Christina’s Journey Journal

Tag: South Luangwa National Park

  • Last day in Africa (July 12, 2024)

    Last day in Africa (July 12, 2024)

    Well…as they say, all good things must come to an end. I never understood that and still don’t. It’s been a phenomenal trip. A trip of a lifetime. A continent, countries, and people that were incredible in every way. I will continue to make a few additional posts with some amazing videos/pictures and also some details specific to this tour. 

    The mango tree where the elephants walk to and eat from every November. The unique thing is that they must walk through the lobby of the lodge to get there. They have been doing it long since before the lodge was there — they just know!
    Last sunrise in South Luangwa National Park, Zambia. This is from the deck of our lodge. The baboons last night were extremely noisy! There must’ve been some sort of an attack in the tree. When that happens, they stay in the tree until morning.
    Outside our lodge and ready to head back to Lusaka. Thanks again to our tour director, Eric Botha, and our expert, Robyn Keene-Young. Smithsonian Journeys / Odyssey —this was a top notch tour and I highly recommend this tour. This was the perfect time to go. The weather wasn’t too hot, it was dry and sunny, and there were very limited bugs. 
  • South Luangwa National Park – Day 3, Zambia (July 11, 2024)

    South Luangwa National Park – Day 3, Zambia (July 11, 2024)

    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 🧡 Africa
    No 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.