Relaxing proved a bit more difficult than we had imagined. Aptly-named Croc Valley Camp is located right on the banks of the hippo and crocodile-infested Luangwa River. The owner warned us to securely stow away all our food as hippos and elephants often cruise through at night to graze on anything and everything. But it turned out that the biggest peril was the boisterous band of monkeys and baboons making an infernal din while swinging wildly through the camp, fighting each other and pilfering unsuspecting guests. The annoyance was partly made up by the hilarious sight of a dozen monkeys playing on the three hammocks in the camp. Fortunately at sunset the primates retired to the treetops, leaving room for bigger foragers to come in... Overall, it was an amazing immersive experience at a lovely camp, but it did make me wonder how our hunter-gatherer ancestors navigated the perils of the wild while we failed to guard even a small bag of crisps from our pesky companions!
The next morning we set off at 6am for a self-drive in the National Park. Given that the park rangers told us that there had been no major predator sightings the previous few days, we did not get our hopes up too high going in. Still, as South Luangwa is renowned for its high density of leopards and lions, we were a bit disappointed to have only (!) seen numerous elephants, hippos, and giraffes by noon. So we decided to try again on a guided evening drive arranged by the camp.
Before we set off I joked with the driver that we expected to see both lions and leopards that night and we all laughed it off as a fanciful thought. But as luck would have it, within minutes of entering the park, we ran into a leopard sauntering down the middle of the road towards us. As we stopped, it casually walked right by the truck and into the bushes - it was a fleeting but very gratifying encounter with one of the most elusive predators in the bush.
And as if that wasn't enough, we spotted three lions on a nearby dry riverbed shortly afterwards. They had just eaten a buffalo and were lying in a food coma on the sand, impervious to us driving to within a couple of meters of them. Grateful for our great fortune, we then started the night drive as darkness set in. Using a large spotlight, we drove around looking for nocturnal animals like hyenas roaming the bush. And though we didn't see any large game, I did learn that a mongoose looks nothing like a goose and rather more like a small housecat...
Before setting off the next morning from our campsite, we exchanged travel stories with a South African couple taking their Land Rover Defender from Dundee, South Africa to Dundee, Scotland. We had been thoroughly upstaged! As it turns out, they had had to turn back at the Angola-DRC border due to visa issues so were planning to return to South Africa for a family commitment before trying again through East Africa. These kind of encounters are good fun and a great source of info on the road ahead, so I'm looking forward to many more in the weeks ahead!
The 700km drive from South Luangwa to Lusaka took us around ten hours and is hopefully the single longest day of driving I will do on my trip. Fortunately Madhav - my Kenyan travel companion - and I took turns behind the wheel and the road was very good for most of the way. Inevitably though, we spent the last hour on approach to Lusaka negotiating some serious potholes as well as aggressive high-beams from oncoming traffic. Once in town, we were warmly received by my good friend Lilay's family and could look forward to comfortable beds and hot showers.Lusaka, which I visited for the first time last year, still feels very much like an overgrown small town which is struggling to make sense of its newfound growth. Large income inequality is on display (not helped by the sprawling exclusive golf course in the middle of town) and traffic is surprisingly bad, but the city has a certain charm in its enduring sleepiness. Much like the rest of Zambia, it is still a very laid-back place where you can strike up a friendly conversation with most anyone.
Now on to the next adventure - Victoria Falls together with my parents!
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