cold air and was controlled by a remote behind the bed.  You switch it on at night when the nets are down and it cools the area inside the bed but without actually blowing cold air on you.  Very nice!!  (wish I had taken a picture).

 

I can help with that:

 

 

The "aircon balloon " is in the background between the two beds.

 

 

 

As you can see here the rooms are completely open. Wonderful views from the bed, often enough Elephants came very close. The only downside - Baboons. Some of them are getting naughty, and one enjoyed my bed just as much as I did. Understandably so, but I really did not want to share and chased them away. It seems they have gotten used to certain amenities in the absence of tourists.

 

 

"Hey, that´s MY couch buddy, I´m not going anywhere!"

 

On 11/23/2020 at 3:11 PM, Zim Girl said:

plenty of really tasty food (I hope Michael or Andreas got some pics)

 

Can help with that too.

 

 

 

 

 

Let me tell you that Lasagna was a-ma-zing!

 

 

They even have a scope at the house. Very useful for birding, some waders were always present in the waterhole.

 

 

 

Mobile panos.

 

But fancy as the house it that´s not even the best thing about it. No, the best thing is that terrific waterhole, especially the constant presence of Elephants.

 

 

Angie has already put up so many good photos that I won´t test your patience with more. But here are some videos snippets:

 

 

 

Little one getting out of the mud:

 

 

 

I might be lying about the "best thing". It could well have been that pool. I will never go on safari again without a pool. But I would never admit that here on ST. And hey, it´s not a plunge pool. We could even swim in there!

 

 

 

Edited November 24, 2020 by michael-ibk

[Game Warden]

I do recall a while ago in a Covid era topic making a comment about when I ever get back to Africa I'd want to explore South Luangwa and Kafue, so at least with this trip report I'm living it. No matter that it is virtually. Keep it up @everyone...

 

Thanks, Matt