Africa 2017-Days 12-15

Day  12-15 Zambia- Lufupa Camp

We left Santawani in the morning, taking off from the nearby airstrip.  

Last bit of game on the way to the landing strip

Chasing away impalas from the landing strip with rocks

John and Jeri

You know who and Jeri

The whole gang and Jeri

Today was a tricky transfer, because we were unable to fly directly from Botswana to Zambia  (administrative  reasons).  We first flew in light aircraft to Kasane in Botswana,

then by bus to the shores of the Zambezi River.  At passport control we noted an odd addition, a condom dispenser.  Because of the  HIV pandemic, there is a strong push by the governments in southern Africa  to encourage condom use.  Unfortunately, this dispenser was empty (perhaps a busy night last night).

Botswana and Zambia are in the process of building a bridge, but for now, all traffic must be ferried across.  Trucks were backed up for miles, waiting their chance to take the 10 minute ferry ride into Zambia.  The ferry can only take a couple of trucks each trip, thus the queue.  The prostitutes are doing well here.   

Our ferry was a small skiff that whisked us across the river.  Once on the opposite shore, we were accosted by a herd of locals selling wood carvings.  We all felt obliged to buy something.  Leanne, one of Anne’s friends from Deleware (who you’d swear was Kathi Seastrand  if you closed your eyes) was suckered into three.  But at $5 apiece, you couldn’t go wrong.  Jeri bought a cute little hippo.

We also stopped in a small town to go shopping for “chitengas” for the womenfolk.  Mandela assured us that all will be revealed about why the women needed chitegas and what they were for in the next couple of days.  The chitenga is a piece of cloth about 6x4 ft and very brightly printed. Andrea found a large piece of cloth for a table and napkins as well.

Not everything is locally made

Cycling to market

Now in Zambia, we took another bus to the Livingstone Airport where we again took light aircraft.  One of the 2 12 seaters was in the shop, so they gave us 2- 6 seaters along with the 12.  Jeri and I were in the 12 seater with Phil and Anne, Ken and Lee Ann Comegys (Phil and Anne’s friends from Delaware), Andrea Sodano and Chas Norton, Fred Schoen and Angie Warner (Andrea and Chas’s friends).  Carol and Dave Woods wound up in one of the two small planes which Carol was not thrilled about.  By the end of the flight, though, she decided it was actually “pretty nice”.

Our first glimpse at Victoria Falls from the air

After a very long day of travelling we finally arrived at Lufupa Camp (a very short drive from the airstrip), situated in Kafue National Park on the banks of the Kafue River, just downstream of the confluence of the Kafue and Lufupa Rivers.  Kafue National Park is one of Africa’s largest, about the size of New Jersey, and includes a wide variety of habitats for a diverse group of wildlife.  There are river forests, floodplains, woodlands, and open grasslands. It is home to over 500 species of birds, more than all of Europe.   

The camp manager, Lydia, greeted us upon arrival and gave us a briefing about the camp.  We were then assigned tents, and surprise, surprise, we were tent 9 (out of 9), about a mile from the main area (not really that far, a bit of exaggeration).  There were no charging facilities in the tents, so we had to schlepp everything to the common area each day and charge it, and then leave our computer and IPad with Lydia.  The camp was situated right through a Hippo Highway, a route used by the Hippos to cross from the river to grasslands each evening, then back to the river each morning (if they hadn’t
been eaten by a lion).  It was a bit like staying on I-95.  By the 2^nd day, we had become used to the sounds of hippos passing our tents in the evening and early morning.  Fred had a close encounter with a hippo one morning as he tried to get back to his tent after breakfast.  Other than being startled, he weathered the encounter admirably.

The camp was in a beautiful setting with killer views of the river that flowed only 20 feet from the deck on the front of the tent.  We had an entire family of vervet monkeys that lived in the tree (and on the roof) in front of our tent.  They were a lot of fun to watch.  

Our tents faced west affording us some of the best sunsets yet.

We had two amazing guides, John and Netti.  They both could spot wildlife hiding in tall grass a quarter mile away, identify birds flying at that distance, and find animals deep in the brush at night.

One of the highpoints of our stay here was seeing a cheetah, albeit at some distance (decided I need a new lens-my shots of the cheetah were terrible, but Ken was able to nail a couple with his 100-400 lens.  I tried it the next day and was hooked). 

We also had some great viewing of leopards and lions. 

On the 2^nd day we all took a break from riding in the land rovers, and instead, did our game viewing from the confines of a boat. It was fun to see the animals and especially the birds from the riverside.  This also got us up close and personal with two separate hippo groups.  Unfortunately, they would not accede to our pleas to come out on land, or to yawn.  We got a brief glimpse of a single yawn, but everyone was looking the other way, so alas, no photos.

Camp from the river

We had a nice surprise for lunch .  Instead of going back to camp for lunch, the staff brought a surprise lunch to us in the bush

Later, after our afternoon boating, we had sundowners on the water.

Rafting up for sundowners

At high tea, the camp manager, Lydia, gave a great talk about the Zambian traditional culture.  She explained the differences in rearing males and females.  Girls are allowed to do pretty much anything until puberty begins.  They are then sent to live with their “auntie” who is responsible for bringing them up to adulthood.  When they pass through puberty, they are put in isolation for a couple of months during which time they are only allowed to see their Auntie who gives her detailed instruction, teaching them everything they must know to run a household They are also told about the poisonous snake that men have that will bite them and kill them if they get to close.  Boys are not allowed to interact with their fathers, even at a very young ages, and are sent to a live with an uncle until puberty.  At this time, they, like the girls, go into isolation for several months while they learn to hunt, fish, and raise crops and animals.  They are also circumcised at this time (age 8 days is much more civilized).  In order to put the fear of God in them, they are told a little white lie  (which is a slight modification of the fib told to the girls) about a tunnel that girls have that, if you enter, you will never return.  Considering the number of children that are born here out of wedlock, I’m not so sure that scare tactics are the best way to go.

Lydia also demonstrated the use of the Chitenga, a universal accouterment for African women.We finally found out why we had stopped a couple of days ago. It is used as a skirt, turban, a head support for carrying things, a baby carrier, and a decoration for a table.

That evening we had a traditional African feast starting with Kapenta (dried tiny smelts that are fried in oil) and local peanuts.

This was followed by grilled beef and pork polenta and vegetables.   We again wowed our hosts with incredible musical numbers.  Afterwards, they were so overcome with emotion (or so relieved that we stopped) that they hugged each and everyone of us.   All kidding aside, the staff was very warm and there was a real bond between them and our group.  We were all sad to have to say goodbye in the morning.

Birds of Zambia