South Luangwa National Park

---

A 3-hour drive in the morning took us from Mama Rula's campground on a dry, dusty, 'back massage' bumpy road to the border of South Luangwa where we camped at a lovely grassy campground (again!) right on the South Luangwa River. It was called Croc Valley Camp - need we say more?

Just entering the campground was a treat and we were greeted by a giraffe and several elephants grazing. We were immediately drawn to the river bank, where down river we saw several pods of hippos. No crocs yet, although we were told that there are many in this river. The owner gave us a safety talk, saying not to leave the camp, and not to leave our tents at night. There is a lion pride nearby, a leopard, many elephants and some hyenas.

We lounge on the river bank for the rest of the afternoon, and sure enough, we gradually spot a number of crocs pulling up on the sand banks to bask. Watching them is like watching grass grow. For that matter, watching hippos is like watching grass grow too. However, we love the bird life, and were delighted to see many we recognize from last year's trip. The wildlife kept us entertained all afternoon and into the evening.

Next morning we were up at 5:00 for a morning game drive. The local monkeys were up to their usual antics and we have to keep a close watch on our stuff, which they will steal. On the drive we saw the usual suspects: impala, bush buck, puku (unique to Zambia), many different birds, more hippos in the water, elephants. No big cats though. It was a beautiful drive through the park along the river bank where wildlife come to drink.

Later that day, when we saw a couple from Holland who were camping in a pop-up tent truck near our tent, we learn that a hippo was in camp during the night and walked right next to their truck. That means about 10 meters from our tent! Kayla also learned that she missed all the night sounds: hippo grunts, lion roars, hyenas yapping, elephants trumpeting and who knows what else. Too bad she's such a heavy sleeper.

At 4:00 PM we climbed into a large land rover for an afternoon and night game drive. Right away we see many grazers and birds around a lake. Then a herd of 200 Cape buffalo arrive at the river bank for their evening water. Their leader kept stopping to sniff the air for predators. Our presence was duly noted and we passed as a non- threat, so the herd proceeded on their walk to water. A big hippo yawned for Richards video camera. At dusk the drivers assistant brought out a spotting light to scan the bush as we drove along dusty bumpy trails. It took a cell call by the driver to locate a lion which we drove to in a rush. This big female ignored our approach and our spotting light. She also yawned for Richards video camera.

At dark we drove on spotting wildlife in the light. South Luangwa is one of the few parks to allow night game drives, and only by a licensed safari operator on a special permit. Our tracker showed us impala resting as a group, each one pointed in a different direction to announce the alarm of predators. Big hippos appear out of the dark munching grass by the track. Two hyena appear near some impala but do not alarm them. As we arrive back at camp at 8:00 PM three giraffe jump up from a sitting position and walk away in the light of the spotting lamp.   

A camera fell off the truck (not Richard's this year) and the driver had to walk back 30 metres to find it, muttering about lions as he disappeared behind the truck in the pitch dark.  

---