Lower Zambezi and South Luangwa

In 2019 I was attracted again by my Africa addiction and I decide to travel to Zambia where I first explore Lower Zambezi NP and later South Luangwa NP and very special will it be in the last part because I gonna make a 5d walking safari .

End of August I leave via Dubai to Lusaka where my trip starts. I arrive very late in the evening so the first night I stay in the neigbourhood of the airport to travel further the next morning by taking a canoe over Zambezi River until the Kanyemba Lodge right on the banks of the Zambezi. From out of my room and terrace I have sight on the crocodiles , bathing elephants and hippos... many hippos. During the nights, that are full of animalsounds as everywhere and always in Africa, I hear the hippos again and far away some hyenas bark and lion roar. While I make boatsafaris I can discover the wildlife on a different way in and around the water. Numerous of hippos are never far away, as well as crocodiles, elephants and buffalos.

I meet some locals as well as I book a guided tour to the village near the lodge, an enriching experience I never want to miss. So many most charming kids, first a bit shy but after a while their curiosity wins from embarassment and they come closer to catch my attention. So cute they are.

While I make a sundowner cruise I enjoy those famous African sunsets and the hippos saying sleepwell while birds are taking their branch to sleep. The next morning I have a canoesafari on my program. I share a canoe with my guide and that is the best plan as my paddle skills are not qualified. In the meanwhile we look around for wildlife. It's getting exciting when we seems to enter a part full of crocodiles and hippos. All in all a relaxed way of spotting wildlife is my evaluation when we arrive back at the lodge around noon for lunch. The afternoon is for some more relax at the swimming pool. After the teatime I embark again for a boatsafari. I am lucky to see an impressive elephant in the reeds at the riverbank and of course again numerous of hippos being lazy in the water. Suddenly I notice some local fishermen busy with the nets and trying to catch some fish before it's getting dark.

My last full day in Lower Zambezi NP I spent on making a game drive into the park. To reach the entrance I first need to make a boattrip over Zambezi River and than the jeep waits for me. I see warthogs, waterbuck, kudu, jackal, elephants and hippos as well as diverse species of birds; a ground hornbill, cattle egret, yellow-billed stork, ibis and much more.

In the morning of my last day I spent some time at Kanyemba Island. With an armed ranger and a guide I make a walking safari. I learn a lot about the plants and I am surprised by a huge baobab tree. Too soon it is time to check out and travel further to South Luangwa NP. With a domestic flight I fly to Mfuwe where I arrive at dark. That means that I could witness the sunset in the plane and it was amazing. In the light of setting sun the meandering Luangwa River changed into a golden ribbon in the landscape.

And than I arrive at the Track & Trail River Lodge, located just outside the gate of South Luangwa NP. But first I need my bed, it was a long and exhausting day. Next morning, after a good night's sleep, I am ready for my first gamedrive in South Luangwa. Very soon the first animals appear. Giraffes and elephants cross my path, also impala's, zebra's, puku's and hippos in the swamps we pass. After some hours driving I get my first sight of African wild dogs. It is a pack of around 15 animals and dividing a prey. On a distant an hyena is watching the whole scene but the dogs don't want to share anything, no leftovers for the poor hyena. There are some nice chances for birdphotography too. I see ibis, guinea fawl, jacana, lilac-breasted roller, weaver, bee-eater, saddle-billed stork, wattled lapwing,, hamerkop and much more.

In the heat of the day we return to the lodge and after lunch, relaxtime and tea-time the jeep is prepared again for the second gamedrive with the sundowner. The guide tries to track again the pack of wild dogs and he succeeds. Also a gorgeous leopard we notice, it is lying lazy in a dry river bed. Some magical moments we experience when we make a stop to enjoy a sundownerdrink at a cliff on the riverbank. The sky is colored orange, pink and purple and from a distance we can watch a herd of elephants coming closer slowly and having a late night drink before dark. Mesmerizing is all I can find to describe this scenery... When is it completely dark we drive further with the spotlights on and that way we can see a few nocturnal animals as civetcat, genetcat, porcupine and a female hippo with a baby.

The next morning I join a new gamedrive and again the luck is on my side. Again I have wonderful chances to experience some special encounters. I see lions crossing the river, an attack of a leopard on an impala (luckiest is the impala), giraffes, bathing hippos and much more. The sundowner is a new mesmerizing moment. We are on another beautiful location near the riverside, drinking a gin-tonic while I enjoy all impressions of safari-life.

For the walking safari I stay in two camps inside the park. From the Chikoko Tree Camp I make guided walks in company of an armed ranger too. After a few days stay I walk further and arrive in the Crocodile River Camp for another couple of days to explore that area too. Never before I did such walking safaris and I feel this is more the slow-travel way while one is much closer to nature than during gamedrives. I learn so much about plants, trees, insects, flowers and seeds.... animal bahaviour, footprints and droppings. Never is there a moment I feel unsafe thanks to my  dedicated guide and armed rangers. I see zebra's, elephants, lions, puku's, giraffes, waterbucks and much more. So, shortly a walking safari is a super experience which is not to compare with the classic gamedrive and a classic safari.

After 5 days of digital detox I must return to civilisation and my Zambia adventure is over. There is waiting another long flight but when I enter the plane and look outside the window it is with a satisfied feeling I head for home. Zambia made true my wildest expectations!!