I have fallen in love with Zambia — the park, the people, the animals, and Mfuwe Lodge. Two more game drives today with a spa appointment in the middle – the spa is unbelievable! (More below)
Let’s start with the morning drive. Up at 5:00 am and left by 6:00 am.
Having breakfast while the sun rises
Good morning!Enjoying Mother Nature Lots of lion tracks lead us to the kill
What we came across first was a lion kill. There were 15 lions of the same pride eating an African Buffalo they had killed sometime during the night. I have videos—but it’s not for the faint of heart. It’s nature in action.
I won’t post the video but here’s a picture of the lion kill. You can see the buffalo’s horn at the top.
That was a sobering moment for us all. What we came across next was even more so…one of the leopards also made a kill—a baby waterbuck. He had it under the tree with him. The sad part was the momma Waterbuck was calling for it but keeping her distance from the leopard. We saw this first thing in the morning. When we went back late afternoon, the momma was still there giving her alarm call/snort.
I am not posting the video with the kill (the baby is under the tree) but here is a very upset momma Waterbuck. She and the leopard exchanged a few “words”
On a much lighter note, here are some other amazing views from today.☀️
Afternoon game drive
Thirsty lion!
Going to rest with the pride on a fully belly. Lions sleep for about 20 hours a day! (Females 15-18 hours)Afternoon nap time!Eating the fruit from the sausage tree Look at the whiskers in that kitten!Blue starling
Afternoon break at the incredible spa! The spa is situated at the edge of a hippo pond.
My spa room – a massage and facial. A special treat after some very long days. Sundowner time!Another unbelievable African sunset 🩵Safari sisters🧡Playful hippos I 🧡 AfricaNo words
Last dinner in Zambia!🇿🇲 One thing I forgot to mention about Mfuwe Lodge—we have an afternoon tea at 3 with snacks every day. And then the drums call us to dinner! The food was incredible—tonight we had Mongolian stirfry.
I will be “making a plan” to come back to Africa as soon as possible.
The wake up call was early (5:00 am) but we had to be ready for breakfast by 5:30. Since it was dark, we were walked to the lodge by a watchman. We then ate and left at 6:00 am.
It took about an hour but we found a place free from lions to do our walking safari. We brought along a scout, Kesius, who has a rifle. This is required on all walking safaris.
Our crew for the walking safari
The hour+ trek allowed us to explore nature that is difficult to see when you’re in a vehicle. Things like—animal tracks, termites, nests, trees/bushes, lots of dung and what the animals eat! We heard the lions roaring so went to find them in the jeep.
Alec is explaining more about the diets of the animals via their scat (aka poop)
So we went in search of the lions and here is all we saw!
Wild dogs
Catching up with the pack
And we found them!
Here comes the lion
In this particular area, there is a Pride of 17 lions — two males and rest female and cubs. Here’s one of the males.
King of the jungle Part of the pride having a lazy afternoon!
We also had a surprise for brunch—a picnic overlooking the hippos!
With our new friends Brunch is served!Delicious spread of food!Our bathroom…make sure you turn the sign to “Engaged”After such a fantastic breakfast, this is how we all felt. Nap time 😴
Because we booked this tour through Smithsonian Institute, there were 4 lectures over the course of the trip that Robyn Keene-Young provided. The one this afternoon was about the sounds animals make. It was interesting to identify an animal by its sound—and learn what the different sounds mean (warning call, territorial, etc).
This afternoon was another game drive at 4 pm and what a drive it was! It started with us having to wait for 500+ African buffalo to cross the road. As one of our guides says, these fellows look at you like you owe them money!
500+ African Buffalo cross the road to get to the water. The older male buffalos are extremely dangerous. These “dagga boys”are unpredictable.
Add on zebras, giraffes, impalas, lovebirds, hippos, warthogs, Vervet monkeys, a whole lot of beautiful trees like the Tamarind, Baobob, and Sausage Trees! It’s interesting to see how the impalas have a friendship with the baboons.
The zebras were outAnother gorgeous sundowner. A sundowner is a refreshing drink (typically alcoholic) taken at sunset in the African bush to end the afternoon safari game driveOur group from the Smithsonian Institute Tour
After sundowner and we admired the colors of the sunset, the sky turned dark and was filled with so many stars and a crescent moon. Then it was time for the night game drive to look for those nocturnal animals—and we found a few more tonight: Scrub hare, civit cat, lion, and a few leopards.
The leopard stalking their prey at night
And let’s end with the story of the lion. He walked right beside the jeep, at night, as calm as ever. What an amazing animal!
One more note I’d like to point out — our guides were outstanding. They’re highly trained for years before they become a guide. They are skilled in the animals and their behavior, in fact, they are highly skilled in all the floral and fauna of the area. They follow the rules of the park, value the safety of their clients, and the safety of the animals. They are environmental conscious and I saw them stop the vehicle to pick up trash more than once. To say they’re impressive is an understatement.
Christina’s Journey Journal 