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| | | "IMMATURE MARTIAL EAGLE GETS THE BETTER OF A MONITOR LIZARD"
24 June 2010 00:00 | | | read more... |
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 | Game viewing Diary | |
| Date: | Today: 30 July 2010 00:00 | | Guide: | Bryan Jackson | | Outing: | Morning Drive | | Camp: | Tafika Camp | | Blog: | This mornings drive started slow, we went to the Salt Pan in the vain hope of catching the Wild Dogs.
What we did see was 2 big herds of Buffalo, several young male Zebras circling each other, one up man ship was the name of the game with the occasional bite and kick thrown in for good measure.
100 or more Crowned Cranes flying into the Delta, Two Leopards on the remains of last nights kill, 2 Hippos fighting, 1 Giraffe and loads of Impala and Puku down by the river side grazing and drinking.
| | | | | Date: | 15 July 2010 00:00 | | Guide: | Stephen Banda | | Outing: | Morning Walk | | Camp: | Mwaleshi Camp | | Blog: |
15th July we got 6 new guests who were accompanied by one of our staff from Tafika by the name of Heather. They came in two seperate flights. The first flight landed at 12:10 hrs while the second one landed at 14:20 hrs. Our first walk was less than one kilometer because some the of the guests was their first time ever to Africa. So were stopping on everything but we saw zebras, puku, impala and two hyenas lying in the river. But also before leaving for a walk the elephant came right in front of camp on other side of the river. The next morning at chipimbi lagoon we saw a family of elephants coming for a drink. Water buck, warthogs, bush buck, impala, puku and lots of different birds came to drink water while we were there. On our way back two wildebeests appeared from the bush and the guests were very happy since they wanted to see them. Before tea time we played mbale ball [frisbee] in the river which was very fun. In my team was Jake, Belinda, Lawrence, Beth Glacobassi, Marty Hake Harrison and myself while the other team was Alex, Sasu, Special, Shem, Andrew and Heather. The first game my team lost but the second game we did better since we were even. On 17th July we went for a long walk and a good one. We saw 18 wildebeests close by couple of crocodiles sunning themselves and near the crossing point was a family of zebras. Towards the end of the walk we saw a flap neck chameleon in the grass. This is the day we played the second game then we went to the mwaleshi confluence where we had our sundowners for the birth day of Beth. Four of the guests was their first time to luangwa valley and even to Africa so they were excited to see the hippos and crocodiles. On their last day we walked across the river and followed the road for a short time. We turned to a lagoon two hippos came out and walked away. We followed lion tacks but they were no where to be seen, In the afternoon I took them to a lagoon for the sun set. We found the egytian goose fighting while saddle billed storks flew over and over above our heads. On the way back we saw a scopes owl, white tailed mongoose and four toed elephant shrews. It was a nice 4 days safari. | | | | | Date: | 11 July 2010 15:00 | | Guide: | Bryan Jackson | | Outing: | Night Drive | | Camp: | Tafika Camp | | Blog: | It’s amazing how your luck can change over night, with a little help from the Microlight.
Alex had seen Lion tracks on the morning drive but had failed to find them. The 7 females Lions from the Nsefu Wafwa pride had walked along the road from the Wafwa to Tafika (15Km) and were hiding in the long grass.
John did a quick flight to try and find them for the afternoon drive.
The 7 girls were sleeping in the long grass next to Banda’s loop, if we had not found them in the Microlight we would never have seen them. We only watched them for a short time, they were fast asleep, one, with all four legs in the air showing her wares.
It was still quite light. We had left early so that we could get back to camp in time to have dinner then watch the World cup football final.
Moving on down to the Wafwa we came across several immature Martial Eagles, one with a mongoose kill. Stopping close to Chimbwi lagoon for sundowners, we heard alarm calls behind us so downed the drinks and headed off in that direction. Found a young female Leopard sitting watching us, she got up walked past the car to find somewhere away from the spot light giving us a great view. We then headed off home for dinner and the football, seeing Porcupine, Genet, Civet, loads of Elephant Shrew and Elephants feeding next to the Rd.
| | | | | Date: | 10 July 2010 00:00 | | Guide: | Bryan Jackson | | Outing: | Viewing from Camp | | Camp: | Tafika Camp | | Blog: | My last couple of weeks have been very slow game viewing wise. There are Impala and Puku everywhere, but the Cats, Buffalo, Elephant and Giraffe have been very elusive. The Cats especially, there are Lion tracks all along the roads each morning, we hear them calling early hours of the morning but no sign of them when we go looking for them.
Leopard, Well, the number of times I have chased after Impala & Puku alarm calls and ended up looking at relaxed antelope I can not remember.
Alex on the other hand is having a blinder, Wild dogs, Leopards up trees, Lions hunting & killing Puku in front of the car, baby Honey Badgers, are just a few of the sightings he’s had.
My luck will change, and then I can start taking some decent photos again.
| | | | | Date: | 10 July 2010 00:00 | | Guide: | Stephen Banda | | Outing: | Morning Walk | | Camp: | Mwaleshi Camp | | Blog: | The new guests arrived two days later. They landed at Mwaleshi Air strip at 10:20 hrs. So we took a slow drive to camp. We had an afternoon walk following the river downstream. Before we left we could see elephants walking towards the river. There were two babies and six adults. They stopped to drink and left. Big crocodiles lying on the sand banks, green backed heron flying over the water. The next morning we went up mwaleshi. Lots of birds, lion tracks, puku, impala, zebras, wildebeests, squirrels and at the end of the walk one lioness under the winter thorn tree near the place we stopped to cross. This time no buffalo. On 12th of July we drove to the lagoon called chipimbi where we walked. The lagoon was very active since we saw kudu, water buck, bush buck, puku, impala, lilians love birds , grey lourie, ground horn bills and many more. Later in the afternoon we had a short walk up stream. We wanted to check the lioness we saw previous morning but we were obstructed by the elephants so we turned and took a different route. As we stood by the edge of the bank I looked on the other side and saw a leopard walking. He stopped and lay down cleaning himself. We watched for at least 15 minutes then we walked towards him, but he saw us and he disappeared into the grass. | | | | | Date: | 07 July 2010 00:00 | | Guide: | Alex Phiri | | Outing: | Night Drive | | Camp: | Tafika Camp | | Blog: | On this date the 7th of July 2010, I decided to go to the Saltpan, and these are the following animals spotted on the way out and in .Impala, Puku, Baboons, Zebras, Elephants , a big herd of buffalo and just before sundown, we saw a pack of 13 Wild dogs they had just finished eating an Impala kill.
After sundown, we saw lots of genets, three scrub hare, and one white tailed mongoose and finally we saw a civet near the camp.
| | | | | Date: | 04 July 2010 00:00 | | Guide: | Stephen Banda | | Outing: | Morning Walk | | Camp: | Mwaleshi Camp | | Blog: | My new guest was his first time to come to Africa. He started going to Namibia, South Africa and then here in Zambia. He went to South Luangwa National Park spent one night at Tafika, four nights in two walking camps in Crocodile and Chikoko camps respectively. So we went on a morning walk following the Mwaleshi river. There were lots of lion tracks which we tried to track but we did not see them. On the way back we met some elephants. Special and my self climbed the termite hill to have a look at the elephants. After checking we started walking and behind the bush we heard the rumbling of the elephants and heard them running through the grass, to the left of us were more with very young babies. We stood still just to let them go. In the afternoon the same day we had an encounter with a different elephant, that we had to go down the bank and walked in water all the way to camp which was more than 100 meters. The next day the 6th of July we drove for 20 minutes and then left the car to start our walk. We were looking for the wildebeests and lions but we had no lucky this time not even a single one. There were all the signs of lion and wildebeests but nothing. We came back and later at 16:00 hrs we went to luangwa river for the sundowners. While there, Rabson the scout went behind the bush to help himself. When he camp he told us that he saw something going out from the water on the other side of the river. I took my binoculas to check nothing was there. Few minutes later we heard the puku alarm call once. We ignored and continued drinking. As we were about to start putting the bottles in the cool box the leopard came out and leaped on to the puku but missed. We stayed
for another 10 minutes then left since we had to walk across the mwaleshi river. Few genets, civet and elephant shrews. Half way between the air strip and camp we saw 3 lions walking on the road towards us. The female was in front and the male followed. Behind the tree was another female but very thin. She looked ill and did not spend more time with us. John the only guest at that time was very happy that he said 'Stephen I think you can take me to the air strip because I have seen my lions'. The next day we decided to go down stream towards the mwaleshi luangwa confluence. Not much that only two bull elephants in different places. Walking back we saw two monitor lizards and near the camp one hippo. In the afternoon we had a short drive and then we got to the lagoon where there was a big herd of buffalo. Two wildebeests on the way, elephant shrews and many different birds. At night before dinner I heard the buffalo near camp that about 20 minutes we were able to see them since they came close to camp. Later in the night hyenas were hooping and giggling that we thought the lions had made a kill. Since John was leaving early in the morning I had no time to check where we heard the noises but the buffaloes spent a night near camp. My guest left on the 8th of July at 08:30 hours | | | | | Date: | 01 July 2010 00:00 | | Guide: | Stephen Banda | | Outing: | Morning Walk | | Camp: | Mwaleshi Camp | | Blog: | On 1st of July I had one guest who was transferred from another camp in the morning. We had our first walk at 15:30 hrs. We saw wildebeests, impala, puku and lion foot print which seemed to be following the impalas. We tried to follow up but it was getting dark so we had to go back to the place we left the car and drove back to camp. In the morning we walked up river where we saw 9 wildebeests, loads of impala and puku. After that we did not see much until near camp, there was one elephant eating the reeds on the bank. It was very cloudy which was good for walking so we had a long walk. In the afternoon the guest ask for a short a drive and we saw two hyaenas.
The following morning we drove to the Mwaleshi Luangwa confluence and left the car in the shade then walked to see the hippos. There we found lots of crocodiles basking on sand banks. After our break we walked back to the car and started driving back to camp. About 30 minutes after we left we saw 9 water bucks, warthogs, impala, bush buck and about 10 minutes later we saw a male lion sleeping under the bush. He saw us and then ran away. As we got in to camp, buffaloes were just opposite camp lying down under the winter thorn trees. The cattle egrets flying over them looking for insects. That afternoon we left at 15:30 hrs but before we got back Lawrence called me on radio and told me we left the lions behind just where the buffaloes were lying down. He said they were saw 7 and were herding towards the buffaloes. The 4th of July the guest left in the afternoon and a new guest arrived. | | | | | Date: | 25 June 2010 00:00 | | Guide: | Stephen Banda | | Outing: | Morning Drive | | Camp: | Tafika Camp | | Blog: | After staying 20 days with us, Paul & Charlot De Vuyst asked for their last morning drive. Charlot had a flight with John before I took them on the drive. We left camp at 06:45 hrs. As we got into the park it was very quiet. When we stopped to look at the hippos we heard the baboon barking in the tree. Then monkeys also started shouting and I was checking along the bank where the baboon was looking. About 100 meters in front us was a leopard siting up right looking into the bush. We watched her for good 10 minutes. Then I drove closer to her, she did not move. The puke saw her and they started jumping towards her while they were alarm calling. The leopard move off to the road and lay down. I followed her and she was very relaxed. After watching for another 5 minutes she went away. Charlot asked for a giraffe. I found one for her after tea. There after we drove back to camp since they wanted to park for their flight to Lusaka in the afternoon. What a nice ending of their 20 days. | | | | | Date: | 23 June 2010 00:00 | | Guide: | Stephen Banda | | Outing: | Morning Walk | | Camp: | Mwaleshi Camp | | Blog: | On the 20th of June I went back to Mwaleshi with Paul & Charlot for three nights. We arrived at Mwaleshi air strip at 1150 hrs. Then drove to camp and walked through the water. The same day we went for a short walk and saw zebras, puku, impala and warthogs. The next day only Paul came with us on a walk. We saw one wildebeest, puku, impala hippo on the lagoon and when we stopped for tea we saw vultures circling in the distance. We went to check on our way back to camp only found the remains of the impala. There were two crocodiles eating the bones and when they saw us they ran to the water. In the afternoon we went for a short drive. But before we left a herd of buffalo came near the camp and stayed there for rest of the afternoon. When we went out we did not see much only a lonely baby buffalo on its own walking in to the bush. The next morning we had a all day drive with picnic. Two family elephants, kudu in three different places, crocodiles and hippos. Lots of different birds. | | | | | Date: | 22 June 2010 00:00 | | Guide: | Bryan Jackson | | Outing: | Night Drive | | Camp: | Tafika Camp | | Blog: | Only the second Side Striped Jackal I have seen in the South Luangwa. I didn’t believe Jenny when she said Jackal. I had seen the first one 15yrs ago, close to the Nsefu Wafwa.
We had stopped at the Delta for sundowners, the Puku started whistling. Hoping for one of the big cats, we jumped into the car. The Jackal had seen & heard us coming and was legging it through the long grass, but we did manage to get good view, even if it was brief.
The guests didn’t really realize how special a sighting of the Jackal was, for this area. I was standing on my seat camera in hand, but it was too far away to get any shots.
Cats were still on the Menu. We spotted a shape between 2 bushes, both Jenny & I said what was that. Backing up, there was a Leopard lying relaxed in the moon light. We watched for approximately 15mins and left when Alex drove up to see what we were looking at.
| | | | | Date: | 12 June 2010 00:00 | | Guide: | Stephen Banda | | Outing: | Morning Drive | | Camp: | Tafika Camp | | Blog: | This morning I went on a game drive with 4 guests. It was a bit quiet when we started. From about 0800 hours we started seeing some animals. First we saw a big troop of baboon,then impalas, puku, buffalos and monkeys. We drove near the river and saw some crocodiles seem to be eating something in water. There after we went to the stork colony where we had our tea while watching young storks being fed by their parents. We also found a martial eagle with its kill. After that we saw elephants on other side of the river and later found 3 lionesses lying in the shade of mahogany tree. And near camp some more elephants walking towards the lagoon. Also lots of different birds. | | | | | Date: | 10 June 2010 16:00 | | Guide: | Bryan Jackson | | Outing: | Night Drive | | Camp: | Tafika Camp | | Blog: | Three people wanted to cycle in the afternoon, so John (who is the cycling aficionado) accompanied them along the main road into the park for approximately an hour. Carol, Jenny & Moffat were the relief team. We set off half an hour later to meet them by the Baobabs close to Kasitu. Unfortunately, either we were fast or they cycled very slowly as we caught them at the start of Nyumbu drive. So we headed off up John’s road down Crane Ally to Kasitu, by this time the cycling team were looking a little more red in the face and were ready to hand over their bikes to the relief team. They had been following fresh Lion tracks heading toward the Delta. We headed on up to the Delta stopping for sundowners, hoping that we would see them or hear someone alarm calling to give away their hiding place. John tells me after the drive, that he stopped to use a bush and heard the Lion in bushes next to the road. I think the cycle home might have been a little quicker.
We continued on down to the riverside road hoping to see the Leopard from the morning. There was not an animal at Chimbwi, nothing until we got the Tennis courts. All of a sudden six Genets, two Porcupines and Leopard hunting Puku, we watched the Leopard for half an hour waiting for her make a move, but she missed. The Puku gave one whistle and were gone. So were we, home for dinner and a cool G&T.
| | | | | Date: | 10 June 2010 06:00 | | Guide: | Bryan Jackson | | Outing: | Morning Drive | | Camp: | Tafika Camp | | Blog: | Stopping to look for a Hippo with a young baby we could hear a faint alarm call in the distance. In the middle of Chimbwi lagoon was a male Baboon sitting in the fork of a Sausage tree having a minor nervous breakdown. He had obviously seen a cat and was staring off into the distance toward the river and barking every 30 seconds.
We drove in the direction of his stare through a small drift and there in the shadow of the bank was a Leopard, she was as surprised as we were, lying still in the hope we wouldn’t notice her. She eventually got up and walked along the drift to another shady spot 20m away and lay down to watch us. Then walked along the river bank and off into the trees to rest up during the heat of the day.
This was Victoria & Marks first Leopard sighting. We quickly checked our photos and headed off down Tiptoes loop only to just miss another Leopard, the Puku looked straight passed us into the bushes, whistling. We joined them looking into the bush. Both had different reasons for getting excited about seeing the Leopard, theirs a little more urgent than ours.
This capped off a morning drive which had been a little slow until then. But you can never know what’s around the next corner.
| | | | | Date: | 09 June 2010 00:00 | | Guide: | Stephen Banda | | Outing: | Viewing from Camp | | Camp: | Mwaleshi Camp | | Blog: | Mwaleshi 2010
I left Tafika camp for Mwaleshi camp building on 26th May. John the owner of the Remote Africa Safaris sent me there for the first time to help with the building. I left Tafika at 0815 hours stopped in the village to pick up the staff to come with me. Then our journey started at 0845.Driving through Luambe National Park was very bumpy since the road was not graded. It took us about an hour and a bit to through this park. From Chipuka gate which is on the other side the road is much better. When we reached Zokwe the road is even much better but it took us 6 hours to get to Luangwa crossing. From Chibeza village the road again was bad since the villagers planted their crops very close to the road. Anyway we got to the crossing where we camped on good tome for us to find fire wood. On Friday afternoon we crossed the Luangwa river hearding to Mwaleshi camp. When we reached the place called chipimbi we saw 7 lions lying under the bush close to the road. We reached Mwaleshi camp at 1450 hours. At night we herad lions roaring opposite camp towards the airstrip. In the morning on 29th May on Saturday, Cephas and Soni saw 1 female lion with 2 cubs at the same place we saw 7 lions the previous day.
It was on the day when we started our camp building. The work started at 0600 hours and by the end of the day two rooms where up just waiting to put on grass. On the third of June early morning around 0200hours I was awakened by the roar of the lions in the distance. They seemed to be walking towards the camp. They stopped roaring and then they were heard on the other side of the camp, so they might have walked passed the camp in silence. Cephas left camp at 0630 hours for more materials and about 300 meters from camp they saw 5 wild dogs on the road running in front of the vehicle. Then he saw a leopard near the crossing at south gate. The camp building is going in well that by 1700 hours all 5 rooms were completed waiting for grass.
4th of June at 1530 hours I heard puku making a lot of alarm calls opposite camp. I looked and saw 7 lionesses walking towards camp. I asked the staff to keep quiet but they couldn't since they wer very excited to see them. They lay down until 1800 hours then they moved off.
On June 7 after lunch a family of 6 kudu came to browse on the trees near camp, went down to drink and left. And then on 9 June I drove back to Tafika where I will spend few days before.
What a good start of 2010 season. | | | | | Date: | 31 May 2010 00:00 | | Guide: | Bryan Jackson | | Outing: | Chikoko Walking Trail | | Camp: | Chikoko Tree Camp | | Blog: | The start of the season for me, I’ve managed to be charged twice by and Elephant (in the car luckily) it was the same Elephant both times, seen 4 Leopards, 7 Lions and spent 1 night out at Chikoko walking camp. The grass is not too long to my surprise so we were able to walk most areas. There are many lagoons around so the game is very spread out. We did manage to get good sightings of Elephant, Kudu, Impala, Puku and surprised a Hyaena sleeping next to a fallen tree. Heard Lions calling this morning from Chikoko, but I think they were on the other side of the river.
The Yellow-Billed Storks are having a wonderful time flying from Lagoon to Lagoon catching fish to take back to the Stork Colony to feed their Chicks.
I have just loaded some photos onto my Gallery, so take a look.
| | | | | Date: | 30 May 2010 00:00 | | Guide: | Alex Phiri | | Outing: | Morning Drive | | Camp: | Tafika Camp | | Blog: | On the 28th of May, we went to the North park to see the rhinos which were brought from South Africa on the 26th of may, 2010. We flew from our airstrip at about 7:30hrs and the flight took us 35minutes to land . When we landed, we found somebody waiting for us and she drove us to the boma where they keep the rhinos in. The rhinos which were brought were five 4 of them were females and one big bull.
When we arrived at the boma, we found they had just started feeding them there breakfast and they were giving them mostly acacia branches as they are browsers. Another interesting thing one of the rhinos was given the sausage fruit after they had cut them in pieces and we were given the chance of feeding them.
After staying for about three hours, we went to have tea and coffee and after that we flew back to Tafika .
| | | | | Date: | 30 May 2010 00:00 | | Guide: | Alex Phiri | | Outing: | PM Drive | | Camp: | Tafika Camp | | Blog: | Last night we had another special game drive which in the beginning before the sunset we saw two herds of elephants very close to the road and we watched them for about ten minutes. We wanted to watch them for a long time but we could not make it because we heard the puku calling and we rushed to where the calling. When we went there, we saw lots of puku following the leopard and the velvet monkeys, baboons barking.
The leopard went in to the long grass which we could not see, and I decided to have sundown after watching some birds, giraffe and hippos in the river chasing one another.
After having our drinks, we went to the stork colony and we saw a lioness running across the wamfwa and we followed it finally we saw the other six lionesses just killed the puku. We watched these lions eating the female puku and later on the crocodile came but could not do anything as the puku was finished.
On our way back, we saw two leopards all up in trees, lots of genets, mongoose and lots ofantelopes.
| | | | | Date: | 22 May 2010 00:00 | | Guide: | Stephen Banda | | Outing: | Morning Walk | | Camp: | Tafika Camp | | Blog: | We went on a walk this morning with one guest. Alex was leading this and I accompanied him just observing. About half an hour we were at the river crossing and saw a buffalo floating down stream with crocodiles along side. After having a good check we noticed that the buffalo was dead. Alex noticed that there were 7 more buffalo along the edge of the bank trying to get out but the bank was very steep that they couldn’t climb up. We went to have a look and they started swimming downstream until they found a good place to go across. After that we went to one of the small streams where we saw elephants with small babies coming for a drink. In the distance were waterbuck, puku, zebra and impala.
Yesterday afternoon we went to check the crossing point for transfers. After checking we decided to go to the place I saw dead a buffalo in the morning when I took the building materials for crocodile camp. I noticed that the carcass have been removed so I was confident that the lions were near. We had a short sundowner and left. We took the road near the lagoon not far from camp. There were 9 lions drinking water on the lagoon. As we watching them drink we heard the buffalo making noise in the grass. We turned round to check the lions have attacked him because he could not move fast. We quickly drove to camp to tell some of the staff to come and see them. Then we drove back and the buffalo was still standing in the same position. Having a good look we did not see any wound on the buffalo. So we don’t know what happened.
| | | | | Date: | 13 May 2010 00:00 | | Guide: | Stephen Banda | | Outing: | Morning Drive | | Camp: | Tafika Camp | | Blog: | We left camp after breakfast around 0630 hours. Looking for a leopard which was seen last night with a baboon up in the tree, but we could not find it. Driving along the river we saw some hippo, crocodiles, white backed night herons and brown hooded kingfisher in one place. After few minutes we found 5 female lion resting in the grass. They started walking away and we followed them for few minutes. They sat down again looking at the impala but not interested in them. We left and stopped at the lagoon for our tea break. While having tea we saw a family of elephants with two babies coming for a drink, zebras and giraffe also came to the lagoon. On our way back to camp we saw baboons playing with their young ones near the edge of the river. | | | | | Date: | 12 May 2010 00:00 | | Guide: | Alex Phiri | | Outing: | Night Drive | | Camp: | Tafika Camp | | Blog: | Welcome back to Remote Africa game viewing dairies more actions happening as the season just started.
The past two nights we went out on game drive and these are the following animals which were spotted lots of antelopes like Impala, puku, Zebras, baboons and several more. On the 9th may after sundown, we drove for about five minutes and we heard baboons and impalas barking and we decided to look around and we saw lions hunting . After, waiting for about 15 mins these lions managed to bring down an impala and they finished in about 8mins.
Last night before sundown, we saw big male leopard having a drink at Chichele stream and came to cross the road in front of the car.
| | | | | Date: | 12 May 2010 00:00 | | Guide: | Stephen Banda | | Outing: | Morning Drive | | Camp: | Tafika Camp | | Blog: | On 10th of May I did two game drives. On both drives we saw giraffe, buffalos, elephants, puku, porcupine, civets, genets and many more. Lots of birds since my guests were interested in birds we spent more time to watch them. And this morning we saw two different herds of buffalo, elephant s, monitor lizard and other things. | | | | | Date: | 08 May 2010 00:00 | | Guide: | Stephen Banda | | Outing: | Morning Drive | | Camp: | Tafika Camp | | Blog: | Once again the season has started. I had some drives since we opened on the 2nd of May 2010. So far we have seen giraffe, elephants, lots of antelope and birds. This morning I went to the hot spring and on the way we saw 3 wildebeest together with impala then later saw where there was a kill all we could see was blood which looked to be last night kill. Few zebras at the pan but lots of birds. | | | | | Date: | 05 November 2009 00:00 | | Guide: | Stephen Banda | | Outing: | Morning Walk | | Camp: | Tafika Camp | | Blog: | We have now closed the walking camps and we do all our activities from Tafika, so I did a game drive last night. When we left camp we saw some elephants crossing the river while others were playing with little ones. After that I drove to the hot springs to look for the lions. Before the springs we saw a leopard jumping down from the tree. She went into the bush and never came back. We left and decided to go back after dark. After the drinks we went back and she was there but didn¡¯t stay for long. And near the gate we saw a grysbok and an elephant shrew.
This morning I drove back to check on the leopard kill but we could not find him, only the kill was there. On the salt pan was a big herd of buffalo, 20+ eland, warthogs with babies, impalas every where with their young, dwarf mongoose and a serval. Coming back we saw 4 giraffe drinking, puku crocodiles and hippos.
| | | | | Date: | 01 November 2009 00:00 | | Guide: | Stephen Banda | | Outing: | Chikoko Walking Trail | | Camp: | Chikoko Walking Trails | | Blog: | My last long walk of the season lasted for 4 days. I went to crocodile camp first for two nights. We left Tafika camp on 28th October, and whilst there we saw loads of animals such as impala, kudu, puku, giant eagle owls, elephants, buffalos, 2 pel¡¯s fishing owls and giraffe. One night we heard a leopard calling in camp at the water hole but we did not see it. Then we moved to chikoko on 30th October and on the way we saw a nice family elephants with a very small baby less than a year old. After that we saw a group of roan antelopes, water bucks, zebras and many more. On afternoon we found a single lion lying on the top bank of the river. The next morning at breakfast time the lions were lying not far from camp, that we followed them for some time. We also saw a hyena and the first baby impala of the season. What a good way of ending the walking trails. | | | | | Date: | 28 October 2009 00:00 | | Guide: | Alex Phiri | | Outing: | Night Drive | | Camp: | Tafika Camp | | Blog: | Last night we went for the village visit including the school and after we had finished these activities, we went for our drive and we saw lots of impalas, puku, bushbuck, baboons and lots of hippos in the Luangwa river.
After watching all these things I decided to have sundown while watching the carmine bee eaters and crocodiles lying on the sand bank with there mouth open.
The first ten minutes after sundown was quite and there after we saw a bush tailed mongoose with a baby at the termite mound as the baby was coming out and in the holes.
After watching these mongoose, we saw a big female leopard crossing the road going for a drink and we watched for 15 mins and there after we continued coming back to camp. We also saw few genets, two grysbok and one white tailed mongoose.
| | | | | Date: | 25 October 2009 16:00 | | Guide: | Bryan Jackson | | Outing: | Night Drive | | Camp: | Tafika Camp | | Blog: | Last nights drive was an excellent outing. We had seen a Serval in the morning and Peter was keen to get a better photo.
We headed up to the Salt Pan, as this is the best place to find Serval, not seeing a lot on the way. Stopping at the spring for sundowners. 3 Serval along the stream, the first one being the best view. Peter managed to get his photo. On the way back we came across 2 Leopard, a mother and cub, both very shy. We watched them for short while until the cub bolted for cover. Not far from the Leopard we saw a Chameleon and a Boomslang (snake) in different bushes next to the road. Another Serval just before the Gate and another Leopard at the water hole near camp, hunting Impala & Puku. The French film crew had been sitting in camp unaware of the Leopard outside the fence, so I dropped off my guests and took the film crew out to have a look, unfortunately the Leopard had gone but a Pennant Winged Nightjar flew past the car, much to the excitement of the Biologist, Vincent.
| | | | | Date: | 24 October 2009 00:00 | | Guide: | Stephen Banda | | Outing: | Chikoko Walking Trail | | Camp: | Chikoko Walking Trails | | Blog: | I went for long walk to two of our walking camps Crocodile & Chikoko. I left here on tuesday the 20th of October. I picked my guests at Lion camp crossing at 0830 hours and walked to crocodile camp. On the way there we saw a family of elephants standing under the tree. When we got to camp there were lots of zebras, puku, baboons, big herd of buffalos and crocodiles. We stayed there for two nights and we saw lots of game. And the morning we were leaving for Chikoko the giraffes came to say goodbye to us and then we walked to our next camp. When we reached the dry lagoon we herad puku alarming we looked but nothing. As we were about to stop for tea break i checked around and in the sausage tree in distance was a leopard lying on the branch. We walked near the tree and wached him for few minutes, he heard us and he got down went under the bush. After that we saw about 19 roan antelopes which are very rare to see. In the afternoon we saw another leopard but running away from us. The next morning we walked along the chikoko river and we spotted lion tracks. We tried to follow them and found them after some minutes of tracking. There two adults females and one sub adult lying on the bank looking at the fishermen on the other side of the river. We went to check them again in the afternoon and they were still in the same place as in the morning. Today we had to come back to Tafika and on coming here we saw one roan antelope, buffalos, waterbucks, puku, giraffe, two elephant shrews, hippos and many more. | | | | | Date: | 20 October 2009 00:00 | | Guide: | Alex Phiri | | Outing: | Night Drive | | Camp: | Tafika Camp | | Blog: | On the 18th of October we started our drive after we had our afternoon tea with one guest and the animals we saw were elephants few meters from camp. The other animals spotted were buffaloes, impala, bushbucks, baboons, zebras and birds were uncounted which includes a tawny eagle and a bateleur eagle flying low under the trees.
After we had picked another guest at chichele stream who came from the airport, I decided to go and have sundown at the hot spring but we arrived late because we saw a leopard and three serval cats hunting and we watched for ten minutes then we decided to have sundown at the pan. After we had finished our drinks we thought to go and see the serval cats again and we saw one catching a fish.
On our way back to camp, we saw another leopard along the road genet, civet, white tailed mongoose and a bush tailed mongoose near the camp.
| | | | | Date: | 19 October 2009 04:00 | | Guide: | Ernst Jacobs | | Outing: | Morning Walk | | Camp: | Mwaleshi Camp | | Blog: | 19 October
An afternoon walk upstream was undertaken where we first saw a female Montague’s Harrier flying along the river. There were also two bull elephants feeding in front of camp. A Dazzle of Zebra and a lone male waterbuck were also found further along the walk staring at a lone Hyena crossing the Mwaleshi. On our way back we startled a lone male Lion sleeping on the sand bank a few metres away from us. He galloped away and left a big dust cloud in his wake. Eventually he stopped and looked back at us like the similar sighting of 9 October and I think it resembled the same lion as he had a beautiful mane.
20 October
The morning started with a breeding herd of elephants feeding in the river in front of camp. They moved off and we were very excited to see a group of African Wild Dogs come down to the river to drink. We counted six and watched them cross the river up-stream of camp while we enjoyed breakfast. Three Hyenas then appeared in their path and the dogs gathered as one and attacked the Hyenas. The Hyenas did not wait on them and ran off at high speed. We followed them by vehicle then and found that they were just lying in the river to cool off. We then dismounted and tried to get closer on foot. Special then noticed that we had four lions moving away from us on our left hand side. They included the two cubs and the one whose face was so swollen in the past, seemed in a better state.
We then went onto the river bank on the opposite side for better light on the dogs where we could see Lions, Wild Dogs and Hyenas in one scene. The Hyenas were having a game of tug of war with a stick and if one managed to brake free with the stick, the other two would run after him and try to steal the stick away. It was very amusing to watch and reminded me of dogs playing on the beach.
We then continued with the walk and bumped into two elephants grazing in tall grass. Luckily, the wind was in our favour and we moved to a safer position to watch them. Our scent then carried to them and they moved away.
In the afternoon, we wanted to see if the Wild Dogs were still around, but first had to navigate our way around a herd of elephants. They passed close by us, as we lay low in a gully. A stray young bull then also made his way past us where we went onto a termite mound to watch him pass.
The Wild Dogs were still where we had left them and very relaxed. I decided to try my luck and see how close I could crawl to them to get a better photograph. When I was about 15 metres away I could identify three males and one female. The fifth one was lying down, so it was difficult to tell and number six was not present. Two elephant bulls then made their appearance and moved onto the beach where we were. I was concerned that they would come in between the group and me so I decided to rather practice caution and return with some blurry shots.
21 October
On the morning walk to the Luangwa Mwaleshi confluence we found a warthog with two young piglets. She was very protective of them and did not move away until the piglets had put some distance between them and us. She then gave a warning snort and rushed off after her young. There were signs of rain at the confluence from the previous night.
In the afternoon, we went to the Leopard tree for sundowners. Once there we found a group of five lions lying in the river including a male. One of the lionesses started moving and roared as she walked. Although it had the same sound as a male lion’s roar, it was not as loud and did not carry as far. We suspected that she was roaring to make contact with the rest of the pride.
22 October
In the morning, we walked to Impala spring, away from the Mwaleshi River. We followed fresh leopard tracks for a while, but lost them when we entered a grassy area. A new flush of leaves were present on some old mopane trees, which is always a welcome sight at this time of the year when any shade is appreciated.
At the spring, there were numerous Impala and Warthogs drinking and the pigs were having a good time in the mud.
The afternoon drive started by observing a large herd of buffalo in front of camp while we studied the rain clouds in the distance. Unfortunately, we had to abandon the drive as the first rain of the season fell shortly into the drive and thoroughly soaked us.
23 October
An hour into the walk, we spotted vultures sitting in a tree close to Sassu lagoon. They did not descend, so we assumed that the predators would still be present and entered a thicket to investigate. Hyena tracks confirmed that something was present and we moved cautiously to find whatever it was.
When rounding a large Trichelia emettica tree, something tawny shot out from a shrub and ran off into the undergrowth. We just had a glimpse of the lioness, but Special and the Scout concurred that she looked injured. She was feeding on an old buffalo carcass and there was not much left of the buffalo except skin and head. We did not have a view of her again, but also moved off as to not to disturb her anymore.
On the walk back, we found Cookson’s Wildebeest coming into drink and also an adult Marshal Eagle drinking from the river. Shortly after, two young Marshal Eagles were spotted and we assumed that they were the off spring of the adult. Their white plumage was beautiful and they gave us a good view as they were circling for thermals above our heads.
In the afternoon we went to the Luangwa where we found two different groups of lions. They all looked very healthy and round, probably due to the time of year as all animals are forced to come to the Luangwa River to drink and make for easy prey.
24 October
We decided to drive to Kalli Mulilo for the morning and came across 26 elephants crossing the Luangwa. They moved into thickets, but the Matriarch did not like our presence and mock charged us from the bush, just to come to a shuddering halt a mere sixty metres away from us which was not very impressive. Unfortunately, her scaring tactics were not that effective and we watched as she turned and directed the herd into another direction.
At Kalli Mulilo we saw a selection of antelope coming to drink and a group of about twenty-two Cookson’s Wildebeest.
In the afternoon, we went for a walk and found hither to unseen elephants. A big tusk less bull accompanied by two younger Askaris, who were half his size. Unfortunately, the wind turned while we watched them and they sped off at an alarming speed through the Mwaleshi River. It proved that they were not used to people at all and must have appeared from another uninhabited area.
25 October
A morning walk up stream on the Mwaleshi had the usual groups of Zebra, Impala and Wildebeest. We also chanced upon a lone Lioness lying in the shade overlooking the river. She moved off and showed an injured right hind leg. She then turned and growled at us before she slunk into the shadows. Why she was injured was not clear, but we assumed that it was the lioness from a few days earlier, that we had seen in the same vicinity.
On the way back we also bumped into a lone elephant in tall grass, but it had not seen us and we were able to disappear into the grass away from it.
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