Zambia, June 2022: Enchanting South Luangwa.

[TravelMore]

On 8/19/2022 at 6:07 AM, Biko said:

y Sony RX10 mark IV, the lens is a 24-600 mm which I used on 400-500 zoom. So the longer distance from the dogs combined with the zoom may have given the impression of a low point.

I like it!

Don't have one yet, but may think about getting one =)

[TravelMore]

 

Nice of the ellies to follow a ritual for you! Easier to set up shots!  I hope I am so lucky.  

[Biko]

9 hours ago, TravelMore said:

Don't have one yet, but may think about getting one =)

 

I can really recommend the Sony RX10 mark IV. I find it very pleasant that I don’t have to change lenses, so no dust in the camera. It is not too heavy, and not too expensive either.

When is your next trip?

[dlo]

Really nice landscape shots @Bikobut everything looks great. Is there a more picturesque park in Africa? 

 

These luangwa reports just have me pining for a return to Zambia. Keep it coming!

[Biko]

The Nsefu area brought me 7 sightings of 6 different leopards, not a bad score in 5 days I thought. The easiest one to find is Olimba, the famous movie star from Leopard Legacy. She is incredibly relaxed. We found her one evening after the film crew that is still following her and her daughter, Mtumi, had left for Nsefu Camp where they live. They inform the Robin Pope Safari guides about the whereabouts of Olimba and Mtumi.

 

 

The next evening we where told where Mtumi was, and after we found her it was clear she was on the hunt and she quickly disappeared in a bush where she watched a puku that was sitting in the high grass at 10 meters distance from her. The spotter quickly turned off the spotlight, and we waited in the dark. Even though I could not see predator nor prey, it was still a very exiting "sighting". We were very close so we silently listened for about 40 minutes, waiting for an attack. When Mtumi finally thought it was the right moment, she failed and the puku ran away. According to Willie "still too young and inexperienced to hunt".

 

The next leopard was indicated to us by the wild dogs that were on the hunt and passed a tree and started to bark and cry. While they continued, we stayed and looked a bit more careful what it was that created their anxiety.

And there it was, a leopard with a carcass of a spur-winged goose. As I was the only guest in the car we could stay for as long as I wanted, watching the leopard while he/she was watching us. This is what I really loved about the Nsefu area, no other cars, and good sightings that could last for a long time. 

 

 

 

Later that evening we went to the hyena den, where two little puppies were kind enough to show themselves to us.

 

 

Following are some impressions of the rest of my stay in Nsefu Camp.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The stork colony, where the chicks were just learning how to fly.

 

 

When a lagoon dries, it is fishing party for the storks

 

 

The magnificent greater kudu

 

 

 

 

Monitor lizard

 

 

 

 

You may wonder: "where are the lions?". Well, so did I. The Nsefu pride was dispersed, and  apparently most of them had left for the adjacent Game Management Area. According to Willie there was one lioness that was still somewhere in the Nsefu area,  hiding her cubs. We tried to find her, but we failed. It was only on my last evening when we saw a lioness that was fighting with a male who was a newcomer. Probably he had just crossed the river, so he may have been one of the males of the Hollywood pride that I would see in the next episode of my trip.

[madaboutcheetah]

I love that stork colony - how lucky with the Leopards @BikoI remember fondly all the time spent with Olimba and her two cubs in September last year.  ...... I'm glad you went to both sides of the river when combining Nsefu with Shenton. 

[Biko]

After five days in the Nsefu area (I could have stayed double the time and still would not be bored) it was time for another peaceful man powered river crossing.

After my booking was deferred from 2020, I decided to expand the trip from 8 to 14 days. After all it's a long journey from Amsterdam to the Luangwa valley, and it made sense to add another six days. After talking to Lucy Copson of ExpertAfrica I chose Mwamba Bushcamp, because it is a small, rustic camp in an very quiet area with abundant wildlife. And what a good choice this turned out to be. The area is so quiet because there are only three camps (Mwamba, it's sister camp Kaingo, and Lion Camp), and it is quite a distance to drive this far north from the Mfuwe bridge area, so we saw very few other cars.

As I stayed for six days we had ample time to explore not only the riverside areas, but we also went inland several times. I was  very pleased with my guide Elias, who worked for television crews in several parts of Zambia. He was not only a rich source of information about nature, but also a very interesting conversation partner about social and economic developments in the country.

Half of my stay in Mwamba I was the only guest, which I really liked.

 

Apart from leopard and lions, I was very much impressed by the beautiful Cookson's wildebeest, a species that is endemic to this region.

 

 

 

Another endemic species is the Thornicroft giraffe.

 

 

 

 

Civet

 

Genet

 

Verraux's eagle-owl

 

 

Puku everywhere

 

 

 

Sparrow weaver and it's nest

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eland

 

Next episode: leopards & lions

[Athene]

I like the colours of your pictures @Bikothe landscapes and the animals look so different than in October. We will be in South Luangwa again next year, again in October mainly for the Carmine Bee Eaters.

 

[Biko]

Thanks @AtheneI will pass your kind words on to my husband, who is the pro on Lightroom. I love to travel in the months shortly after the rains. Everything is so vivid.

[TonyQ]

Beautiful photos, lovely to see the green background, superb light. We really liked Nsefu when we visited.

Congratulations on your team efforts in producing such fine photos.

[Biko]

On 9/8/2022 at 8:52 PM, TonyQ said:

Congratulations on your team efforts in producing such fine photos.

Thanks, @TonyQ, for your kind words

[Biko]

So what about the lions? Again, like in the Nsefu area, most of the lions were staying somewhere else. While the guides talked about the MK and KM prides (K being Kaingo, M Mwamba), I did not get to see them. What I did see were some members of the Hollywood pride. If I remember well, I had 5 sightings in 6 days of 2 males and 2 females.

One evening we came across the whole group of four on a hunt. They were not very lucky. At some point they bumped into a hippo and its baby. Under a lot of noise the lions tried to isolate the baby from its mother, but it stayed close to her and that saved its life.

 

 

 

 

 

The next morning we were driving through the bushes along the riverside and came across the two lionesses. In a steady pace they moved parallel to our path, so it was easy to follow them. They seemed to walk slowly, but each time we met them again I was surprised how much distance they had covered. At some point they split, walked into some bushes and then everything happened very quickly. When we came to the other side of the bushes, which really did not take more than fifteen seconds, the lionesses were already opening the carcass of a male impala. They must have caught it while it was eating inside the bushes, and it could not flee fast because of its antlers. It was as close to a kill I have ever come, and it was a thrilling experience to be able to be so close to the two lionesses during their hunt.

 

 

 

 

During the afternoon I saw the two again. I was on a walk with Elias and the ranger in the Ebony Grove, when suddenly the two lionesses came out of the small lagoon that runs along the trees. It was at a distance of some 200 metres, and they must have been taking a rest there after their feast. The collared lioness walked quickly into a bush, but the other one stared at us for a while and then she roared as if saying "don't you dare to come any closer", a needless warning.

 

Later we saw one of the males taking a rest.

 

 

 

 

Edited September 20, 2022 by Biko

[Biko]

For me, and for many of you who have been there, the leopards are the stars of the Luangwa valley. During my six day stay at Mwamba bushcamp I had 11 sightings of 8 different leopards. There was a big difference in their behaviour. The so-called "inland" leopards were usually shy and evasive. What a difference with most of the "riverside leopards": they were very relaxed and most of the times we met them they would stay where they were or continue doing what they were doing. 

 

On my first evening game drive we saw Kuwita rolling in the urine of Tyson, the father of her cubs. Unfortunately I did not see Tyson during my stay.

 

 

But we did see Kuwita again on my last evening, and this time she was with her two 11 month old cubs. Kuwita had brought a kill into a tree, and the male cub was eating it. He dropped the kill almost three times while we were watching them. It was nerve-wracking, because there were hyena around. But each time he almost dropped what was left of the impala, he managed to draw it a bit higher on his branch again. 

But let's first enjoy mum Kuwita.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The male cub high on the branch

 

And his sister, walking under the tree, no chance that she would get her fair share, at  least not while we were there.

 

 

 

 

The other famous riverside leopardess is Chiphazuwa aka Chips. Her cubs were 4 or 5 months old when I was there. They were just as relaxed as Chips is, as long as you give them their space. One morning Elias heard the alarm call of a squirrel, and when he rounded a bush we found Chips' family. The male cub was posing for us for more than an hour, while his sister and Chips were inside the bush having breakfast eating a baboon.

 

 

 

 

 

On another occasion we found the two cubs along the road, waiting for Chiphazuwa to come back from her hunt.

 

 

 

 

After a while, we saw Chips coming back, after what seemed to have been an unsuccessful hunt. But what a majestic leopardess she is.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was really wonderful to be able to spend so much time with the leopards in the Mwamba/Kaingo area, usually we were alone with them  and sometimes another car would join us. 

Thanks for joining me on this unforgettable journey!

 

[Towlersonsafari]

wonderful stuff- and how exciting to see lions whilst you were on foot! looked like a splendid trip @Biko

[TonyQ]

Very enjoyable to revisit South Luwangwa through your eyes.

The portraits of the young female leopard are stunning, such beautiful eyes.

It certainly is a wonderful place for leopards

[Athene]

Lovely photos of the different leopards @Biko

I hope we will be as lucky as you at Kaingo and Nsefu next year.

[Biko]

5 hours ago, TonyQ said:

Very enjoyable to revisit South Luwangwa through your eyes.

The portraits of the young female leopard are stunning, such beautiful eyes.

It certainly is a wonderful place for leopards

@TonyQThanks, yes her eyes are amazing. And the funny thing is, I didn’t notice it really when she came walking towards us, I was focussed on her mother and only turned towards the youngster when Elias told me she was on my right hand side. So I quickly took some pictures of her. And after I came home I saw those gloriously green eyes.

Edited September 21, 2022 by Biko

[Biko]

1 hour ago, Athene said:

Lovely photos of the different leopards @Biko

I hope we will be as lucky as you at Kaingo and Nsefu next year.

Thanks, @Athene. I am sure you will have a wonderful experience. Unless the lions would chase them away or worse, I am confident that you will have great sightings of the leopards while staying at Kaingo. Will you be staying at Nsefu Camp?

[Athene]

@BikoYes, we will be staying at Nsefu camp for 3 nights, Kaingo 5 nights and Chindeni 4 nights next year again in October. Usually we do not return to the same area, but our safari in 2019 to the South Luangwa valley was in my opinion the best safari we had so far. Hence the return.

[Nik63]

Great pictures! Thanks for sharing!

[marg]

@BikoGreat trip report and photos!  Thanks!!

[Athene]

@Biko

We stayed at Latitude 15 in Lusaka. It is a nice little hotel which I can recommend.

[Biko]

Thanks @Athene. I read about Latitude 15 and it seems very nice indeed. 

[marg]

@BikoI agree with @Athene  Latitude 15 is very nice.

[CaroleE]

@BikoBeautiful leopard photos. I also really like the first lion shot - appearing out of the darkness.

Many thanks for sharing your eperiences of other parts of South Luangwa. This has gven me useful information. I have been there twice and both times I stayed in or very near the Nsefu sector. Not only due to large number of wildlife but also because it is less busy. Maybe I need to venture further next time!

Many thanks for your great trip report.