Luwi

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Transferred to Luwi. Luwi is situated a little inland from the Luwi river, which at this time of year is completely dry…or is it. More on this later. Though it’s Kakuli that’s meant to be the hottest camp (in the Norman Carr group of camps), without a breeze Luwi is sweltering. They keep shorter hours here; at night, instead of the 4 hour night drive, the usual itinerary is to have a walking safari at 4pm and be back before dark.

The host ‘Mouse’ is great. Really gregarious and always laughing and the guide, Brian is a huge cuddly bear of a man. Really sweet. I want to bottle his voice; deep and warm he has a fantastic way of speaking: ‘and there’s some poooo-koooo, impaaa- la, oh! kuduuu, ye-eh, hm-hm,’ ending with a little chuckle.

On our evening walk with Brian, walking on the Luwi River we learn that though it’s dry on the surface, almost dessert like, with its windswept sand and driftwood, water still flows underneath. Elephants, instead of going to the dwindling lagoons, dig holes about a meter or less, to get fresh water.

We have sundowners at Luwi’s hippo hide. It’s a stunning place. Though there were rafts and rafts of hippos in Kakuli, here we can get a lot closer; the hippo hide is situated just a few paces from a lagoon filled with hippos, crocs, and birds.

A Brisbane couple are staying and they’re great company. A big part of the enjoyment for me has been the interaction with all the people and everyone has been interesting.

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