Many of our friends and family have emigrated to Europe over the past few years. When asked when are we to follow suit, one of our favourite replies is that you cannot dream about ever leaving Africa once you have looked into the eyes of a wild leopard or felt a tigerfish at the end of your line. Quite a convoluted way to say we are staying! We were recently back in Zambia, travelling from East to West. And this time we were in search of these two exact experiences – and more! This is what we found.
South Luangwa National Park is sometimes referred to as Zambia’s answer to the Kruger Park. However, it is the park’s other nickname that caught our attention: The Valley of the Leopards. We entered Zambia from Malawi using the Chipata border post – one of those brand new shiny one-stop border posts where the term ‘one-stop’ is misleading in that it implies an efficient process. Be that as it may, our mood certainly lifted as we set up camp at Wildlife Camp on the banks of the Luangwa River and cracked open a dripping Mosi Lager.
Camping tramps like us cannot set up their tents inside South Luangwa, so most campsites are located across the river. Luckily there are no fences around, so the wilderness experience isn’t diminished at all. We watched in silent awe as an elephant breeding herd waded through the river at sunset, painting a real-life African motif on the canvas of rippling gold. After polishing enamel plates full of fireside potjiekos, we fell asleep to the referee-whistle calls of African Scops Owlets welcoming us back to Mopani bushveld at its finest.
Entering the park and driving its many tracks along the river reminded us a lot of the roads back home in northern Kruger. Imposing jackal berry, leadwood and ebony trees dwarfed us with their beautiful canopies while puku, impala and elephants grazed peacefully through the dappled shadows. The pools were rimmed with hippos feeling the pressure of late dry season, and flocks of breeding Southern Carmine Bee-eaters performed their pink aerobatics foraging for insects. We even chanced upon two male lions and a pack of wild dogs, our first in many months.
And then, early one morning while slowly driving through the riverine landscape, our eyes met those of a young leopard. It was clear that his mom was still out hunting and ordered him to ‘stay’ as he sat fiddling next to the road. Obeying your mom’s orders is hard to do when you are curious about the world around you, and he proceeded to stalk and pounce the nearby elephant dung instead. We sat with him for what felt like ages (by leopard sighting standards anyway) until the lodge game viewers arrived. Little did we know the drama we were about to witness around the next corner.
A little further on we found mom leopard sleeping off the night’s hunt in a tree. Suddenly, her intense focus and twitching tail tip indicated that something was up. And that something was a large troop of yellow baboons foraging close by. One of the wily old males spotted our leopard and duly raised the hue and cry. Contrary to expectation, the whole troop responded by clambering up the tree and closing in on her, a proper mob in action! She was not impressed and moved up higher, snarling, growling and generally spitting fire. The war between Luangwa’s leopards and baboons is well documented, with the cats ruling the night and the tables being turned in daytime. It was fascinating to see this battle of survival play out first-hand, just as it has been doing in the valley of leopards for ages.
After our time (read: our budget) in Luangwa came to an end, we headed west through the beautiful Zambian countryside. In Lusaka we spent a few days catching up on work and all the real-world admin that piles up while we live for the moment out in the wilderness. With the wolves at bay, we proceeded via Livingstone to the upper Zambezi river and set up camp on its banks. With the campfire going, we strung up the fly rods and tied a few rough-and-ready tiger flies as the sun was setting over our favourite river. Wilbur Smith was spot-on when he wrote that the man who drinks the Zambezi’s water must always return to drink some more again.
We spent two days exploring the river by boat and casting our feathered imitations at the striped bullies of the Zambezi. We saw flocks of rare Rock Pratincoles, various Egrets, and Fish Eagles by the dozen. Unlike further down, this section of the majestic river is characterised by various rocky islands, rapids and the impressive Sioma falls. It is also well known for its beefy tigerish that seem to spend more time in the gym here than elsewhere. And it was exactly one of these I connected with while swinging a fly through the current in one of the deep dark holes. Some tigers nibble at your fly, others hit suddenly and ferociously, but this one simply grabbed and took off like a one-way train that did not know it was hooked. No questions were asked nor quarters given, and about 30 seconds later it was all over, with me looking at a bent-open hook – and for those that care it was a B10S 2/0.. As consolation we both landed a few tigers later, fishing from rocky ledges on foot and casting at the peripheries of agitated hippo pods, activities that are not typically supported by travel insurance policies.
Once settled back at camp we made a fresh pot-bread on the coals, had an outside shower in flip-flops and listened to the din of summertime cicadas. We thought of the day’s battles won and lost and of our experiences in wild and wonderful Zambia over last few weeks. The river elephants, Bee-eaters, puku, wild dogs, sunsets, and endless bush roads. And of course, leopards and tigerish – the cherries on the cake. Such experiences connect you to primordial wild(er)ness, to the very pulse of a continent, and to your own role in it at a level deeper than most people might realise, and that is why we will always return.
Trip tips:
- The most popular and accessible area of South Luangwa is around Ngoma Bridge. We enjoyed driving the riverside roads in both directions from the gate. The nearby Nsefu sector is quieter and if you have time also worth a visit. Park fees can be paid by card at the gates.
- A night drive might be more worthwhile in South Luangwa than in some other parks due to the high leopard density and relatively open landscape. We joined one from our camp and saw the same leopard mom and cub from earlier hunting a scrub hare – worthwhile indeed!
- When entering Zambia remember to ask for ALL ROADS on your road tax certificate to avoid issues when stopped at a road block.
- Campsites we enjoyed:
– Wildlife Camp (South Luangwa): https://wildlifezambia.com/
– Bridge Camp (enroute to Lusaka)
– Lukasa (Lusaka): https://www.lukasa.info/
– Kabula Lodge (Zambezi river): https://www.kabulalodge.com/