Another national park - South Luangwa, Zambia

King of the jungle, or what?
Click on pic to see slideshow
or here to access the set

The South Luangwa National Park lies off the beaten track in a remote region of Zambia, and I think the authorities have no intention to make it more accessible. The access road linking the park with the provincial capital Chipata is a dirt track riddled with pot holes, which challenges even the toughest all-terrain vehicles. Our truck had a flat tire, which delayed us by about one hour. Things were bouncing up and down and sideways, bags falling off the seats and luggage compartments. It wasn't very wise to stand, without holding onto something with both hands.

A hippo in its element

But once you are at the "Flatdogs" camp - the gate to the reserved area - none of those troubles matter anymore. The elephants chew their favorite low-lying branches from the trees around the showers. The giraffes walk around your tent and gently pick their lunch ignoring you. The bar is stacked. There is even Internet access for the addicted - but even the incurable will shudder at the frightening $6 per hour charged by the camp management...

The things I could do
if I had a trunk!

We spent a total of 8 hours in the park, cruising on specially-equipped 4-by-4s with our local guides, looking for animals on land, in the river and in the trees. They aren't hard to spot. Elephants, hippos, baboons, buffaloes, giraffes, zebras, warthogs and antelopes of all kinds, they all look at you condescending and just move away. The highlight of the day was no doubt the lion who, having eaten a whole water buck, was lying under a tree taking his siesta, looking at us annoyed, as if he were fighting a serious case of indigestion. Nevertheless, he was still the king of the jungle, so he posed for some good shots.

Posted from Nungwi beach village, Zanzibar