SOUTH LUANGWA – VALLEY OF THE LEOPARD

BY REBECCA AYLETT

As I landed in Mfuwe my lodge vehicle was there to greet me along with the dry October heat but as we drove through villages the warm smiles and eager waves of the children made me feel instantly welcome.

South Luangwa is the true birthplace of Africa’s walking safari as well as being Zambia’s most popular safari destination thanks to its prolific wildlife so I knew I was in for a real treat on my adventure through Zambia.

You are definitely off grid here so be prepared to just “switch off” and get up close and personal with nature. But don’t panic, most camps have charging stations for the all-important camera equipment and phones.

As I headed along the Luangwa River’s edge visiting the lodges it became very clear that each one had something unique about it, from the huge mahogany tree and the stunning sky deck overlooking the plains at Bilimungwe Camp, to the open fronted chalets on stilts at Chamilandu, both part of the Bushcamp Company.

The highlight for me was to visit the Time & Tide camps, such as Nsolo as the history of Norman Carr, the innovator of the walking safaris is still the essence of their company and their passion to share their love of the wild is infectious and even got me excited to be out on foot in some of the wildest landscapes I have ever experienced.

To see the endemic Thornycroft giraffe and the Crayshaws zebra whilst on foot is truly memorable.

To fall asleep to the sound of lions calling became a regular thing and one that I miss and long to experience again but the most magical of all the sightings of my trip to Zambia must be that of the leopard. Known as the Valley of the Leopard you would be extremely unlucky to not see this magnificent cat. To watch them on their daily mission to hunt their prey is truly a privilege.

Each camp that I visited offered a mix of walking and vehicle game activities and happy to combine both if guests wanted. This, combined with night drives meant that you had so many opportunities for seeing the wildlife, and at time you wouldn’t even need to leave camp as elephants were a regular visitor, just going about their business eating the plants and wandering through camp.

For a totally unique experience for the adventurous why not try a true sleepout under the stars and see the Milky Way at its finest.

With just a few camps in the park there is a true feeling of exclusivity with hardly another vehicle to meet you on your travels allowing you to be fully immersed in your surroundings and just forget about the outside world for a few days.

South Luangwa offers pristine wilderness, dense concentration of game and some of the highest quality of guiding in Africa and I yearn to return to the place where I left a piece of my heart.

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