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Published: August 29th 2009
Close to nature
This was the safari drive vehicle we were in during our near-death elephant experience
June 26 - July 9 Mama Rulas campsite near Chipata was one of the more equipped we stayed at, it had a bar and very slow internet access, but it was pot luck as to whether the shower was hot or not. By this time I could count on one hand the number of hot showers I'd had. This was the most frustrating part of the trip. I could handle the camping (just) but it would've been a lot more bearable if we could've just woken up with a nice hot shower instead of doing the cold shower jig which involves soaping up as quick as possible and then putting various body parts under the water to rinse the suds off. And don't even get me started on how tricky it is to wash long hair in cold water. Oh the memories...
Anyway, big news while we were in Zambia - Michael Jackson died. You'd think being in a remote part of the world it wouldn't be that big a deal but the news of the King of Pop’s death made the daily papers and in Livingstone there was a nightclub holding a memorial evening for him and
posters were encouraging punters to bring ‘a candle, flower or anything’ to remember him by. We just spent a long drive day listening to his hits which was a big improvement on Akon at least.
During our time in Zambia we stayed at a stunning campsite called Croc Valley which was set on the banks of River Luangwa. The bar and lounge area had no walls so we could sit with a G&T overlooking the river and listening to the calls of the hippos while counting crocs. It was what I imagined safari lodges would be like. And the sunsets over the river were some of the best I’ve seen. It was spectacular. As we were driving into the site we passed elephants and could see monkeys in the trees. The owner told us that hippos come through the camp at night and they even had to change the shape of the swimming pool because the hippos would get in but not be able to get out so they would have to be shot. Now the pool is sloped on all sides which is easy for hippos to get out of but not so easy for humans who have
to do an ungainly bellyflop in an attempt to get out of the water. We were also told that crocs or lions could come through the camp and if we heard a gunshot at night we shouldn’t be alarmed because it’ll just be a warning shot! Needless to say as soon as night fell we headed to our tents and didn’t emerge until morning.
While looking out over the river we would see villagers heading to the water to wash. Apparently they go to a witch doctor who gives them protection from the crocs this obviously isn’t foolproof and it is not uncommon for a villager to be taken by a croc. Yet they still go to the river to wash and fish. Lunacy.
We headed out on another game drive from Croc Valley into South Luangwa National Park. This isn’t as well visited as the Serengeti and the paths aren’t as marked out so we were pretty much driving around off road and in the bush. Bearing in mind we were on an open-style vehicle and being driven around by a kamikaze guide this led to some hairy moments. Not least of which when we were nearly
Elephant and baby
This is the baby elephant we were admiring before nearly being charged by its dad charged by a bull elephant. We had come through some trees to look at a baby elephant (so cute) who was mere feet away from us. We had never been this close to an animal on previous drives and this was the first time in an open jeep so we were as close as you could get really. The mother elephant was there too and elephants are notoriously protective of their young so she was trying to shield her baby from us. Then the big dad elephant came. And it had dark patches on its face which we had previously been told means its hormones are raging and it can get very agitated and should be left alone. So, knowing all this, the 8 of us in our jeep asked the driver to move but he said he knew best and we should take photos! As I was the one closest to the elephant, which was by this time facing the side of the truck
flapping its ears, trumpeting and stamping its foot, I was ready to jump out and run. I’m not sure where to but I thought that might give me more of a chance than being in
the sights of this beast. Then the elephant moved to the front of the truck, again we had been told on previous safaris that we shouldn’t get in the way of an animal’s path, but instead of reversing the driver merely revved his engine. So now we were in a game of chicken with a 5 tonne angry elephant! It was very frightening and the adrenaline was pumping but not in a good way. Eventually the elephant went to break off a few tree branches and we headed off to find wild dogs. Not that any of us were really keen to come across any other animals for fear of what the driver might do - get out and try and encourage them over perhaps?
It was soon time for a tea break and we stopped by the banks of a river and got out of the truck. This was quite thrilling because in the Serengeti you are not allowed out of the vehicle at all but here we were standing around just feet away from antelope and a river full of crocs and hippos.
We also saw a pack of hyenas tearing a zebra carcass to shreds
watched by trees full of vultures. This was exciting. The vultures would come down and attempt to get a piece of zebra and the hyenas would chase them off. We were close enough to hear the skin ripping as a hyena would pull off a chunk of zebra thigh.
After rejoining the rest of the group and telling them of our near-death experience with the elephant we spent the rest of the day chilling out before heading off for an evening game drive. With the same driver. This time we were looking for big cats. For the first two hours of the drive we had daylight and then the sun set as we were having a tea break by a hippo pool. The sunsets in Africa are always spectacular and we have hundreds of photos of them. Not to worry we won't bore you with all of them here. As well as the driver we had a spotter in the front with a bright torch who would look for big cats. It was pretty eerie driving around the bush in the dark especially when we were driving through the trees - who knew what might fall into our laps.
When the spotter shone his light it would pick up the eyes of animals, we drove through an open plain that was full of antelope and gazelles. Some would be laying down while other were standing up and they were all facing different directions to look out for predators. We eventually came across a leopard which we followed as it climbed down a tree and walked round our truck before heading off into the bush. It was joined by another and it was so exciting to be within touching distance of such a stunning animal. They were just pure muscle you could see how powerful they were when they were walking. We were very lucky to see the leopards as none of the other groups did.
After Croc Valley we headed back to Mama Rulas for a night and did a major truck clean. This involved sweeping out the inches of dust that covered all the surfaces in the truck and washing all of the cooking utensils. It took ages but the truck was like new when we had finished.
After another early start we headed to Lake Kariba where we would be staying on a houseboat
Hyenas
Tearing the zebra to shreds for three nights.
The houseboat was a lot of fun and we consumed quite a bit of alcohol. On our first night we had a quiz about Africa within our truck teams. My team came last which meant forfeits. I won’t go into too many details but these involved a guy wearing a bra on his head and doing a shot from a cleavage.
Days spent on the houseboat involved braving the winds to sunbathe on the roof. Me and a few of the other girls would be on the roof in our sleeping bags waiting for the sun to poke through the clouds. It was the most bizarre sunbathing session ever but a lot of fun. As soon as there was a break in the clouds the sleeping bags would come down and then when the sun went in again we'd quickly huddle back down into the warm bags. We also went out on a boat to look at elephants on the shore of the river and spot crocs. Simon did some fishing from the back of the boat but managed to catch nothing. He did however lose two spinners which we then had to pay for.
Not the most successful of fishing expeditions.
After a relaxing few days it was back to the truck for a long drive to Livingstone.
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