Zambia Safari Diary - Day Six

Kakuli to Tafika Lodge

To Tafika
Today we leave Norman Carr Safaris and transfer by road to Tafika Lodge, home of John and Carol Coppinger (Remote Africa Safaris) – back to (semi) civilisation, since Tafika is their permanent base camp. Since Tafika lies outside the Park, the transfer is by road up to the river bank opposite the camp, followed by a river crossing. Soon after leaving the camp Alec detected a new bush sound, which he was unable to identify even after switching off the engine. Eventually its provenance was established, and went down in the records as the ‘lesser nasal congestion’ of one of the guests.

Lions and Hippos
Along the way lion tracks were seen, and followed up to a superb viewing of two magnificent lions by the side of the river. Other Zambia Photohighlights were hippo having a bit of a scrap (camera icon), lots of buffalo, and a heap of yellow billed storks. A particular treat was the season’s first recorded warthog piglet – a brave sight with its tail held high, just like a radio aerial. A further splendid baobab tree then demanded a photograph. (camera icon)

On reaching Tafika, after crossing over the river (camera icon) we were met by Alison who soon whipped up the obligatory Malawi shandies. Tafika (camera icon) is a larger camp, and, after having the remote bush camps to ourselves, it came as something of a shock to share the camp with other guests – some yapping into satellite phones or listening to iPods. Interesting to see that the main form of staff transport within this larger camp took the form of mountain bikes.

After a Tex-Mex lunch (no lack of variety in the food served on safari) we chose to send emails back home (a very lengthy procedure) rather than visit the local school, although the latter has proved to be a fascinating experience on previous visits. However a look around the extensive camp garden (camera icon) was also of interest. At this point we were joined by an American lady, Judith, who we all got on so well with that she remained our travelling companion for the next four days, until our itineraries diverged again.


Mating Lions
The afternoon game drive took us back into the Park via a village gate (camera icon) into the Nsefu sector (guided now by Ernst), with several small ellie herds (camera icon), a giraffe caught in the difficult act of drinking
(camera icon), a light grey mongoose, a tree squirrel (being eyed up by a tawny eagle (camera icon)) and carmine bee eaters (camera icon) being the principal offerings. Until, that is, we came across two lion that other guests had observed earlier engaged in what lions do in the mating season (every 15 minutes for two to three days, with no thought for any other activity such as eating etc). However the honeymoon couple were obviously too tired to perform for us on this occasion (we gave them five minutes over the fifteen), so we moved on, making a note to return later.

On pulling into a ‘suitable’ spot for sundowners a very pleasant surprise greeted us, in the shape of a champagne buffet laid out in the middle of nowhere (with not a soul in sight – they were hiding down the river bank awaiting our arrival). How civilised Zambia is turning out to be! (camera icon) After sundowners the champagne had obviously had its effect (somehow) and our mating pair rewarded us with a brief coupling (camera icon), before crashing back into oblivion once more. No foreplay, but she did get a nice cuddle afterwards (“more than I usually get”, remarked one of the guests, acidly). Further first time sightings were clocked up in the shape of a marsh mongoose and a bushytailed mongoose.

Dinner and Hippos at Night
Roast beef for dinner, and a large unknown bug discovered in the hut (camera icon), later identified (via the internet) as an armoured cricket. The wildlife experience was completed by a mouse running around the hut, but once more sleep came readily at the healthy hour of 9.30 p.m. This is not to say that said sleep wasn’t disturbed by numerous hippo grazing around the hut.

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camp fire tales

An interesting moment on a walking mobile safari was the apprehension of a poacher. An indication that poachers were about (in an area in which there should have been no other human beings for miles around) had been the sound of faint gun shots the day before, together with the remains of a zebra, which was missing the whole of one leg and haunch (camera icon), and the guide explained that poachers would often slaughter an animal in this way, taking sufficient meat with them for the next day or two.

Close to the remains of the zebra, the guide suddenly spotted a man standing up half a mile or so away (although he was wearing bright clothes he proved very difficult to spot by eyes more keenly attuned to the colours of the bush, and not at all to the shape of a human being). It turned out that he was just a young boy who had been abandoned by his companions who were in the area (meat) poaching.

After a day (and night) alone in the bush he was more than ready to be caught, despite the prison sentence that he then faced. The guide radioed through to an anti-poaching force, who must also have been in the area, and half an hour later, as we watched, the hapless kid was pounced upon from four sides simultaneously, without he or us having noticed a thing.

He was then held in our tented camp overnight, tied to a tree, before a vehicle could be brought up to take him away. This was in fact the most nervous moment of the whole trip – the thought of his armed companions returning to rescue him being far scarier than any possible incursion by lion or leopard. Interesting one that.


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