Day 29 – Wedding anniversary
We tried (and failed) to meet Suma’s brother Gwmaka. He was just over the border in Zimbabwe. The visa costs for us to cross over into Zimbabwe for 2 hours were too high.
We then had a long drive ahead of us as we wanted to get as close as possible to the Lower Zambezi National Park. It took us the rest of the day to get to Gwabi lodge/ campsite, arriving there well after it got dark. it was a dull drive on nice smooth tar roads. The section through the mountains towards Chirundu was very pretty, although there were plenty of broken-down trucks blocking the roads. We didn’t see much of Chirundu. It’s a hectic border town between Zambia and Zimbabwe, so there are trucks and people everywhere. Zambia’s lack of electricity at nighttime give the place a surreal feel to it. The only light is from the many vehicle headlights jostling to access the border post.
Gwabi campsite (on the Kafue river) was ok for a stopover. It seems a popular spot for people who hire motorboats for the day. From the little we saw of the Kafue River, it looked very beautiful. The lady in charge seemed preoccupied and not overly welcoming.
Day 30 – Mvuu lodge – Lower Zambezi
We left Gwabi and had only a 2 hour drive to our next stop: Mvuu Lodge. We had 2 days here in order to visit the nearby Lower Zambezi national park (1 hour away). The manager John immediately made us very welcome.
The lodge has riverside chalets, a lovely bar area overlooking the stunning river, and plenty of camp pitches, 2 of which are overlooking the river. Book well ahead if you want these pitches, they are prime real estate.
The river pitches were booked but John spoke to the booking agent and found that the ‘Ele’ pitch had a last minute cancellation so we could use it for the night.
We have stayed in many campsites now, and Mvuu is definitely one of the top ones. It ticks all the boxes:
1. Great location near something awesome
2. Beautiful views from the campsite pitch
3. Great facilities
4. Really great staff who go make you feel so welcome and part of the family.
We have stayed at many sites which tick the first two boxes, not so many which tick the first three, and very few which tick all four. Mvuu is one of the few which ticks all boxes; it has the feel of a luxury camp but at a fraction of the price.
We booked a sunset river cruise on a small metal dinghy for $88 USD. It was fantastic exploring such a wild untamed stretch of the Zambezi.
There was a fault with the outboard engine electrics: a short in both the starter and trim circuits. The coxswain kept having to bypass fuses. The presence of a supply of already fudged fuses (with wire wrapped around them) meant this was an ongoing issue that should have been dealt with long ago.
Also, having an avoidable engine failure in a river full of grumpy-ass and very dangerous Hippos is asking for trouble. The manager John gave the coxswain a right bollocking for both not reporting the fault and for using a boat with a fault he knew about.
That aside, it did make the boat trip more memorable and we spent an extra half an hour on the river playing with the outboard motor.
Day 31 – Lower Zambezi NP game drive
Leopards! Our guide Shad was a top man. The ground was very dry, but plenty of greenery on the leaves.
We started by trying to look for some Lions that we were told were heading across a side channel. No luck.
We were then told that a Leopard had been spotted, and it looked like our guide was getting some very clear directions from another guide. So we headed there quickly, getting quite excited at the though of spotting our first ever elusive Leopard. Suma spotted another game vehicle parked up near some bushes, so we headed there by barging our way through and over some small bushes and young trees. The car wrap picked up a few more scratches.
We were then able to spot our first ever Leopard! A stunning male, wandering slowly through the bush, seemingly unfazed by our presence. We followed him for a short while before allowing others to enjoy the spectacle.
We were so pleased. We have done countless game drives, and all of them hoping that we might one day see a Leopard.
We headed off to see what else we could find, winding through the bush on red dirt trails, now & again following the river with amazing views across to Mana Pools NP in Zimbabwe.
We stopped for a quick beer by the riverside. When we were almost finished, a game drive vehicle approached, and told us a Leopard had just climbed up into a tree about 100m from where we were. We had a look for him, but the tree was too large and foliage too dense for us to see anything.
Not long afterwards we saw another vehicle, the guide told us about a female leopard spotted hiding her cubs in a bush not far away.
We headed there and soon picked up the leopard pug marks and vehicle tracks. We started circling the bushes in the vicinity. We came around one bush slowly, and Suma gave out a yelp of surprise and quickly wound up her window. Right there next to here about 4ft from the car was a female leopard looking directly at us.
We stayed for a while watching while her 2 cubs suckled. They were tiny, Shad estimated around 1 month old. She eventually got tired of us and moved her cubs further into the dense thick bush, now completely hidden. it was a magical encounter, and something we will never forget.
Lower Zambezi National Park is a very beautiful area, and we are now looking forward to see what South Luangwa has in store for us.
Day 32 – Long drive out
Our next destination was South Luangwa NP. It took all day to get just over halfway there. Looking at the map it seemed like there was a nice shortcut up to the Great East Road, which would potentially save us time. Asking around it became clear that this was not a road we should attempt. The route up the Zambezi Escarpment was said to be very rough and dangerous. If you get into trouble it will be weeks before park rangers find you. You could maybe do the route with am unladen Land Cruiser, but not a top-heavy overloaded truck like ours.
We decided to take the safe but very long and boring tar-road via Lusaka. I got caught speeding by the police. The officer inspected the contents of my fridge and accepted a litre of orange juice in exchange for letting me off.
We skirted Lusaka. It is like Dar but more civilized.
It got dark as we approached Nyimba town. There were people, animals and motorcycles everywhere, but no street-lights or house lights. We tried a few lodges but none had electricity. We found one with a bit of power, but it was one of those seedy places which charge by the hour.
The bed was uncomfortable and the mozzie net had big holes which we tried to plug using toilet paper. We tried to settle down but decided that the roof tent was bigger, more comfortable, was mozzie-proof and had 12v electrics.
So we decamped to the roof tent, which was sheer luxury by comparison. I like it in the roof tent, it feels homely.
Day 33 – Drive to Croc Valley campsite, near South Luangwa NP
A pretty dull and uneventful 5 1/2 hour drive from Nyimba to camp. We arrived around 2.30pm, so had plenty of time to relax.
We had a riverside pitch with very nice views across the Luangwa River. There are a lot of crocs on the sand bar in the middle of the river.
The campsite is lovely, and great value. Parts of it are looking a bit tired and in need of TLC, but for the money I cannot fault it. The manager Herbert is very welcoming, and on hand to answer any questions. He helped us out a lot with our onward route planning.
I had a very productive night game drive. I went in a game drive vehicle with some Afrikaaners. Incredibly, we saw another Leopard although I couldn’t get a good photo of him. Nearby was a hyena napping.
We saw several Genets too, both sightings were very clear and quite close, unusual for such a very shy small cat.
Suma stayed back at camp, relaxing by the river. With the river being so low, the campsite is about 15ft above the river level, and we were advised not to go down to the waters edge due to the high numbers of crocodiles.
While I was on the game drive, Suma watched some Vervet monkeys playing down by the river edge. A croc came bursting out of the water and tried to take one.
Day 34 – South Luangwa NP game drive
We left camp at 8.30am with our guide Musa. I was driving and Musa was looking for game.
South Luangwa is one of the more stunning parks we have visited. It is similar in many ways to Selous (Nyerere) NP in Tanzania, but with more wildlife.
The Luangwa river meanders around, doubling back on itself and forming oxbow lakes. There is a labyrinthine network of sand trails following the river and hinterland, giving superb access to all of the good game-viewing areas.
Even if there were no game here to see, it would be worth coming as it is so stunning. But there is wildlife in abundance. Pretty much everything is here, with the exception of Rhino and Cheetah.
The river has huge populations of crocs and hippo. There are many small lakes near the river, with hippo, crocs and bird life. Musa told us there are over 700 bird species in the park.
After about 3 hours driving around without seeing a predator, Musa spotted a Leopard resting in a tree on the riverbank. We parked in the shade of the sand tree and sat watching him for a while.
We headed off, and 2km further along the river we saw another Leopard sitting in a bush. We sat and enjoyed him for a while then headed off further into the park to look for wild dogs.
We didn’t find them nor any Lions. At our lunch stop next to the river, a guide car pulled up and said he just saw a Leopard climb up into a dense tree just 50m from where we were snacking. We had a look for him but the foliage was too dense. This place is Leopard paradise!
Time was getting on so we began the drive back towards camp. A guide car stopped us and told us of a Leopard sitting just by the road nearby. It was the same Leopard we had seen a few hours previously: he had come out of the bushes and sat in a much better spot for us to photograph him.
We got back to Croc Valley camp around 3.30pm. I was pretty tired after driving all day so I had a nap in the camp chair by the river.
We were both a bit knackered after a good few days of driving, so we opted to stay for an extra night so we could sit around relaxing, and I could get ahead with work chores.
Day 35 – relaxing at Croc Valley Camp
Nothing interesting to report, a much needed rest day well spent in a lovely camp.
