Zam and Zim Sept 2010: Shumba and Ruckomechi

Old Oct 16th, 2010, 03:02 PM
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Zam and Zim Sept 2010: Shumba and Ruckomechi

It's taken me a bit of time to sit down and write this, but the memories are still vivid. My husband and I visited Shumba and Ruckomechi in September, and had an awesome time. It was our 4th safari; 2nd time to Zambia first time to Zimbabwe. If you want to just skip to the photos, here is the link:
http://www.kodakgallery.ca/ShareLand...localeid=en_CA Most photos are captioned to tell the story.
Otherwise read on for the full trip report. Sorry it's long.

Flight: BA Toronto to London, killed a few hours at the Yotel at Heathrow, London to Lusaka. The Yotel cabin was small but pleasant and comfortable, and certainly convenient.

Arrived in Lusaka early a.m. on Sept 2. Because we were only flying out to Shumba in the afternoon, we rested at Chaminuka lodge, about 40 minutes from the airport. Nice enough for a quick stopover. Then back to the airport for our light plane out to Shumba. As we flew over the park, you could see and smell smoke from numerous brush fires. Great scenery, though. From the airstrip, a quick helicopter ride into camp. Interesting view of the flood plains from the heli, and lots of lechwe to be seen.

Shumba Camp - Kafue NP, Zambia - 7 nights - 6 tents
The camp is beautiful, the tents are wonderfully outfitted, and the staff are really really good. The location is stunning and you really get a sense of being out in the middle of nowhere as there is just these great open expanses everywhere. Lexon was our guide, and he is a cheerful, helpful, knowledgeable guide, for both birds and other animals. We would rank him high on our list of quality guides we've had on our safaris.

Wildlife sightings - You need to understand that viewing wildlife in this area is different. These are vast plains, and the wildlife can see you coming a mile away. But that being said, we did see a lot of variety:
Hoofed: oribi, roan, wildebeest, zebra, reedbuck, bushbuck, lechwe and puku (hundreds and hundreds), waterbuck, impala, warthogs, buffalo
Cats: lions almost every day (same pride), a few serval sightings
Hippos and crocs galore, including the biggest hippo we've ever seen. Elephants
Other: bushbabies, genets, monitor lizards, jackal, vervet monkeys, grey mongoose, water mongoose, white-tailed mongoose, civet
Birdlife: Very good. Lots of great sightings, including Fulleborn's longclaw and lots of rosy-throated longclaws, martial eagle with its meal, egyptian geese goslings, black-winged stilts and chicks, lots of wattled cranes, black crakes, lesser jacana, goliath and squacco herons, etc.
Highlights: balloon ride over the plains, getting a good look at 4 bushbabies, a hippo rolling over another hippo, and brief hippo skirmish (all in my photos), lions in front of our tent and visiting the tent deck next to ours, gamboling wildebeest calf and zebra foal, very large flock of crowned cranes, evening boat ride with tremendous water birds and hippo interaction.

We had the camp to ourselves for 4 days and then enjoyed the company of some really nice people from all over. My overall feeling about this camp is that it truly feels wild, and while you don't have the fastpaced animal sightings that you get in some of the smaller conservation areas, it really is a true safari feeling. I think this camp is ideal for birders and experienced safari-ers. The only down side is that the tse-tse flies are difficult when you approach the woods (which is where you can see sable, leopard, waterbuck, impala, and lots of other birds). We used the old burning elephant dung trick, which helped a lot. I would suggest bringing a light scarf, that you can wrap around your neck and across your mouth and nose for protection.

Flew back to Lusaka, then we took the road transfer to Zimbabwe, as we thought it would be cool to see a little bit of the country side from the ground. A lot of big trucks on the road, but our driver was good and it was interesting. Crossed the border into Zim with only a minor wait, and then boarded a motorboat for a 1 hr+ trip down the Zambezi river. A nice way to arrive in camp.

Ruckomechi Camp - Mana Pools NP (actually a small adjacent concession) - 6 nights - 10 tents
The camp is set on the banks of the Zambezi river, facing the Zambezi escarpment. The tents are well equiped and comfortable. The camp was full most of the time, and there was a lot of temporary staff on hand, so it didn't have as much of a relaxed feel as other places we've been but it was still really great. Everyone we met was wonderful. What's different is that you don't get 1 guide for the duration of your stay, so we ended up doing activities with 5 different guides. We enjoyed the company of all of them.

There was lots of wildlife to be seen. Elephants were abundant and constantly in camp, in amongst the tents. As the tents are at ground level, the elephants can walk on your decking, and peak into your tent or rub against it. Because the acacia pods were dropping, the ellies were constantly vaccuuming them off the tops of the tents. I love being this close to wildlife, but you do have to always be aware and cautious when stepping out of your tent.

Wildlife: cheetah, leopard, serval, genet, wild cat, wild dogs, lions, honey badger, elephants, hippos, crocs, waterbuck, buffalo, impala, kudu, baboons, hyena, and probably some more that I can't think of right now.
Birdlife: really good - carmine, white-fronted and little bee-eaters, malachite, pied, giant and hooded kingfishers, black headed heron, marabou storks, wood owl, white browed coucal, weavers, skimmers and lots more

Having an option for different activities was great. We canoed, walked, drove, boated, all providing exciting ways to see wildlife.

Highlights: seeing a honey badger by our tent at night twice, with one of the times, we were inside and could hear him sniffing around and see him peaking in at us; the abundance of elephants and lots of babies and them visiting our tent; the wild dogs (see more below); photographing the weavers and the bee-eaters from the boat.

Wild dogs: I have planned all our safaris around trying to see wild dogs, and other than a fleeting glimpse of 2 dogs across a river on our 1st safari, we have struck out. But we made up for it with a vengeance this trip. The dogs hadn't been seen in the area for a while, but finally they were spotted. We found them at night near the airstrip - a pack of 26 which included 8 puppies. We snapped a few nighttime pics, but hoped they would still be around the next morning. Off we went looking for them, and we found them. They settled down by some palms and we were able to get out of the jeep and approach them on foot and sit near them and take pictures. Once again in the afternoon, we wanted to go find them, and they were still in the same spot. So we approached on foot and sat with them for a while. After a time, the puppies got curious and started approaching us, and got within @ 4 metres. It was awesome, and if it had ended there, we would have been over the moon.

But then all the dogs got up and started milling about - it was late afternoon. Dogs started disappearing into the bush and all of a sudden the puppies were alone. We started looking around, and we saw, off in the distance, an impala herd running, being chased by dogs. We thought they were heading far off, so we decided that we would stay with the puppies as the adults would come back for them. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I notice movement and an adult male impala is running straight for us, being chased by 2 dogs. As we are frozen standing there it veers away from us and runs in front of us, perhaps 10 metres, and zooms by us at full speed, followed by 2 dogs in hot pursuit (see blurry photos). We run to the jeep to try to catch up (ferrari safari), and we've baredly turned into the dry riverbed, and we slam on the brakes and there are 5 dogs pulling out the entrails of the impala. We got quietly out of the jeep and sat in the sand about 5 metres away and watched as the entire pack, including the puppies returned. We stayed there until after it got dark. What a day! I bet if we go back to Africa 20 more times, we will never see anything like that again.

I think Ruckomechi is ideal for first time safari-ers, because of the amount and variety of wildlife and activities. It is also great for more seasoned folks, but I would recommend a private jeep. They do fill the jeeps otherwise, which isn't always ideal for photography and for staying at sightings for a long time. We had a private jeep booked for our last 4 days and it was well worth it.

Flew back to Lusaka, and overnighted at the Intercontinental, where I got food-poisoning, which made the trek home difficult, but we made it!

Another fabulous trip! The upside of the food-poisoning is that I lost whatever weight I gained from the yummy food at the camps.

Happy to answer any questions or provide more details.
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Old Oct 16th, 2010, 04:08 PM
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WOW-your photos are just incredible and I especially love those shots of the hippos and the wild dogs! What a trip, and to be on the ground yourselves for some of the action must've been fantastic.
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Old Oct 16th, 2010, 05:23 PM
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Thanks for taking the time to write the report. Looks like you had a wonderful time and you got some amazing shots, particularly the birds.
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Old Oct 16th, 2010, 07:08 PM
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Marina,
You had a great safari in a destination not many people get to. Excellent pictures- some of the finest wild dog images I have seen. What camera and lenses did you use? Thanks for sharing.
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Old Oct 17th, 2010, 06:00 AM
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Thanks for the kind comments. The photogenic subjects make it easy!! I use a Canon Rebel XTi, with a Canon lens 75-300 mm with IS. Nothing fancy.
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Old Oct 17th, 2010, 02:09 PM
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Amazing photos. Particularly the dog pics and the chase are awesome!
I wonder the guide sat with you close to them.......

It certainly was a special safari!

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Old Oct 17th, 2010, 10:30 PM
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jjmb,

thanks for this enjoyable and informative trip report. I really ejoyed your photos, what great animal sightings you had.Thanks for sharing.

Regards,

Pol.
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Old Oct 18th, 2010, 08:36 AM
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This might be of interest to you:



MANA POOLS ANOTHER WORLD HERITAGE SITE UNDER THREAT?

CONSULTATION: OCTOBER 2010

MANA POOLS WORLD HERITAGE SITE:

ZIMPARKS AUTHORITY PROPOSES NEW TOURISM DEVELOPMENTS

Zimbabwe's Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZPWMA) has asked The Zambezi Society and other stakeholders to ratify its proposals for the following:

three new semi-permanent" 24-bed lodge tourism development sites along the Zambezi River frontage of the Mana Pools National Park and World Heritage Site,
one new "semi-permanent" 24-bed lodge tourism development at the Ruchomechi Research Station inland within the Park
one new tented camp operators' site as a replacement for one being displaced by a river frontage lodge development site above

more - scroll down the page - :

http://www.africatalks.co.za/2010-oc...ewsletter.html

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Old Oct 18th, 2010, 11:39 AM
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What a special safari! You were wise to stay so long in each location. Your wild dog experinces were amazing.
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Old Oct 18th, 2010, 12:04 PM
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OH I wanna go to Zimbabwe and Zambia!
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Old Oct 18th, 2010, 05:48 PM
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Thanks everyone for the nice comments. Definitely wonderful places and sightings. If there weren't so many other places that I want to visit, I would certainly go back, but we always try new camps each trip.

Forgot to mention that I believe the balloon ride at Shumba is included if you book 3 nights or more (I think it would apply at Busanga Bush Camp and Kapinga as well). You can also rent a helicopter for a 1/2 hour or 1 hour tour over the area. We didn't do that, though, but those that did seemed to enjoy it.
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Old Oct 18th, 2010, 06:15 PM
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Hello to a fellow Canadian! Such lovely photos - my favourites are the sunset on the Busanga Plains, the puku with the headdress, the rosy-throated longclaw, and especially the martial eagle glaring at you from the tree - wonderful!

There is more water in the Busanga Plains (based on your photos) than I would have expected for September - is this true or is what I see in your photos the norm for September?

You mention a previous trip to Zambia - was it also to Kafue?

Unfortunate way to end your journey! Robin
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Old Oct 19th, 2010, 03:47 PM
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Hi Robin,

Hello to a fellow Canadian. Glad you enjoyed the pics.

It's always interesting to connect with another Canadian on this site, just because it seems like we meet so few of us on safari. It seems like over all our trips, we've only ever met 2 or 3 Cdn couples.

Based on what the folks there told us, the water level was normal on the plains. We could see where only a few days/weeks before, certain areas had not been driveable, and also where bush fires stalled because the grass or ground had been wet. But the actual river was quite shallow, and many channels had become impassable by boat.

Previous trip to Zambia included 2 camps in Lower Zambezi, and 1 in South Luangwa. That was our first safari - the beginning of the ongoing love affair!!!
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Old Oct 20th, 2010, 02:20 PM
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It's true isn't it - you don't meet many Canadians on safari. The last time we drove through Chobe National Park in Botswana, we met four South Africans who visit the park every year and have been done so for many years. We were the first Canadians they had ever encountered. We met a Canadian father and daughter from Toronto near Ngorongoro Crater in 2009, and a group of 4 Canadians at Serian Camp outside the Mara on the same trip, but that's about it.

We are heading to Lower Zambezi NP and South Luangwa in Oct 2011 - I'd be curious to know where you stayed and how you liked those parks compared to Kafue - we debated adding Kafue to our 2011 itinerary, but the trip was becoming too long.

Ah yes - the love affair with Africa - we too are hooked! Robin
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Old Oct 22nd, 2010, 05:31 PM
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Great photos. Made me feel like I was back on the Zambezi.
Thanks for sharing.
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Old Oct 22nd, 2010, 06:44 PM
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What a treat to see those photos. You really have an eye for catching the little details and the whole setting/ambiance. Thanks for sharing. Mana Pools is definitely beckoning me...
Sounds like you had a wonderful trip to both places.
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Old Oct 24th, 2010, 10:35 AM
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Thanks Sangeeta. Mana Pools really was lovely....

Robin, our first safari in 2002 included Kiubo and Kulefu in Lower Zambezi NP (3 nights each), and then 3 nights at Nsefu in SLNP. Sanctuary now owns Kulefu, and from the looks of the pics on their website, they have definitely made it more upscale. I don't know who owns Kiubo now, or if it was still there. Both camps were in great spots along the river, and the game viewing was good. Saw a few leopard there, as well as an aardvark! Lots of action on the river with the elephants, crocs and hippos so there is always wildlife about. Every night there were regular 4-legged visitors to camp, including buffalo, hippo and ellies.

South Luangwa is great, and Nsefu was also a nice camp. They have rondavels, which is the only place we've been that has that. Even though it is more like a chalet, because it was partially open, you still feel connected with the outdoors and can hear all the sounds (we love that part which is why we always like to stay in tents). The game viewing was good, with lots of diversity.

If I think about it though, lions were a bit scarce in all 3 locations - whether that was our bad luck or reality I don't know. We eventually did find a pride in SL, but only once. We definitely saw more hyena and leopards. At Nsefu, we had 1 day where we saw 5 different leopard. Leopards were so regular, it made us think that was normal on safari!

We took a terrific long walk in Nsefu, and we saw lots of wildlife - elephants, hippos, bushbuck, baboons, lots of different birds, giraffe, and more. It was quite productive.

Our experience with guides so far in Zambia is that they are very good. We certainly enjoyed our trip and have absolutely nothing negative to report on the camps or the experience.

LZ and SL compared to Kafue? I would have to say they are very different, and that you see less diversity in Kafue because it is so vast and the animals have many sources of water (although the volume of animals may in fact be higher in Kafue), and because the tse tses make it difficult to explore any of the forest. So if the question was which of the 3 parks would I be most likely to return to first, I think I would say SL, but I would pick a small camp that is not in 1 of the over developed areas. I always like it when the only jeeps I see are the ones from my camp.

Happy to answer any questions you might have.
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Old Oct 26th, 2010, 09:07 PM
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jjmb - curious about the criteria you used to pick the parks and the camps that you did. Were you mainly guided by your TA or did you explore a bunch of options before settling on your choices? If the latter, could you recommend some good sites/books/other resources you may have used to plan this trip?
Thanks.
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Old Oct 28th, 2010, 01:34 PM
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Sangeeta,

My travel agent is an Africa expert and is very helpful, certainly when we were planning our first safari, her input was crucial. But now we've figured out what we like and don't like to be able to build a trip that is perfect for us. I do a lot of the research myself, and then bounce ideas off her. Because she knows us well now, she will take my ideas and tell me whether it really fits with what I am looking for or not.

First criteria for us is that we aren't repeating camps (yet), so even if we loved a place, we aren't going to revisit it unless we've tapped out all other interesting possibilities.

Next we look at the types of animals we'd like to see, and choosing the right ecosystems to deliver it. On 1 trip, we might pick 2 or 3 ecosystems so that we can get diverse game viewing. For example, my husband loves the big cats and really wanted to see lions hunting - so we went to Duba Plains, where that kind of action is pretty much "guaranteed".

Then we pick small camps with no fences. I never like more than 6 tents (Ruckomechi was 10 so that was a bit of a stretch for me), and open vehicles are a must and day and night drives. Having a variety of activities is nice, such as walking or canoeing, but I steer away from places that offer massages and luxuries that are a bit over the top for me. Also little things like allowing kids in camp, or places that pack people into the jeeps are not for us.

I like to go to places where there are no "crowds" at the sightings, and I love the feeling of being the only people out there, so I lean towards large concessions that only have 1 or 2 camps, or areas that are not as trendy, or go during shoulder season so the camps aren't full.

The internet has made all my research so much easier, and I spend a lot of time scouring sites like Fodors, other travel forums, tourism sites, etc. But a couple of books that I refer to the most are Africa's Top Wildlife Countries (Nolting), and Watching Wildlife - Southern Africa (Lonely Planet). The former helped me narrow down what was a must-do for our first trip, and gave me some ideas for subsequent trips. The latter I read before planning every trip, and again before I leave on the trip.

I love planning holidays, and I enjoy it almost as much as the trip itself! I would have to say that the extra effort on the front end has greatly improved our overall experience.

I hope that helps.
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Old Oct 28th, 2010, 09:12 PM
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JJMB - Thanks so much for taking the time to reply in so much detail. I could tell from the quality of your trip report, your destination choices/length of stay at each camp and the quality of your sightings that this was a very "thought-through" itinerary. So glad it worked out as well as it did for both of you.

Thanks also for describing your planning process. Always interesting to see what people prioritize. I think I'm with you on pretty much everything you said, so I'm bookmarking this report to use as a basis for a future Zim-Zam trip

And finally, fully agree with you that extra effort on the front really pays off in the end. I have spent this past year planning a Serengeti mobile in great detail & hope to come back with memories that are as wonderful as the ones you describe in your report.
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