A Remote African Safari

A Remote African Safari

Africa’s Great Rift Valley extends down into north-eastern Zambia, and it is here that the Luangwa River has, over millennia, carved a uniquely beautiful landscape. This is an area of pristine wilderness. It is the country’s elephant stronghold and also home to Zambia’s only black rhinos; in addition it supports one of the highest lion densities in the region. And we had come to Mwaleshi Camp, one of the most remote bush camps in Africa, to explore this amazing place on foot. North Luangwa is a vast tract of land, covering 4,636 square kilometres and offering one of the last truly wild experiences in Zambia. Although it had been declared a Game Reserve in 1938, North Park, as it is commonly known, was not open to anyone other than the Game Department for more than 30 years, until in 1972 it eventually became a National Park. There are no permanent lodges and the only way to visit the park is through one of the few safari operators licensed to conduct walking safaris. A walking safari in North Luangwa is the ultimate way to experience such a remote location. This is a place for total isolation, providingintimate, personal involvement in one of the last great wildlife areas on the continent. I have been going on safari in Africa for over 20 years and I have never had an experience to match the days we spent in North Luangwa. The bush is very different when experienced on foot. You are suddenly intensely aware of every slight noise or rustle in the undergrowth; and bird sounds, the alarm call of puku and impala, and the occasional roar of a lion or trumpet of an elephant sharpen your senses. On a walking safari you see so much that would normally be missed from the inside of a safari vehicle on a traditional game drive.

Our first night in camp was one of those real ‘Out of Africa’ experiences - shower water heated over a fire, drinks while seated in chairs overlooking the darkening river, dinner

Breakfast on the Mwaleshi river

by lantern light, and the noises of the bush continuing around us. When we got back to our tent the beds had been turned down and mosquito nets firmly secured over them – a welcome touch. We drifted off to sleep listening to the sound of elephants tearing down branches and munching on vegetation very close by.

A typical day’s walking safari in North Luangwa starts at about 5.00 am. We were woken with a jug of warm water and, after a quick wash, coffee and breakfast around the campfire. At 5.30am we set off for what would be about a five-hour walk. Taking off our shoes, we crossed the shallow, but surprisingly chilly, Mwaleshi River, our eyes adjusting to the growing light. We walked on, watching the wild world awakening around us.

We had been walking for a while when we saw a hyena on the opposite bank. She was quite probably pregnant as her stomach was pendulous, and she lay lazily on the cool sand. She was unconcerned by our presence, presumably because of the river between us. We spent time watching her; and she watched us back.

Shortly after leaving the hyena, we came across some Cookson’s wildebeest (one of the Valley’s endemic subspecies), and then a lone bull elephant walking along the opposite bank. We followed along on our side of the river, until he reached the spot where we had been planning to cross. At this point he found a tree laden with fruit and paused for a snack. We were not about to disturb him and waited our turn. It wasn’t too long before he finished and came down to the river to cross to our side. As we were on foot we decided to back up a fair distance and wait. When the bull got halfway across the river the wind changed direction and he suddenly smelt us, stopping still with his ears waving wildly and his trunk up scenting the air. Ultimately deciding we didn’t seem too much of a threat, the elephant continued across the river, eventually vanishing into the thick vegetation.

and a siesta, we set off on a three-hour afternoon walk. This time we headed upstream, venturing into places we hadn’t been before. As the sun started to set, we ended our afternoon’s walk up high on an embankment, with two elephants enjoying a dust bath immediately below us. They were both completely oblivious of our presence – a lovely way to end the day.

Dinner that night was in true safari style: wine and a three-course candlelit meal on the banks of the river. We could hear prides of lion roaring on all sides and the occasional startled trumpet of an elephant across the water. The moon and stars shone above us, and we heard mysterious splashing sounds in the river as animals waded across under cover of darkness. The 5.00 amwake-up, eight hours of walking, and the knowledge that we were rising again at 5.00 am the following day sent us to bed before too long. Lulled to sleep by the sounds of the lions and distant hyenas, we fell rapidly into a deep sleep.

The 5.00 am wake-upseemed easier the next morning, and after breakfast we set off for our final walk in the park. This time it was a short drive, and then a walk through the riverine forest down to the Luangwa River which forms the border of the National Park. Huge pods of hippos wallowed in the water below us, and a few brave fishermen sat on the opposite bank, outside the confines of the park, mending their nets and cleaning their catch.

Reluctantly we had to leave the hippos and the park –we had a long journey home ahead of us. Half way to the park exit we rounded a corner to find a spectacle for which North Luangwa is famous: a huge herd of buffalo, numbering in their hundreds –the perfect sighting to end our safari.

It is worth noting that North Luangwa is only open in the dry season, from June to October, and the camps are rebuilt every year to ensure minimal impact on the ecosystem. Access to the park in the wet season is virtually impossible We stayed at Mwaleshi Camp which is owned and operated by Remote Africa Safaris.

Bookings: reservations@remoteafrica. com Website details: http://www.remoteafrica.com/mwaleshi-camp/

The best home made bread

Excellent walking guides

Born and raised in Sydney, Australia, before moving to Africa at the age of 21, Sarah Kingdom is a mountain guide, traveller and mother of two. When she is not climbing, she also owns and operates a 3,000- hectare cattle ranch in central Zambia. She guides and runs trips regularly in India, Nepal, Tibet, Russia, Turkey and Uganda, also taking travellers up Tanzania’s Mount Kilimanjaro numerous times a year.