moovet

Hi there,

Is it a total waste of time to try and get to let alone observe wildlife at the beginning of December in South Luangwa?

We have a 10 week trip to south and eastern Africa starting in early November in South Africa heading north. With one of the tours we are going on we will have 3-4 days in Vic falls and then 3 days of 8+ hours on a bus to get to Lake Malawi via Lusaka and Chipata.
I was thinking of flying from Livingstone to Mfuwe to spend a few days in South Luangwa instead because I have heard some great things about it. It would beat a 3d bus trip too.

I know that a lot of camps shutdown but I read somewhere that some don't, you can get great rates because it is the quiet (rainy) season and if the guides know where to go, the wildlife is still spectacular, especially the birds.

If it is terrible, would Hwange in Zimbabwe be a better option or is it usually flooded out as well?

I would appreciate any ideas.

Cheers,

Geoff

GreenDrake

Geoff I have been to the South Luangwa 3 times, but not in December. On my last trip in October I met a couple that had spent December there for 10 straight years. This was there first trip in October - which is peak game viewing time. Although we had great game viwing, they still said they preferred December - as they liked the lush green colors and there was much less dust with still very good game viewing.

Do a search here under the user name "matnikstym". I know he as visted S.Luangwa during the green season and posted a report.

matnikstym

Thanks Greendrake for the reference to my trip report:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34779548

I was in South Luangwa in March, the middle of the Emerald Season. I did enjoy it for the contrast to the dry season, but do prefer the dry season. One camp was strictly water based viewing which got old after the first day. The other camps were in vehicles and had a great time.

In December you'd be betting against the rains. Two years ago the park and Mfuwe were underwater and the whole area was closed. Last year was a normal year and some of the lodges stayed open. Who know's what this year will be like and if you'd have to cancel at the last minute.

Was in Hwange at the end of October last year and it was starting to get cold, rainy and windy. Don't know if it floods like S.L. as there is no river there.

Animal viewing in the Emerald Season is hit and miss. Did see a lot of lions, antelope and our first leopard but not as many elephants as in the dry season.

moovet

Thanks Guys. We will have spent 3 days each in Etosha, Chobe and Okavango by then so hopefully would have seen a few elephants. We also have 10 days planned in the Serengeti/Ngorogoro late December.
However I really like the different antelope species and would like to see a leopard obviously and heard that South Luangwa is one of my better bets for both no matter what time of year.
We have 6 days between when we arrive in Vic falls and when our tour is in Chipata. Two of those days are long drives and I thought that time could be better spent flying into Mfuwe for 2-4 days and still catch up with the tour at Chipata.
We like places with less tourists and Vic Falls I think has limited appeal because of that so we will probably just spend a couple of days there. We are going to Africa for the wildlife and don't know when we will get a chance again. Maybe when we come back things will have changed at South Luangwa for the worse. Plus we are going to be so close to it, it seems worth the gamble with the weather.