Back from Zambia....need help with setting up Kodak slide show
Jun 12th, 2006 | 05:34 PM
#24
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Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 147
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part 2.
After our final morning game drive at LRL, we had lunch and finished packing and started on the long journey to Kapamba Bush Camp. Our luggage was loaded into the boat and we crossed the river and were driven to Mufuwe Lodge. There we were met by Jason from Kapamba Bush Camp.
I had read on Fodors about a CD of sounds from the Luangwa valley. Barry told me that he thought I could buy one at Mfuwe Lodge. It is called "A Luangwa Adventure" and we have enjoyed listening to the sounds since arriving home that we heard everyday while in SLNP.
Jason loaded our luggage and we started on the very long and bumpy ride in the Bush Company Land Cruiser, which was smaller with less leg room and rougher riding than the LRL Land Rover. Took us 3 1/2 hours to go about 40 miles on the rough park roads. There was a better road that would have been a shorter trip, but it wasn't ready to open yet after the rainy season. We arrived at Kapamba around 4:30 and were met by Sean, Barry's brother who was working for the Bush Camp Company until his return to LRL.
Kapamba, which is only in it's second season, is the newest of the 5 Bush Camps in that area of the SLNP. The camps are only open for 6 mos. because of the heavy rains. The chalets are beautiful as is the location on the Kapamba River. As shown in the photos, the chalets are open on 2 sides. The day we arrived it was cloudy and a chilly wind was blowing through our chalet. They have a generator, but it was out being serviced so we couldn't charge our camera batteries and since Dick's shaver is electric, he couldn't shave and looked pretty scruffy after 4 days.
We left right away for an evening game drive with Gilbert, our guide, and Bau, our spotter. Found a pride of lions with some cute cubs. Saw a few other animals...puku, impala, zebra, and a genet. We were the only guests the first night. Four more coming tomorrow.
Dinner after the drive was around 8. Got to bed earlier than usual, around 9:30. Up at the usual time at 5:15, breakfast of cereal, toast, fruit, juice. Left for game drive at 6:30 with Gilbert and Kristen. We found the lions again and they were starting to hunt and stalk. Four females left to start hunting, followed by 2 males who were going along to wait for the girls to kill something for them to eat. The females do the hunting, then the males eat first, then the females and then the cubs, if there is anything left. They watched a couple of zebras across the river, hoping the zebras would cross the river where they could stalk them. But the zebras must have detected them as they started to cross and went back. We drove on to the confluence of the Kapamba River and the Luangwa River and watched the many hippos. Very pretty spot. Then back to check on the lions. Found that they had crossed the river to hunt the zebras and pukus. So we drove across the river.....very bumpy ride. Found the lions and watched them, but they were not hunting now.
Back to camp for brunch. One of the new guests had arrived.....a gentleman from Kent, England. Had time before brunch to shower and do a little unpacking since we were too tired after yesterday's late arrival and it had been too cold to shower after dark anyway.
Had a delicious lunch buffet....spinach quiche, greek salad, pork meatballs, pasta salad, homemade bread, and bowl of mixed fruit for dessert. All the food at Kapamba was excellent. We asked to meet the chef and was given a tour of the kitchen. Don't know how they can prepare such great meals with no electricity. All cooking is done on a small 4 burner gas stove with one small oven. No dishwashers, etc.
Back to rest before 3:30 tea and 4:00 game drive. Saw the lion pride again, no hunting, just resting. Back to camp and the other 3 people had arrived. A couple and their college age daughter from New Zealand.
Dinner was served at 8:30......tender beef, rice with vegetables, fresh green beans, and a roll. Apricot-coconut pie for dessert.
Bed around 10:15.
The game was scarce and shy. Except for the pride of lions, we saw very little.
It is a beautiful pristine area with the hills and much different terrain than the area around the LRL. Also much more remote. We saw no other vehicles on our game drives.
While we were the only guests, Gilbert spent a lot of time with us watching the lions. However, after the others arrived, he didn't give us a choice of walks or drives. Just informed us that we were walking in the mornings and driving in the afternoon/evenings. His walks were o.k., but we basically just walked most of the time with very little stopping and talking about what we were seeing unless we asked him to stop. He just lacked the enthusiasum and interest that we had seen with Victor. The other family had asked him if we could check on the lions before our morning walk. He did find them and they were on the move, so possibly going to hunt. We thought we would probably follow them for a while, but Gilbert just turned the vehicle around and left them and said we would find them again on the afternoon/evening drive. They had moved on by that time and we never found them again. He had determined that we were going to walk and seemed somewhat irritated by the request to watch the lions, which all of us would have preferred to do.
In order to catch our flight out of Mfuwe to Lusaka and then Royal in Lower Zambezi, we had to get up at 3:30 AM and leave at 4:30 AM in the dark for the long cold drive back the way we arrived four days ago. Sean gave us blankets and hot water bottles and we wore our warmest clothes. Those open vehicles are cold when driving fast. The bumpy roads are hard on the back when drivng slowly, but is really difficult when going fast. But we survived and arrived at Mfuwe Lodge at sunrise and shed some of our clothing before continuing to the airport.
When we arrived at the airport, we met up with Sharon and Richard again. They had gone to Puku Ridge while we were at Kapamba and now we were all on our way to Chiawa.
After our final morning game drive at LRL, we had lunch and finished packing and started on the long journey to Kapamba Bush Camp. Our luggage was loaded into the boat and we crossed the river and were driven to Mufuwe Lodge. There we were met by Jason from Kapamba Bush Camp.
I had read on Fodors about a CD of sounds from the Luangwa valley. Barry told me that he thought I could buy one at Mfuwe Lodge. It is called "A Luangwa Adventure" and we have enjoyed listening to the sounds since arriving home that we heard everyday while in SLNP.
Jason loaded our luggage and we started on the very long and bumpy ride in the Bush Company Land Cruiser, which was smaller with less leg room and rougher riding than the LRL Land Rover. Took us 3 1/2 hours to go about 40 miles on the rough park roads. There was a better road that would have been a shorter trip, but it wasn't ready to open yet after the rainy season. We arrived at Kapamba around 4:30 and were met by Sean, Barry's brother who was working for the Bush Camp Company until his return to LRL.
Kapamba, which is only in it's second season, is the newest of the 5 Bush Camps in that area of the SLNP. The camps are only open for 6 mos. because of the heavy rains. The chalets are beautiful as is the location on the Kapamba River. As shown in the photos, the chalets are open on 2 sides. The day we arrived it was cloudy and a chilly wind was blowing through our chalet. They have a generator, but it was out being serviced so we couldn't charge our camera batteries and since Dick's shaver is electric, he couldn't shave and looked pretty scruffy after 4 days.
We left right away for an evening game drive with Gilbert, our guide, and Bau, our spotter. Found a pride of lions with some cute cubs. Saw a few other animals...puku, impala, zebra, and a genet. We were the only guests the first night. Four more coming tomorrow.
Dinner after the drive was around 8. Got to bed earlier than usual, around 9:30. Up at the usual time at 5:15, breakfast of cereal, toast, fruit, juice. Left for game drive at 6:30 with Gilbert and Kristen. We found the lions again and they were starting to hunt and stalk. Four females left to start hunting, followed by 2 males who were going along to wait for the girls to kill something for them to eat. The females do the hunting, then the males eat first, then the females and then the cubs, if there is anything left. They watched a couple of zebras across the river, hoping the zebras would cross the river where they could stalk them. But the zebras must have detected them as they started to cross and went back. We drove on to the confluence of the Kapamba River and the Luangwa River and watched the many hippos. Very pretty spot. Then back to check on the lions. Found that they had crossed the river to hunt the zebras and pukus. So we drove across the river.....very bumpy ride. Found the lions and watched them, but they were not hunting now.
Back to camp for brunch. One of the new guests had arrived.....a gentleman from Kent, England. Had time before brunch to shower and do a little unpacking since we were too tired after yesterday's late arrival and it had been too cold to shower after dark anyway.
Had a delicious lunch buffet....spinach quiche, greek salad, pork meatballs, pasta salad, homemade bread, and bowl of mixed fruit for dessert. All the food at Kapamba was excellent. We asked to meet the chef and was given a tour of the kitchen. Don't know how they can prepare such great meals with no electricity. All cooking is done on a small 4 burner gas stove with one small oven. No dishwashers, etc.
Back to rest before 3:30 tea and 4:00 game drive. Saw the lion pride again, no hunting, just resting. Back to camp and the other 3 people had arrived. A couple and their college age daughter from New Zealand.
Dinner was served at 8:30......tender beef, rice with vegetables, fresh green beans, and a roll. Apricot-coconut pie for dessert.
Bed around 10:15.
The game was scarce and shy. Except for the pride of lions, we saw very little.
It is a beautiful pristine area with the hills and much different terrain than the area around the LRL. Also much more remote. We saw no other vehicles on our game drives.
While we were the only guests, Gilbert spent a lot of time with us watching the lions. However, after the others arrived, he didn't give us a choice of walks or drives. Just informed us that we were walking in the mornings and driving in the afternoon/evenings. His walks were o.k., but we basically just walked most of the time with very little stopping and talking about what we were seeing unless we asked him to stop. He just lacked the enthusiasum and interest that we had seen with Victor. The other family had asked him if we could check on the lions before our morning walk. He did find them and they were on the move, so possibly going to hunt. We thought we would probably follow them for a while, but Gilbert just turned the vehicle around and left them and said we would find them again on the afternoon/evening drive. They had moved on by that time and we never found them again. He had determined that we were going to walk and seemed somewhat irritated by the request to watch the lions, which all of us would have preferred to do.
In order to catch our flight out of Mfuwe to Lusaka and then Royal in Lower Zambezi, we had to get up at 3:30 AM and leave at 4:30 AM in the dark for the long cold drive back the way we arrived four days ago. Sean gave us blankets and hot water bottles and we wore our warmest clothes. Those open vehicles are cold when driving fast. The bumpy roads are hard on the back when drivng slowly, but is really difficult when going fast. But we survived and arrived at Mfuwe Lodge at sunrise and shed some of our clothing before continuing to the airport.
When we arrived at the airport, we met up with Sharon and Richard again. They had gone to Puku Ridge while we were at Kapamba and now we were all on our way to Chiawa.
Jun 12th, 2006 | 08:39 PM
#25
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Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 147
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http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=...1&y=fyrd9h
slideshow 4---Chiawa Camp
more Chiawa to follow
slideshow 4---Chiawa Camp
more Chiawa to follow
Jun 13th, 2006 | 08:46 AM
#27
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Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 147
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Just want to add a little more to the Kapamba report from last night. Guess I was getting tired and forgot to refer to my journal before posting.
We had 2 of the highlights of our trip while there.
As we were watching the pride of lions....the males weren't there....we heard one of the males in the distance roaring and the other male answering. The first male's roar was getting closer as he came to join the rest of the pride. Then the other male started answering him and then the lionesses starting roaring also. And finally the little cubs joined in so that the whole pride was talking at once. It was very impressive to hear and one of our favorite memories.
Another was when Sean surprised us with sundowners set up in the river. We had to remove our shoes and socks, roll up our pants and wade out to the chairs set up in the warm water. The sunset was beautiful.
Sean was an excellent host and the staff was very attentive and helpful. The chalets were very nice, open, and bright. The food was some of the best we had. We enjoyed the remoteness and were glad we chose to go there.
We had 2 of the highlights of our trip while there.
As we were watching the pride of lions....the males weren't there....we heard one of the males in the distance roaring and the other male answering. The first male's roar was getting closer as he came to join the rest of the pride. Then the other male started answering him and then the lionesses starting roaring also. And finally the little cubs joined in so that the whole pride was talking at once. It was very impressive to hear and one of our favorite memories.
Another was when Sean surprised us with sundowners set up in the river. We had to remove our shoes and socks, roll up our pants and wade out to the chairs set up in the warm water. The sunset was beautiful.
Sean was an excellent host and the staff was very attentive and helpful. The chalets were very nice, open, and bright. The food was some of the best we had. We enjoyed the remoteness and were glad we chose to go there.
Jun 13th, 2006 | 01:07 PM
#29
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 19
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Hi Star!
How are you. I hope you enjoyed the rest of your holiday? You still had Old Mondoro to go after Chiawa. Did you get to see a leopard there? I hope so. (we were thinking of you on our way home, we made a wish for you, hope it came true)
You guys took some nice pictures!
I can't wait to read the Sharons report, hope they post one when they are back!
Stefanie
How are you. I hope you enjoyed the rest of your holiday? You still had Old Mondoro to go after Chiawa. Did you get to see a leopard there? I hope so. (we were thinking of you on our way home, we made a wish for you, hope it came true)
You guys took some nice pictures!
I can't wait to read the Sharons report, hope they post one when they are back!
Stefanie
Jun 13th, 2006 | 01:36 PM
#30
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Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 147
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Stefanie,
Enjoyed your report and pictures.....especially the beautiful leopard pictures......the one that we never did get to see! I am glad for you that you had those 2 good sightings. As you said, you just never know which is the best choice to make for activities.....all just luck of being in the right place at the right time. And we did appreciate your coming back to pick us up. You tired. We had many other great sightings.
I'm sure you and Sharon(cooncat) and Richard got some very nice close up shots with your long lenses. How about posting some more pictures?
We did enjoy Old Mondoro very much. (still have to post Chiawa and Old Mondoro reports). But no leopard sightings. Appreciate your wishes though.
Was nice meeting you and Brian.
Star
Enjoyed your report and pictures.....especially the beautiful leopard pictures......the one that we never did get to see! I am glad for you that you had those 2 good sightings. As you said, you just never know which is the best choice to make for activities.....all just luck of being in the right place at the right time. And we did appreciate your coming back to pick us up. You tired. We had many other great sightings.
I'm sure you and Sharon(cooncat) and Richard got some very nice close up shots with your long lenses. How about posting some more pictures?
We did enjoy Old Mondoro very much. (still have to post Chiawa and Old Mondoro reports). But no leopard sightings. Appreciate your wishes though.
Was nice meeting you and Brian.
Star
Jun 13th, 2006 | 07:29 PM
#31
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Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 147
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Jun 14th, 2006 | 07:55 PM
#33
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Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 147
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Here are my food photos in case anyone is interested!
(I regret that I did not think of photographing food until after we had already left LRL....although the meals there were also delicious.)
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=...1&y=-8j1ef
(I regret that I did not think of photographing food until after we had already left LRL....although the meals there were also delicious.)
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=...1&y=-8j1ef
Jun 15th, 2006 | 11:17 AM
#36
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 600
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Star - You have some fantastic, fabulous photos there! Really, I am impressed. Looks like you had some wonderful time with the lions and cubs. And wonderful luck with the light. I can't access the Chiawa photos though!
It was great meeting you and sharing our first safari. Once I got to Chamilandu, however, I was really wondering how Richard fared on those roads with his back! You were right - they were pretty brutal in spots, but the grader came around while I was there and made them much better. How are the videos coming?
Take care,
Sharon
It was great meeting you and sharing our first safari. Once I got to Chamilandu, however, I was really wondering how Richard fared on those roads with his back! You were right - they were pretty brutal in spots, but the grader came around while I was there and made them much better. How are the videos coming?
Take care,
Sharon
Jun 15th, 2006 | 12:26 PM
#37
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Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 147
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Sharon,
Is this the one that you couldn't open? I tried also and couldn't get it...so hopefully this will work now.
http://www.e-rewards.com/pro.do?FT=CP30E4TI1J5
Glad they got those roads graded for you. How long was you ride from Mfuwe Lodge to Chamilandu? How was the game viewing there?
We are making our way thru the videos. Haven't had much time to see if we can do any editing. A lot of it needs editing out!!
We really enjoyed our time with you, Sharon and Richard and Stefanie and Brian. Stefanie had some really wonderful leaping impalas and leopard photos. I'm anxious to see yours also.
I asked on your posting...but will ask here also. Did you do the micro flight?
Star
Is this the one that you couldn't open? I tried also and couldn't get it...so hopefully this will work now.
http://www.e-rewards.com/pro.do?FT=CP30E4TI1J5
Glad they got those roads graded for you. How long was you ride from Mfuwe Lodge to Chamilandu? How was the game viewing there?
We are making our way thru the videos. Haven't had much time to see if we can do any editing. A lot of it needs editing out!!
We really enjoyed our time with you, Sharon and Richard and Stefanie and Brian. Stefanie had some really wonderful leaping impalas and leopard photos. I'm anxious to see yours also.
I asked on your posting...but will ask here also. Did you do the micro flight?
Star
Jun 15th, 2006 | 12:30 PM
#38
Original Poster
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 147
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Sorry but I don't know what happened with that Kodak link above.....it isn't even for Kodak.....
will try again.
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=...&y=-wgyone
will try again.
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=...&y=-wgyone
Jun 15th, 2006 | 12:30 PM
#39
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 600
Likes: 0
Star - Yes, I did the microlight on my last morning, and it was really great! John dive-bombed the crocs, and we flew over the area of the park where their other walking camps are. Saw ellies, antelope, crocs, hippo. I may have done it again if it wasn't my last morning there!
Still not the right link....~!
Still not the right link....~!
Jun 15th, 2006 | 01:53 PM
#40
Original Poster
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 147
Likes: 0
part 3...
As the 4 of us--Richard and Sharon and Richard and Star--- waited in the Mfuwe Airport to board our flight to Lusaka, we were informed that there were 2 flights going to Lusaka and we would be on the first one in order to make our connection to Royal in Lower Zambezi. They were to call us when it was time to board. As we waited we noticed people boarding and we weren't called so went to ask and were told to board. As we were getting ready to go up the stairs of the plane, one of the employees told us that there were only 2 seats available because there was a couple that they couldn't communicate with that belonged on the 2nd. plane because they had a later connection in Lusaka, but they wouldn't get off this plane. The employees said they would try again to tell them to get off so we could board. This didn't work, the couple claimed that they didn't speak English and wouldn't get off. So all 4 of us decided to just wait for the second flight. We were told that they would hold our connecting flight out of Lusaka for us. We were treated to chips and a coke while we waited. Was to be an hour later flight, but of course it was longer than that.
When our plane arrived and we boarded it was just the 4 of us and one other couple on the flight!
When we arrived in Lusaka, we were hustled along to board the flight to Royal. We met Sharon (cooncat) in the airport who was also on her way to Royal. She was visiting with Grant Cummings, one of the owner/managers of Chiawa. He had come to meet us at the airport. We just had time to say Hello and then hurried aboard our plane. It turned out that the 5 of us were the only passengers. So off we went to Royal Airstrip. It was a very scenic trip with views of the hilly landscape and the Zambezi River. Royal is a dirt airstip at the edge of the Zambezi River. A large tree is the "terminal" and a bucket of sand and a fire extinguisher are the safety equipment. Was a smooth flight.
Dispencer from Chiawa met us at the airstrip. We had to wait a few minutes for him because he was delayed when an elephant wouldn't let him pass by. He loaded our luggage into his vehicle and provided us with water. It was much warmer than when we had left Kapamba at 4:30 that morning. We took the bumpy road to a conservation area facility where school children are taught about the environment. We were then loaded onto the Chiawa boat for the final leg of our journey that day.....to Chiawa Camp. It was a fast trip and as the boat sped by the many hippos on the banks, they quickly jumped back into the water as we got close to them. Was like watching dominos fall!
We were warmly welcomed to camp by Barbara, Craig, Joe, and other staff. We had time then to shower and shave (for Richard who hadn't shaved for the 4 days at Kapamba), before we ate and got ready for a game drive.
Dispenser was our guide for most drives. He was very knowledgeable and personable. We enjoyed him very much. Joe was our guide for walks. He, also was a great guide and we learned much from his walks.
Barbara and Craig were very helpful in explaining the activity options. They were very organized and everything was well planned.
On the game drive we were off in search of a leopard that had recently been seen in the area. No luck finding him, however.
We were often paired with Richard and Sharon (stamiya) for activities and enjoyed their company and got along very well. Sharon (cooncat) quickly became known for her ability to change her mind about which activity to choose. When Craig was asking our choices, he finally just started saying that he would skip her and come back to her after she decided! (Hope you don't mind my telling that Sharon!)
more later........
As the 4 of us--Richard and Sharon and Richard and Star--- waited in the Mfuwe Airport to board our flight to Lusaka, we were informed that there were 2 flights going to Lusaka and we would be on the first one in order to make our connection to Royal in Lower Zambezi. They were to call us when it was time to board. As we waited we noticed people boarding and we weren't called so went to ask and were told to board. As we were getting ready to go up the stairs of the plane, one of the employees told us that there were only 2 seats available because there was a couple that they couldn't communicate with that belonged on the 2nd. plane because they had a later connection in Lusaka, but they wouldn't get off this plane. The employees said they would try again to tell them to get off so we could board. This didn't work, the couple claimed that they didn't speak English and wouldn't get off. So all 4 of us decided to just wait for the second flight. We were told that they would hold our connecting flight out of Lusaka for us. We were treated to chips and a coke while we waited. Was to be an hour later flight, but of course it was longer than that.
When our plane arrived and we boarded it was just the 4 of us and one other couple on the flight!
When we arrived in Lusaka, we were hustled along to board the flight to Royal. We met Sharon (cooncat) in the airport who was also on her way to Royal. She was visiting with Grant Cummings, one of the owner/managers of Chiawa. He had come to meet us at the airport. We just had time to say Hello and then hurried aboard our plane. It turned out that the 5 of us were the only passengers. So off we went to Royal Airstrip. It was a very scenic trip with views of the hilly landscape and the Zambezi River. Royal is a dirt airstip at the edge of the Zambezi River. A large tree is the "terminal" and a bucket of sand and a fire extinguisher are the safety equipment. Was a smooth flight.
Dispencer from Chiawa met us at the airstrip. We had to wait a few minutes for him because he was delayed when an elephant wouldn't let him pass by. He loaded our luggage into his vehicle and provided us with water. It was much warmer than when we had left Kapamba at 4:30 that morning. We took the bumpy road to a conservation area facility where school children are taught about the environment. We were then loaded onto the Chiawa boat for the final leg of our journey that day.....to Chiawa Camp. It was a fast trip and as the boat sped by the many hippos on the banks, they quickly jumped back into the water as we got close to them. Was like watching dominos fall!
We were warmly welcomed to camp by Barbara, Craig, Joe, and other staff. We had time then to shower and shave (for Richard who hadn't shaved for the 4 days at Kapamba), before we ate and got ready for a game drive.
Dispenser was our guide for most drives. He was very knowledgeable and personable. We enjoyed him very much. Joe was our guide for walks. He, also was a great guide and we learned much from his walks.
Barbara and Craig were very helpful in explaining the activity options. They were very organized and everything was well planned.
On the game drive we were off in search of a leopard that had recently been seen in the area. No luck finding him, however.
We were often paired with Richard and Sharon (stamiya) for activities and enjoyed their company and got along very well. Sharon (cooncat) quickly became known for her ability to change her mind about which activity to choose. When Craig was asking our choices, he finally just started saying that he would skip her and come back to her after she decided! (Hope you don't mind my telling that Sharon!)
more later........
