A day in South Luangwa National Park

I am a sucker for species in their natural habitat. I enjoy nature and seeing the God’s creation in all its purity. So when I had the opportunity to visit the South Luangwa National Park in Mfuwe, Zambia I was super excited. I was looking forward to seeing the various wildlife and birds. I was only sad that this impromptu visit meant that I did not have the camera equipment to capture the beautiful scenery and had to rely on a mobile device. That’s OK though because this means I will have to go back and enjoy this properly and I shall be well equipped.

We set out for our three (3) hour game drive within the national park which covers a surface area of 9,050 km² (Now that’s HUGE!). The animals I was looking forward to seeing were Lions, Leopards, Giraffes, Buffaloes, Rhinos and Elephants. Our wonderful guide, who was very knowledgeable of the park and had been a guide for six (6) years, was very enthusiastic and eager to share the ‘magic’ of the South Luangwa National Park with us.

This time of year the Luangwa River is quite dry and as such the land is dry and bare and the rivers are crowded with hippos and crocodiles sharing the little water that is available to them.

I saw the mighty African Fish Eagle from a distance in one of the trees and I was in awe of its magnificence. I couldn’t believe that I was physically gazing on its majesty in ‘real life’ because I would always see it on ZNBC (Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation) descending to catch a fish in the river.

Impala grazing. Notice that impala have black markings on their rear and they have a white patch on their belly area.

We got to see a herd of antelope grazing in the park. There were quite a number of them. I was actually on the impression that all these antelopes were the same until our guide informed us that the ones I was convinced were Impala were actually Pukus. He actually indicated that there are a number of breed of antelopes.

Pukus. Image courtesy of wikipedia

An elephant family taking a stroll. Notice the female elephant’s head is more pronounced compared to the male who is next to the tree

I got to see so many elephants in the park. It was truly a phenomenal sight. It was not my first time seeing elephants but It was my first time seeing them in their natural habitat and that was just an amazing experience. I saw a number of elephant families and got to understand a little bit more about them thanks to our guide. I initially thought that if you wanted to differentiate between a male and a female elephant it would be through their tusks. I thought the male had longer tusks and females had much shorter tusks. But lo and behold, my assumptions were very wrong. The way to tell them apart is the size and the shape of their heads. He also eager to inform us on the fact that some elephants have no tusks and that is is because of their genetic make up.

As we were enjoying the wonderful views of the park, our guide got a tip that a spotted animal was lurking in one of the trees in the park. Our guide/driver quickly stepped on the pedal and voom, we set off in pursuit of the tree that had the leopard. As we got to the tree, I could not believe that I was gazing at the live leopard in the WILD! I wanted to scream but couldn’t . Our guide told us that we needed to whisper so we do not agitate or scare off the leopard and so I had to express my excitement using my ‘library’ voice. Before we knew it, more game viewing vehicles came through to see the park celebrity. The spotted fellow realised that he had company and began to ascend higher into the tree and hid amidst the branches. I could not get a picture of it because of the device I was using and also because he (or she) did a great job with hiding from the crowd. Unlike the other cats, this spotted animal usually ‘rides’ solo and is seemingly quite a loner.

We also heard there were a pack of lions taking a ‘power’ nap in the park but they too were so well camouflaged. I think they are undoubtedly one of the best at blending in with the environment. By the time, we got to the spot where the lions were, we found that they had moved and gone into one of the nearby lodges and we could not access them but could only see them from a distance. It took me over five (5) minutes to spot the King of the Jungle lying down and that took using a pair of binoculars!

After our cat appetite had been quenched, we took a drive to the other side of the park and found the tallest animal in the park who is the giraffe-the Thornicroft’s giraffe or Luangwa giraffe to be specific. This long-legged created is endemic to this national park.

The Luangwa giraffe or Thornicroft’s giraffe. The distinct feature is that it does not have patches from its knees to its feet.

Our guide regaled us with many more wonderful facts about the various animals in the park and we got to see lots of other animals such as the kudu, buffalo and birds like the guinea fowl ( yeah there were a zillion of them in the park) and the vultures. I even had an opportunity to get a selfie in the midst of all the game viewing :). If you see notice, there is one particular animal that was on my must see list that I did not see not because it was hard to find but because of other reasons which I will share in my next blog. I really look forward to going back there again and this time I shall be well equipped and also make sure to experience the night game drive too.