How BIG is the WORLD?

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

25-28 AUGUST 2011

SOUTH LUANGA NATIONAL PARK, ZAMBIA

On recommendations from a couple of English girls in Harare, I had decided to visit South Luanga NP instead of Kafue NP. Both are reputed to have leopards and that is what I would love to see, so to that end I get take a long bus out to Chipata which takes most of the day and stay overnight at Deans Hill View Lodge, with the most amazing views above town. There are a trio of girls here being picked up for their tour to South Luanga NP, driving to Mfuwe where I want to go tomorrow too. They don’t mind me hitching a lift but next morning their driver need a little convincing before they take me along too. Several hours later along a horrible road we arrive in the tiny town of Mfuwe where I’m told I cannot walk the 500m to Marula Lodge because “There are wild animals, it’s too dangerous”.

My new friend

Amid many offers to drive me – for a price - I head to a small restaurant to order some lunch of fish and nshima to consider how to get to Marula. After so long in Africa, nshima/pap/fufu or whatever each country chooses to call the carb rich, nutritionless maize mash, is starting to be appealing in comparision to fried chips and fried chicken which is usually the only other alternative on local menus. At least the maize comes with vegies, more than a kfc style chook ever does, unless you call the soggy fried potatoes a vegetable? While I wait for lunch I ring Marula, who confirm the dangerous aspect of walking and offer to pick me up now – wonderful. But this nonplusses the girl in the restaurant when I ask for my food ‘take away’. She disappears, reappears still holding the food. What is the problem I ask her and she replies ‘the plates’. OMG, sometimes I despair at people’s lack of imaginative thinking but always try to remind myself it’s really the fault of their education that only teaches them how to remember, not to think.

How close? This close!

I find a plastic bag, decant my lunch, pay and head on out to be driven to Marula Lodge for a few days of idleness, wildlife spotting and starry nights. The family are very welcoming, the staff friendly and I have the dorm all to myself except for one little tiny white frog! I meet Pippa from Perth who has been working here for 6 months now with her time nearly up and we get together lots of the next few days which suits me just fine. I’m intrigued she made the decision to come out here for the experience. She is a cook by trade, with 2 adult children and a divorce behind her. She is very nervous about what her future holds when she returns to Oz next month and we spend quite a bit of time together chatting as she debates the vagaries of life..

Are you looking at me? Young lions

The other guests here are a group of christians on a side trip after visiting a sister church in Malawi to celebrate their centenary. I am not paying for full board here at the lodge, just for accommodation in the dorm, US$10 which leaves me to choose what activities I want to do. I decide to stay in tonight so after the group leave for their drive, Pippa drives us over to Flatdogs Camp for drinks by the river at sunset. Very enjoyable evening with great snacks of dips, olives etc – all luxuries hereabouts. Pippa fills me in on her current hopes that include an interview on Monday – perhaps she will stay or then again perhaps she will go as she is feeling very homesick because it’s her daughter’s 25^th birthday today. Its nice to get out in the car to see around here. But even so there is still plenty of wildlife wandering through the grounds of the Marula lodge – hippos, giraffes and elephants are very common and very wild so a lot of care needs to be taken walking around here. One afternoon I come down the ladder from the dorm and look up to be face to face with a very big elephant – not sure which of us was the more surprised - you have never seen me scoot back up steps so fast! I chose to take two drives on Saturday - morning drive is good – loads of animals but no leopards and I don’t particularly take to the guide.

My first leopard 'spotting'

For the evening drive I swap cars, much to the initial chagrin of the group, because ‘they don’t change’ but after I indicate that I would like to try their guide tonight they relent and I am very happy with my choice. This guide is very informative and eventually after drinkies at sunset watching dozens and dozens of hippos wallowing in the shrinking waters of the Luanga River, night falls and we spot one leopard prowling about. Now I am one happy camper but do feel for this leopard who is trying to hunt, but remains spotlighted for all its prey to see. I also enjoy my new seat partner who is travelling on her own in the group and we have a few laughs especially when I ask her to just dangle a leg out to tempt a few lions we are watching – I even promise to put the film up on YouTube!

Sunday, with loads of luck on my side, I am able to join with the lodge staff who are going to the Kunda Malaila traditional ceremony, held annually at the village of Luwaneni. This ceremony paying tribute to the Chief by the various ‘clan’ villages by dancing singing and drumming and is, of course a great excuse to drink up and shop if you live out here in the countryside. I wander about for a while the sun is getting hot and entrance to the main area seems to be closed off. I walk to the back of some seating, ask the guard if I can watch from there, he agress then ushers me in to a seat. Fantastic – ring side view, shade and then water bottles appear for us! Fantastic.

My seated neighbour fills me in on what is going on but I have to say that my vague impressions os of dancing with vessel virgins to be offered up to the chief – or perhaps I have watched one too many Tarzan movies??

The lift back to the lodge is leaving at 1.30pm so I head back through the crowd who are dining on soggy chips, drinking far too much warm beer and shopping for second hand clothing. We fill the car and make room for one employee’s daughter who seems much the worse for wear – too much warm beer!

Two germans have arrived at the lodge and want to take a night drive tonight so I join them to cut their costs and also because I’m happy to try seeing leopards again. Pippa comes alongs for her last night at the lodge and perhaps in honour tonight’s drive was fantastic – we saw seven leopards!! Some hunting, a few fighting over a female who stood by watching and the final two were dining on a recent kill of antelope, which was obviously too heavy to take back up a tree where it would have been all theirs. As we watched, a hyena circled and chased the leopards off to take over the meal. Then one of the leopards lured the hyena away further up a rise, for the second leopard to circle back and continue eating. I could have stayed for hours watching these fabulous animals but unfortunately time is against us, the park was due to close and we have to leave.

She could shake those hips

But I have to tell you how thrilled I am to have seen all this.

Monday and time to leave Marula Lodge for Chipata but how to get to there this morning – well no one is really sure because for some inexplicable reason when I asked over the weekend, the taxis leave at 9pm each day to meet an early morning bus from Lusaka. I ask around the lodges – nothing going. One delivery truck offers me a lift but he’s not going till 2pm and I had hoped to be at the border by then. Pippa gives me a lift into Mfuwe anyway to ask at the Petrol station but no luck there. She heads off on chores and offers to come back later to check on me so I head across the road to ask around. The parked combi says he leaving straight away, I get on board in disbelief but sure enough off he goes and I’m on my way! Amazing stuff and I try asking about the night transport but I cannot make any sense of the answer, instead keep waiting for the holdup or breakdown. And after a 4 solid hours of dreadful road we get to Chipata where apparently a combi only goes to Mchinji on Saturdays so they kindly find me a taxi to the border! Wow after a little trouble cashing small US$ notes to kwaitcha to pay the taxi fare, I cross the border easily to Malawi and get a taxi on the other side to change again to arrive in the capital, Lilongwe by the end of the day.

FACT: South Luanga is reputed to be the best park in Zambia, if not all of Africa for its scenery, variety and density of animals. With the choice in accommodations and accessibility I would heartily agree and consider myself so lucky to have been able to visit.

FACT 2: Zambia has been deemed to be a ‘Heavily Indebted Poor Country’ and had most of its US$7billion international aid wiped in 2005. It is dependant on mining and China is here in a BIG way, helping them. 70% of Zambia’s population live below the poverty line and life expectancy is just over 40 years. BUT on the plus side, there is relative peace amongst the 73 officially recognised ethnic groups within its borders, of which Zambia is justly proud.