During my time running safari camps in Botswana in the 1980s, I never had the opportunity to go further north and into Zambia. So it was with great enthusiasm that I left an overheated UK in July for the Luangwa Valley. Fond of simple bushcamps, this educational trip had almost been tailor-made. It included time with the Bush Camp Company, Robin Pope Safaris, a stay at Shiwa N’gandu and Kutandala in North Luangwa National Park. Best of all, walking was high on the agenda.
The drive from Mfuwe airport, in the direction of South Luangwa National Park, immediately revived my African senses. It’s a great introduction to real African life as you pass the rural settlements along the route, the variety of shops and bars, and subsistence gardens filled with mangoes, maize and other essential crops. So many people walking or biking down the road with big bundles on their backs or strapped to their bikes, all going home and I really felt at home. It made me realize that any newcomer to Africa should try to travel by road at some point during their stay, just to see a bit of the real
Africa.
My excitement started when we crossed the Luangwa River and entered the South Luangwa National Park. The sound of hippos and the cry of the osprey filled the air. With Andy Hogg, owner of the Bushcamp Company, we headed south to Chindeni Camp. A beautifully simple tented camp that blends in perfectly with the surroundings. The tents are on raised platforms and have all the amenities you may need. We dined overlooking the darkened lagoon with the usual bell frogs tinkling in the background.
That night the cacophony of singing lions was deafening and at breakfast we got to see some rather strange looking lions at the end of the lagoon. Later on foot we ran into them. With a buffalo kill in two feet of water, they were totally covered in mud and still chewing on the carcass. It was a great start to our trek from Chindeni to Chamilandu Camp, about three to four hours away. Walking is encouraged here, not just between camps but at any time and after two days mostly on foot, it was with some reluctance that I climbed back into a vehicle.
Part of the beauty of the camps in South Luangwa and in Zambia in general is that many are run by their owners. Robin Pope Safaris, Norman Carr Safaris and the Bushcamp Company are excellent examples of this, the camps are small and unassuming and the quality of the guide is supreme. Due to the nature of the soil here, which is heavy black cotton, many of the areas cannot be traversed for more than six or seven months of the year. This means the game isn’t too used to the crowd and the staff aren’t too jaded. The South Luangwa for me was a piece of magic.
For anyone who has read and been intrigued by Christina Lamb’s book “The House in Africa”, the reality of seeing the house itself, known as Shiwa N’Gandu, is much better. Built at the beginning of the 20th century by the Englishman Stewart Gore-Browne, it is an interesting architectural mixture of an English manor house and a Tuscan villa. After several years of neglect, it is now being managed and restored by Charlie Harvey and his wife Jo. Charlie is one of Stewart Gore-Browne’s grandsons. The Harveys are great company, they are very hospitable, very knowledgeable, and because of their combined hard work, this extraordinary place once again supports a growing local population. The once-abandoned farm is now productive, the hospital is undergoing renovation, and the schools are full again. Gore-Browne’s legacy lives on and with the lake for fishing and boating, horses, great birding walks, and an abundance of historical documents and photographs to explore. A visit here is a must.
From here we head south to North Luangwa National Park, which is rising from the ashes after many years of intense poaching. The support of the Frankfurt Zoological Society has meant that the National Parks teams are back and recently the first shipment of black rhino arrived and was released in a big boma. The dense miombo forest at the top of the escarpment gives way to fantastic views for miles and miles of remote bush and the last few meters of our journey to Kutandala camp were on foot, wading through the shallows of the Mwaleshi River. The camp is a real gem. It only takes six guests and it feels, and is, extremely remote. The grass, reed and thatch huts are built each year and the attention to detail is impeccable. Rod Tether guides with a friendly manner and great knowledge, and his wife Gus provides the best food I’ve ever eaten on safari. It’s all walking, and on our last night we found eight lions lying down against a backdrop of three hundred buffalo. I could have simply stayed here for days.
Zambia reminded me very much of the Botswana that I had known fifteen years ago. Where the mountain, its sights and sounds are what really matters. You leave feeling that you have felt it, you have smelled it and you have learned much more about it. It certainly makes me smile waking up in a thatched, reed hut and watching the sun rise.
[http://www.aardvarksafaris.com/articles-zambia-zealot]