Zambia: Born to be wild (+photos)

Page 1 of 2 View as a single page 5:00AM Friday April 25, 2008
By Heather Ramsay

Lions leave no doubt as to who is boss. Photo / Supplied

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So kids," I say, dragging out a kindly voice from my schoolteaching days and turning to the children seated behind me in the four-wheel drive, "which animal do you most want to see on safari?"

We're about to leave Lilongwe, the capital of Malawi, and head across the Zambian border for a five-day safari in remote South Luangwa National Park, and have just met the British family of five who will be our companions on the trip. Rosie, 10, answers first: "Elephants and hippos and zebras and giraffes."

At 12, Josh is more decisive. "Wild dogs," he says, choosing one of the rarest, most elusive carnivores in all Africa.

Sam, who is 8, has his nose buried in the latest Harry Potter book. His head is too full of hocus-pocus at Hogwarts to give a definitive answer, but the African wilderness is about to create its own magic - for all of us.

Our cheerful guide Ben, from Land and Lake Safaris swings up into the big Land Cruiser and we're soon chewing up the kilometres towards the border. Once in Zambia, the going is slow, hot and dusty as we negotiate 100km of rough dirt road, passing through forests and scattered villages of thatched huts where villagers stop to watch the unfamiliar vehicle bounce by. It's fascinating, but everyone sighs with relief when Ben says we're nearing our lodge.

Rosie gets one of her wishes before we even arrive when we jolt around the final corner to find the track blocked by a herd of elephants.

The rigours of the drive melt away as we sit in awe, watching them use their dextrous trunks to tear at trackside trees before they amble off into the bush.

On arrival at the lodge, strange noises draw us to a bank overlooking the Luangwa River. Several large crocodiles bask on a sandbar in the middle. Just below us the nostrils, eyes and ears of a dozen hippos are visible above the murky water. Every so often a hippo surfaces, opening its cavernous mouth to let out a mournful bellow, a sound that becomes synonymous with our stay.

South Luangwa covers 9050sq km, with the twisting course of the Luangwa River at its heart. This seldom-visited park has one of Africa's highest concentrations of game, so with that in mind we retire early to get a decent sleep before our first game drive. The hippos and the trill of myriad insects and frogs disturb our slumber, as do elephants cavorting in the overflow from the nearby water tank and ripping at low trees right outside our window.

Still, lack of sleep doesn't dull our anticipation and we set off at sunrise, wrapped up well against the chilly African morning.

Just over the bridge into the park our safari guide, Flemings, opts to take one of the smaller trails.

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