Cooncat's attempted Zambia report
Jul 2nd, 2006, 04:06 PM
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Cooncat's attempted Zambia report
OK - I am going to take a stab at knocking something out here. I am under the influence of NOTHING (like wine or caffeine) so this should remain lucid...but let's just say it will be more a stream of consciousness type thing and not organized like most reports. If that's OK, I'll get started!
A reminder: I spent 16 nights in Zambia, beginning May 27. My first 7 nights were in Lower Zambezi - 5 at Chiawa Camp, and 2 at its bush camp, Old Mondoro. The following 9 nights were in South Luangwa - 3 nights at Chamilandu Bush Camp; 3 nights at Luangwa River Lodge; 3 nights Tafika.
Incidentals:
• Going this time of the year was great, weatherwise. If you like cool mornings and evenings you will be in heaven. The climate was sunny and dry during the day. Only a couple nights were really chilly - and the hot water bottles in bed took care of that!
• I love my Keens but I wish I'd have brought closed shoes for walking. I think even running shoes would be a problem - Star (tigerpaw) wore hers at times and still struggled a bit with sand. If you're not doing walking safaris then no problem. This is where I bow to Dennis, Rocco, Julian, and whoever else advised against the Keens. My parents will confirm that I am a poor listener and have a mind of my own. Let's just say I took one for the team on that one!
• The flights coming back were a total drag. I spent eight hours - 4 p.m. to midnight pacing the terminal in Nairobi looking like a bag lady - with my camera bag, carry on, and the bags full of Amarula that I brough back for gifts on a luggage trolley! The power went off twice during that time. Jomo Kenyatta is not a fun place to hang out. I will say that Kenya Airways is, from my point of view, a stellar airline. Service, aircraft, staff - all impeccable.
• The "drill" for all the camps was pretty standard: wakey wakey at 6-ish, breakfast, then drive, then lunch and downtime), then tea and cake, then another drive, then sundowners, night drive, and back for dinner, drinks and bed.
• I was astounded by the quality (not to mention QUANTITY) of the food. I don't know what I expected, but I don't think I thought there would be fresh herbs, really fresh vegetables - haricot verts (at the bushcamp....wayyyyy south in the park) wonderful veggie tarts, citrus cream tarts, brownies, freshly baked breads, pastas with all manner of fresh veggies and herbs (at LRL), fresh arugula and cuke salads daily (at Tafika)... I mean I could go on and on. Everyone at the camps seemed to enjoy tackling the challenge of cooking for the vegetarian. I kept telling them to just give me a plate of veggies and NO ONE would have any of it. It was just unreal.
I was incredibly spoiled, y'all. At Chiawa there were more people so the vehicle was always shared. We Fodorites kind of commandeered the place - there were seven of us there at once - and along with other guests, got along really well.
But, as luck would have it, at South Luangwa, I shared the vehicle exactly ONE time at each camp. Otherwise, it was me and my guides and my own little private safari.
This is where I get a bit philosophical and probably somewhat Polly Anna-ish. Can't help it, people. I had a fabulous time. The game drives were not like some are reporting from Mombo and some of the other Botswana camps. If you are expecting that kind of action, you need to go there, or head to Zambia later in the season. Since I've not been to Zambia in peak season (yet!) I can't offer any comparisons. But as you can see from my photos, I saw a lot of animals, just no action in the form of kills.
At times, we would drive and not see much of anything BIG - but plenty of birds, antelope (which I really loved, surprisingly) usually you'd see ellies, baboons, hippo of course! But what I loved was that when you did see something it was so special. There were no other vehicles around, it was just you and the lions and cubs, or you and the ellies. In the photo of me on the last morning drive at Tafika, we came across that herd of ellies in the road. They were going nowhere, so we turned off the vehicle and just watched them for awhile. At one point, a tiny guy seemed bored with just standing in the road with his mom, so he just plopped down on his side, right on the road. It was really sweet. Mom nudged him back up, but .... I am enamored with ellies after watching them in the wild! They immediately form a protective barrier around the little ones. (As you old hands already well know.)
But where we were, it seemed very natural and very wild. I personally liked that we had to sort of "work for the game." All I can say is that it was very special and I felt privileged to be there.
The other thing I loved - and what will take me back to Zambia - is the people I met there. I guess all the agonizing and planning paid off, and I was correct in my assumption that I would be happier at smaller, owner-run camps. The guides, the managers, the staff... everyone was just too lovely for words. Upon leaving each place a lump would form in the back of my throat and continue to grow...by the time I left my last camp, Tafika, I thought for sure that it would choke me dead. It was THAT HARD to leave.
A funny moment:
• My guide at LRL was Victor. We had just stopped for our first sundowners. I am still in the vehicle, intently looking at the LCD on my camera, checking out the latest shots.
Victor: So, how many shots have you taken?
Me: Oh geez, you mean today? I don't know, 40 or 50?
SILENCE.
I look up to see a very concerned Victor, holding the bottle of Pimm's, wondering how many shots I wanted in my drink!
Geez - what else do you want to know?
A reminder: I spent 16 nights in Zambia, beginning May 27. My first 7 nights were in Lower Zambezi - 5 at Chiawa Camp, and 2 at its bush camp, Old Mondoro. The following 9 nights were in South Luangwa - 3 nights at Chamilandu Bush Camp; 3 nights at Luangwa River Lodge; 3 nights Tafika.
Incidentals:
• Going this time of the year was great, weatherwise. If you like cool mornings and evenings you will be in heaven. The climate was sunny and dry during the day. Only a couple nights were really chilly - and the hot water bottles in bed took care of that!
• I love my Keens but I wish I'd have brought closed shoes for walking. I think even running shoes would be a problem - Star (tigerpaw) wore hers at times and still struggled a bit with sand. If you're not doing walking safaris then no problem. This is where I bow to Dennis, Rocco, Julian, and whoever else advised against the Keens. My parents will confirm that I am a poor listener and have a mind of my own. Let's just say I took one for the team on that one!
• The flights coming back were a total drag. I spent eight hours - 4 p.m. to midnight pacing the terminal in Nairobi looking like a bag lady - with my camera bag, carry on, and the bags full of Amarula that I brough back for gifts on a luggage trolley! The power went off twice during that time. Jomo Kenyatta is not a fun place to hang out. I will say that Kenya Airways is, from my point of view, a stellar airline. Service, aircraft, staff - all impeccable.
• The "drill" for all the camps was pretty standard: wakey wakey at 6-ish, breakfast, then drive, then lunch and downtime), then tea and cake, then another drive, then sundowners, night drive, and back for dinner, drinks and bed.
• I was astounded by the quality (not to mention QUANTITY) of the food. I don't know what I expected, but I don't think I thought there would be fresh herbs, really fresh vegetables - haricot verts (at the bushcamp....wayyyyy south in the park) wonderful veggie tarts, citrus cream tarts, brownies, freshly baked breads, pastas with all manner of fresh veggies and herbs (at LRL), fresh arugula and cuke salads daily (at Tafika)... I mean I could go on and on. Everyone at the camps seemed to enjoy tackling the challenge of cooking for the vegetarian. I kept telling them to just give me a plate of veggies and NO ONE would have any of it. It was just unreal.
I was incredibly spoiled, y'all. At Chiawa there were more people so the vehicle was always shared. We Fodorites kind of commandeered the place - there were seven of us there at once - and along with other guests, got along really well.
But, as luck would have it, at South Luangwa, I shared the vehicle exactly ONE time at each camp. Otherwise, it was me and my guides and my own little private safari.
This is where I get a bit philosophical and probably somewhat Polly Anna-ish. Can't help it, people. I had a fabulous time. The game drives were not like some are reporting from Mombo and some of the other Botswana camps. If you are expecting that kind of action, you need to go there, or head to Zambia later in the season. Since I've not been to Zambia in peak season (yet!) I can't offer any comparisons. But as you can see from my photos, I saw a lot of animals, just no action in the form of kills.
At times, we would drive and not see much of anything BIG - but plenty of birds, antelope (which I really loved, surprisingly) usually you'd see ellies, baboons, hippo of course! But what I loved was that when you did see something it was so special. There were no other vehicles around, it was just you and the lions and cubs, or you and the ellies. In the photo of me on the last morning drive at Tafika, we came across that herd of ellies in the road. They were going nowhere, so we turned off the vehicle and just watched them for awhile. At one point, a tiny guy seemed bored with just standing in the road with his mom, so he just plopped down on his side, right on the road. It was really sweet. Mom nudged him back up, but .... I am enamored with ellies after watching them in the wild! They immediately form a protective barrier around the little ones. (As you old hands already well know.)
But where we were, it seemed very natural and very wild. I personally liked that we had to sort of "work for the game." All I can say is that it was very special and I felt privileged to be there.
The other thing I loved - and what will take me back to Zambia - is the people I met there. I guess all the agonizing and planning paid off, and I was correct in my assumption that I would be happier at smaller, owner-run camps. The guides, the managers, the staff... everyone was just too lovely for words. Upon leaving each place a lump would form in the back of my throat and continue to grow...by the time I left my last camp, Tafika, I thought for sure that it would choke me dead. It was THAT HARD to leave.
A funny moment:
• My guide at LRL was Victor. We had just stopped for our first sundowners. I am still in the vehicle, intently looking at the LCD on my camera, checking out the latest shots.
Victor: So, how many shots have you taken?
Me: Oh geez, you mean today? I don't know, 40 or 50?
SILENCE.
I look up to see a very concerned Victor, holding the bottle of Pimm's, wondering how many shots I wanted in my drink!
Geez - what else do you want to know?
Jul 2nd, 2006, 04:43 PM
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Continuing - for those interested I will type out a "species seen" list:
On one morning at Tafika with my guide Greg:
Bataleur eagle
Carmine bee eaters (would see tons more on a later drive with Bryan)
White headed vultures
Stork colony - yellow-billed and maribou here
Lilac-breasted roller
Ground hornbill
Hammerkop
Black-headed heron
Goliath heron
Grey heron
Red-wing prattingcole
Ellies - heard one trumpet
Lilians love birds
Puku
Impala
Zebra
Hippo
Bush buck
Other various drives:
Red-billed quelea
Wooly-necked stork
Squawker (sp?) heron
Spitting cobra (night drive)
So many different eagles - African fish, snake, apologies to the great guides again..I didn't write them all down.
If you check my photo links you will see the rest: Leopard, lion, giraffe, buffalo, baboon, vervet, chameleon, hyena, African wild cat (one with a kitten), waterbuck, vultures (and later two huge crocs) on a dead ellie carcass, kudu, hippo, ellie, civet, mongoose, elephant shrew - so dang cute!!!
On one morning at Tafika with my guide Greg:
Bataleur eagle
Carmine bee eaters (would see tons more on a later drive with Bryan)
White headed vultures
Stork colony - yellow-billed and maribou here
Lilac-breasted roller
Ground hornbill
Hammerkop
Black-headed heron
Goliath heron
Grey heron
Red-wing prattingcole
Ellies - heard one trumpet
Lilians love birds
Puku
Impala
Zebra
Hippo
Bush buck
Other various drives:
Red-billed quelea
Wooly-necked stork
Squawker (sp?) heron
Spitting cobra (night drive)
So many different eagles - African fish, snake, apologies to the great guides again..I didn't write them all down.
If you check my photo links you will see the rest: Leopard, lion, giraffe, buffalo, baboon, vervet, chameleon, hyena, African wild cat (one with a kitten), waterbuck, vultures (and later two huge crocs) on a dead ellie carcass, kudu, hippo, ellie, civet, mongoose, elephant shrew - so dang cute!!!
Jul 2nd, 2006, 06:32 PM
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Well shucks. I am sure to have more to add, but I was feeling tihs horrible monkey on my back to get SOMETHING out there.
Since you know Victor I'm sure you can imagine his face. The reason he asked "how many shots have you taken" was because he knew I had a Pimms and soda earlier at the lodge. So he wondered how many shots I "had taken" (Just so you all know, I'm not a lush or anything.)
Another funny moment with Victor and Robert was my last night at the lodge when we went to the elephant crossing. They had sent an entire bottle of red for me, and so I gladly obliged, all the while ribbing Victor because the damn elephants had indeed started crossing, but for whatever reason they chose a different path about 100 yards back from us. So we had a great conversation, I polished off the bottle - a Shiraz, I do believe, and continued to give Victor a lot of sh-t. The next morning he took me to Mfuwe, and as we went the direction of the ellie crossing he was looking, as a good guide does, and nade a production out of showing me the fairly fresh ellie dung right where we had been the night before. "You see, the elephants did cross here," he said. I just rolled my eyes. He was so fun to hang out with.
Since you know Victor I'm sure you can imagine his face. The reason he asked "how many shots have you taken" was because he knew I had a Pimms and soda earlier at the lodge. So he wondered how many shots I "had taken" (Just so you all know, I'm not a lush or anything.)
Another funny moment with Victor and Robert was my last night at the lodge when we went to the elephant crossing. They had sent an entire bottle of red for me, and so I gladly obliged, all the while ribbing Victor because the damn elephants had indeed started crossing, but for whatever reason they chose a different path about 100 yards back from us. So we had a great conversation, I polished off the bottle - a Shiraz, I do believe, and continued to give Victor a lot of sh-t. The next morning he took me to Mfuwe, and as we went the direction of the ellie crossing he was looking, as a good guide does, and nade a production out of showing me the fairly fresh ellie dung right where we had been the night before. "You see, the elephants did cross here," he said. I just rolled my eyes. He was so fun to hang out with.
Jul 3rd, 2006, 03:14 AM
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Yes, it was fab. Kavey - I assume you are seconding the motion for photos from Leely - since you've already seen mine, yes?!
Anyone else: If you have specific questions, don't be shy.... I will try to add more thoughts as they come to me.
Anyone else: If you have specific questions, don't be shy.... I will try to add more thoughts as they come to me.
Jul 3rd, 2006, 05:02 AM
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Don't feel badly about not heeding my don't bring the Keens while hiking advice ( I am used to it, you know, no one listens - why would they) . A few of you had a full fledged Keens fan club going on that shoe thread - real shoe envy, it was. I knew I wasn't going to penitrate the I must have my Keens affliction, once y'all started dreamingly showing pictures of the things!
Anyhow, enough about me and the mean Keens - I'm really enjoying your wonderful report and hope to see more. Your trip sounds fabulous and you truly are making Zambia a must see. Those including yourself, who go, seem so passionate about the place.
Pardon the hijack but a most heart felt welcome back Leely. I'm away from my pc so I have to consolidate my rambles.
Sherry
. A few of you had a full fledged Keens fan club going on that shoe thread - real shoe envy, it was. I knew I wasn't going to penitrate the I must have my Keens affliction, once y'all started dreamingly showing pictures of the things!Anyhow, enough about me and the mean Keens - I'm really enjoying your wonderful report and hope to see more. Your trip sounds fabulous and you truly are making Zambia a must see. Those including yourself, who go, seem so passionate about the place.
Pardon the hijack but a most heart felt welcome back Leely. I'm away from my pc so I have to consolidate my rambles.
Sherry
Jul 3rd, 2006, 06:55 AM
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Sherry - You may hijack and ramble anytime! The shoe thing is funny, I only went on 4 or 5 walks, so it's not like it was the end of the world. I just wanted to put it out there that if I "do-overs" I'd take some hiking shoes or boots. Even Grant Cummings, owner of Chiawa, commented on them. He met me at the airport and we were chatting about walks, then the shoes came up, and he looked at me mock-seriously and said, "did you read our packing list on the web site?" I had. Sometimes I'm too hard-headed!
Favor, Africnow, thanks for reading and your comments. I will add more, promise!
Favor, Africnow, thanks for reading and your comments. I will add more, promise!
Jul 3rd, 2006, 09:44 AM
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Great report cooncat. Thanks for snipets and interesting organization. As for the Keens - good to know. I did buy Keen's hiking boots/shoes though (Targhee's), so there are other version of Keen's that should be very good for walking parts. They are just SOO comfortable.
7 Fodorites - who was the crowd?
7 Fodorites - who was the crowd?
Jul 3rd, 2006, 06:34 PM
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Sharon,
Great writing.....hope there is more to come.
I don't think there was a Robert when we were at LRL. Was he a spotter?
With all of the Keen talk, go ahead and post the picture if you want, since you will still have more pictures to post!
Great writing.....hope there is more to come.
I don't think there was a Robert when we were at LRL. Was he a spotter?
With all of the Keen talk, go ahead and post the picture if you want, since you will still have more pictures to post!
Jul 3rd, 2006, 06:49 PM
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Star - Robert was a spotter. (God - I think that was his name!) I think I'm done with the photos...
lovetodiscover - the Fearless Fordorites: Stamiya and her spouse; tigerpaw and her spouse; esmerelda and her boyfriend; moi.
lovetodiscover - the Fearless Fordorites: Stamiya and her spouse; tigerpaw and her spouse; esmerelda and her boyfriend; moi.
