We have returned! After a total of over eighteen hours on the
road over the past four days, we have completed our last long journey before we
had home next week. We both have to say
we will not miss the eight hour cruiser rides to Chipata but we are so thankful
to have had a ride there-that we didn’t need to find a bus from Lusaka to
Chipata.
We left early Wednesday morning and
didn’t stop (other than restroom breaks) until we got to Marula Lodge. This lodge was so beautiful - located right
outside of the South Luangwa National Park and our tent was pitched right along
the Luangwa River. Fun fact: the Luangwa
River has the densest population of crocodile and hippo per kilometer than any
other river in the world! And… we were camping
along the banks. There was a small cliff
dividing our tent from the actual river bank.
Here is some pictures of where we stayed!
While we were there we had the opportunity to enjoy delicious
meals, relax by the pool and go on game drives.
We saw a lot more animals than we saw when we went camping in Kafue,
which is what we had been told. That has
been confirmed!
Highlights of the game drives:
·
A pride of lions was sleeping right
by the road during our morning drive.
There was a mother, a young male and several cubs sleeping, not even
phased by our vehicle. We felt like we
could have walked up to them and started petting them because they were so still. The driver assured us that if we took even
two steps out of the vehicle they would be awake in no time.
·
That same pride of lions was just
waking up when we came back during our night drive. There were more than five other game drive
vehicles parked to watch them as they one-by-one started to move about. Our tour guide Abram taught us all about how
lions hunt, the different formations they make, and the perfect time to hunt. We, and many others, were hoping to see a kill
happen but I think there was too much commotion going on. The scariest part was being in the pitch
black night, lions weaving in between the different vehicles and not being able
to see them all at once. You never know
when a lion is just going to jump out of no were onto a vehicle - highly
unlikely but the thought gave us a rush!
·
Abram received a call during our morning
drive saying that another group spotted a leopard. We quickly drove over and saw the female
leopard only for a brief moment off in the tall grass. As one vehicle started up and drove around,
the rest followed. We searched and searched
for the leopard but no one could find it.
Just as everyone decided to give up hope and leave, Abram suggested we
stay just a little longer. Not but five
minutes later, here comes the leopard out of the tall grass walking right in
front of our vehicle. Many have said we
were very lucky to see leopards out and about during the day time.
·
As we had our afternoon teatime out
in wild, we heard from others that there was something interesting in a tree
that we should go and check out. We had
been told it was a leopard with a kill. As we approached we saw the impala drooped
over a branch, so lifeless - it was quite sad, at least for me. Everyone else was highly intrigued! We drove right underneath the hanging impala
to find the leopard hanging out in a different tree. He was panting like crazy, probably after all
of that work dragging the impala up a tree.
It was so stomach turning but we were reminded - it’s a part of the circle
of life.
·
During our night drive, we stopped
to enjoy some coke and popcorn as we watched the sunset. We pulled up next to small body of water
where we could see hippos in the water and baby crocs along the edge. It was so beautiful to be out in the wild
watching the sun go down. Pictures
couldn’t capture the beauty so you will have to take our word for it!
Overall our trip to South Luangwa was very enjoyable. We have had so many wonderful opportunities while
here in Zambia and all possible because of the missionaries. Pastor Sargent has trucked us many miles to
help us experience these amazing places.
We are so thankful for all of them and we will miss them all
dearly! Prayers that you are enjoying a
wonderful Saturday! Enjoy the rest of
your weekend.
Hugs,
Kelsi and Melanie
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