The last of Zambia - a different side of Kafue National Park and a genet surprise

 After our narrow escape from the Busanga Plains area of Kafue, we headed to McBride's Camp situated on the Kafue River on the eastern side of the park. Even though we had likely made the correct decision due to the rain, it was a bit of a bummer to miss out on the pontoon river crossings and to have to retrace our steps through much of the park and all the way back to Mumbwa. We took advantage of going back through town to top up on a few supplies, including some fresh greens from a roadside market stall, which felt like a rare treat. We also purchased some loquats, the fruit the bats love to eat, but we were not all that impressed with them. If they were perfectly ripe, they were good, but they have almost no flavor if underripe and a mealy quality if overripe. 

We arrived at McBride's Camp a bit road weary and were immediately welcomed by the McBride's themselves, Charlotte and Chris. Charlotte had just returned from a roundtrip to Lusaka, meaning she had been in the car as long as we had that day. They immediately whisked us out to the sitting area overlooking the river to hear our stories, all the while interjecting natural history tidbits about this place they have called home for 23 years. We soon learned that prior to running the camp, Chris had spent much of his life studying lions in Southern Africa and received his Master's degree from Humboldt State in northern California. He was very excited that we were familiar with his alma mater. Charlotte was clearly the one who kept everything running at the camp and was also an incredible naturalist herself, having grown up in the Zambian bush and accompanying Chris on most of his lion research expeditions. In our first conversation with the two of them, we learned about the spur-winged geese at the river, the palm tree thoughtfully planted by the near-resident elephant Jethro (via a dung pile), the juvenile fish eagle who was still finding his voice, the sleeping spots of the hippos throughout camp, and the sausage trees that resulted from the poo of those hippos. Within about 30 minutes, we had decided that we needed to stay an extra night because it was clear this would be a special experience. 

We made our way to the campsites, which were situated at the far end of the property, set back from the river about 50 meters. We had the camping area to ourselves, complete with separate ablutions for each couple. There was a thatched shelter in camp, as well as another by the river, which was lovely for watching birds and the water go by. The acacia tree overhanging camp was in full bloom and teaming with sunbirds and bee-eaters. We also had a very shy blue duiker and a slightly bolder bushbuck that occasionally walked through the back of camp. A few monkeys rounded out the camp wildlife, which were fortunately less bold than the ones at Mvuu and Wildlife camps, where we had to secure everything, including our tent door, to prevent them from getting into our things. 

Boehm's bee-eater

blue waxbill

bushbuck

camp relaxation time

Much of the next day was spent reading and bird watching, which was a welcome change from our long days in the car. The slow day afforded us the luxury of time to do things like fry up the raw groundnuts we had purchased in Mumbwa (one of Andrew's camp specialties) and cook a big pot of beans for dinner. In the afternoon, we went for a boat trip down the very shallow Kafue River on a double-decker pontoon boat. Almost immediately after leaving the dock, we had to interrupt a group of hippos that were lounging in the deep channel of the river. They were not happy to see us, but begrudgingly moved aside long enough for us to pass before returning to their spots. We saw a lot of birds on our trip, including the elusive finfoot, our boat's namesake and a rare water bird found only in pristine rivers. We also saw a malachite kingfisher, a bird that had been on Andrew's wishlist the entire trip. Our very skilled boat driver was able to get us some great views of the small, but colorful bird without scaring it away before Andrew and I could get our fill of photos. The trees lining the river were dotted with fish eagles every 60-70 meters and a flock of egrets skimmed the surface of the river just as the sun was setting. All this was accompanied by hot tea, a gentle breeze, and lovely scenery in every direction. When we returned to the dock, Chris was waiting for us and wanted to hear about everything we saw. He was sad we had not seen any lions or leopards. We returned to camp to find that our evening fire had been built up and our beans had been topped up with water and were cooking away over the fire.    

open-billed stork (we had seen a juvenile in Busanga,
which, unfortunately, do not yet have open bills like the adults)

finfoot

malachite kingfisher

the low water level made for some spectacular tree root views

two fish eagles

spur-winged geese (black ones), knob billed ducks,
and egrets on a grassy expanse along the river

the definition of idyllic?

The next morning we headed to the main lodge around 7 am to meet Chris for tea and a bushwalk. As we sipped our first cup of tea, Chris regaled us with more tales from his lion research and life in Kafue. We got up to leave and were encouraged to refill our mugs and bring them with on our walk. The previous evening Chris had mentioned that our walking route would be dependent on the whereabouts of a female elephant and her young calf, who had been seen around camp recently. In fact, we were warned not to walk on the road between our camp and the lodge after dark because we might accidentally stumble upon the pair. Chris assured us that "she was a lovely elephant but will kill you" if she felt threatened. Along with this warning, we also learned that elephant eyes do not shine when exposed to light, making them more difficult to see at night, hence the no walking rule. 

Our walk started in the camp itself, and it took about 30 minutes to make it from the lodge to the parking lot, a distance of about 25 meters. We didn't mind one bit because the amount of knowledge that was being imparted was incredible. As we got to the parking lot, the ranger handed Chris his camera, rifle, and a fresh mug of tea. Chris didn't want to be saddled with the heavy rifle, so he handed his father's Rigby 0.416 caliber rifle off to Pete to carry. Chris assured Pete that he would do the shooting if we encountered a charging animal. As we walked along the road leading away from camp, we learned about civets, hippos, forest fire, and the vegetation. Not too far down the road, we came across recent elephant tracks, including some very small prints. Knowing the mama elephant could be nearby, we could proceed no farther on foot. I walked quickly back to camp to alert our driver, and he came in short order so we could continue our journey via vehicle. We were able to get out of the truck multiple times to inspect items of interest more closely, but always with an eye out for the "lovely" elephant, which we never saw.   

 

spider orchid

tea and a lesson in civet poo

tea mugs to be picked up later

safari essentialls

sable antelope

When we arrived back at camp, the kitchen staff quickly approached Chris with a cardboard box, explaining that they found the animals on the ground. Inside the box were two baby genets, cat-like animals that live in trees. Finding the babies on the ground was a likely sign that something had happened to the mama. Chris quickly put the four of us in charge of the genets until Charlotte returned from the bush camp, which would not be for another 4 or 5 hours. He assured us that she would know exactly what to do. In the meantime, we did NOT know exactly what to do and one of the genets was not doing well. They were too small to eat solid food, so we asked the kitchen staff for a bowl of milk. They were not adept at drinking either, so Jenny ran back to camp to get the small syringe from the first aid kit. Pete and Jenny worked their magic and managed to get some milk into the weaker one and eventually into the more alert one as well. By the time Charlotte returned, the genets had learned to suckle from the syringe and had settled down for a nap. Charlotte, indeed, did know exactly what to do and quickly concocted a proper feeding solution that wouldn't upset their stomachs. Charlotte was now in charge and kept a close eye on them, including keeping them next to her bed so she could feed them every couple of hours throughout the night. We were able to get one last peak at them the next morning before we started our drive back to Lusaka. They were seemingly doing well and definitely in good hands.

finally looking alert and taking milk

Our final days in Zambia were spent back at Pioneer Camp outside of Lusaka, where we began our journey. J&A needed a few days to do some truck chores and restock provisions before heading north, and we needed to get our Covid tests before our flight home. We really enjoyed our time in Zambia and would go back in a heartbeat, especially to spend more time at McBride's Camp. It was great to spend time with J&A doing the thing they love. It gave us a window into their world and a better understanding of how they would be spending their next ten months in Africa. If you've enjoyed these posts and want to continue following J&A on their adventures, Andrew's blog is here. 

Our flight home left one week before flights out of Zambia were stopped due to the omicron variant. We feel extremely lucky that we were able to squeeze this trip in between the delta and omicron variants, although having to spend a few more weeks in Zambia would not have been the worst thing...

Kafue National Park and a narrow escape from the Busanga Plains (ahem, wetlands)

The drive from Kasanka to Kafue National Park is about 800 km and too far to go in a single day, so we stayed the night at a working farm about 60 km north of Lusaka. What we had imagined would be a fairly low key evening turned into a much more social affair. Fringilla Farms is an expansive complex that includes all the features of a working farm along with a conference center, lodging, restaurant, post office, clinic, and butchery. While Jenny checked us in and inquired about our dinner options, we perused the products for sale that were produced on the farm, including eggs, biltong (similar to jerky), meat pies, and honey. When we were in South Luangwa, one of the goals was to get Zambia's best biltong from a local market, but they were sold out when we arrived and were not getting another batch until after we left. Jenny is quite fond of biltong and was very sad we had missed out. We bought a couple packages from Fringilla to see if they were up to her standards before committing to buying more. 

The camp sites are located at the far end of the farm along with a few small chalets that were currently being used by staff. Covid had certainly hit this side of the business quite hard since there had been no conferences for 18 months. We were the only ones at the camp and were given the keys to a chalet so we could have a toilet and shower. Before we had even gotten our tents set up, the owner rocked up in his truck to say hello. Before too long, we were hopping into the back of his truck to go see the vulture safe zone they had recently established. This really amounted to a somewhat creative use of the offal produced from their butchering operation, particularly the chickens. Every few days, they bring the carcasses to an open field, providing a safe food source for vultures and other scavengers. Many of the vulture species in Zambia are endangered or critically endangered, mainly due to poisoning. Similar to our California condors, vultures are highly susceptible to lead poisoning when they feed on animals that have been killed with lead shot. Poachers also use poison to kill animals, particularly elephants, which are then fed upon by the vultures after the poachers have taken the tusks. Vulture feeding safe zones are thus really important for maintaining vulture populations in Zambia. They were planning to dump carcasses the next day, which we were highly encouraged to stick around for, so there were no vultures on site. There was, however, the largest congregation of marabou storks, another scavenger, I had ever seen. They were everywhere - in the trees, in the fields, on the fence posts, on the road. As you can imagine, the smell wasn't the best, but it was neat to see the farm using their animal waste that benefited the local bird life. They were also in the process of building a hide so you could get out of the hot Zambian sun while watching the birds feed.

After a lovely sunset with the marabou storks, we set up camp and headed to the restaurant for dinner. We had just provisioned that day, but after our long day on the road we opted for someone cooking us dinner. We also knew the restaurant would be serving meat from the farm, which was another reason to give it a try. The owner and two of his friends, who had also recently arrived from out of town, joined us for dinner, which included many crazy stories of life in Kenya and Zambia. We met up again the next morning before we hit the road and were loaded up with almost more meat than we knew what to do with. We packed the already full fridge with boerewors, a kind of sausage that is one of the farm's specialties, along with meat pies for lunch and enough chili bites (a softer, bitesize version of biltong) to last us a week.  

the white is mostly chicken feathers that don't get eaten

The second day of our drive to Kafue was uneventful until we checked in at the park gate. They asked where we were going and when told the name of the camp, the reply was, "they are closed for the season." We had tried to email the owner a few days prior to our arrival to get an update on the roads and the suggested driving route for getting to the camp. While he had previously been very responsive to J&A's emails, we got nothing in return this time. Andrew assured the ranger that the camp was expecting us and that while they are closed for their regular guests for the season, they are still open for campers. 

The timing and route of our trip hinged pretty significantly on this camping opportunity. We were headed for the northern-most part of the park called Busanga Plains, which is the "must visit" portion of Kafue NP. The park is roughly the size of Massachusetts (or Wales) and the animals can be very spread out and difficult to find. During the dry season, however, animals tend to congregate on Busanga Plains because there is still water available in the many channels and pools that dot the landscape. However, for self-drivers and campers like us, there is no place close to the plains to stay because all of the lodges are super-duper fancy and expensive and do not allow camping. If you camp, you end up having to drive up to two hours just to get to the plains, all the while adhering to the rules about when you can be driving around in the park, which means you miss out on all the early morning and late afternoon viewing. One camp, however, allows campers to stay in November if it has not started raining and the roads are still passable. This was a concern for us because the rainy season starts in November in Zambia and we were arriving on the 9th. Fortunately for us, it was still dry and the road was in good condition. 

As we started our drive through the park toward our camp, we started seeing animals and a lot of birds. We also started seeing signs for lodges and camps, but none of them for the place we were staying. We had GPS coordinates from the owner, but the combination of the lack of communication from the owner, the ranger's warning, and the lack of signs made us feel like we may have been led astray. We carried on and when we were mere meters from the camp, we saw a sign. Hooray! As we drove into camp, we were greeted by two staff members who guided us through some narrow trails not meant for the truck to the area we would be camping for the next three nights. Everything at the camp was essentially packed up and deserted, but we did have access to a covered shelter (usually outfitted as fancy safari accommodation) and the outdoor toilet and shower area. The two staff who greeted us were the only other people in camp. They were going to be there for the next six months to keep an eye on things during the rainy season. While they had both done it before, they seemed happy to have some outside company for a few days before they were alone for six months. 

Our time in Busanga was quite spectacular. The plains was a very different habitat than what we had seen in all of the other parks. Vast expanses of green vegetation as far as the eye could see, often dotted with large herds of puku and lechwe (antelope). Pools and channels of water were common across the landscape, giving us ample opportunities for watching hippo and wading birds of all kinds. The plains were also full of lions! We saw 15 different individuals in our two days of game driving, including two breeding pairs. We also had an incredible cheetah sighting that turned into a hunting attempt on a herd of wildebeest. The hunt was stymied when the adult wildebeest realized they were bigger than the cheetah and chased it off. It was a pretty impressive chase and a bit odd to see prey chasing predator. We also saw two jackal, roan (a large antelope with very large ears), cranes, warthogs, and our first sighting of sable (another large antelope with very long scimitar-shaped horns). 

hartebeest

This guy was missing one of his front paws but was still
getting around and hunting with another male. He likely
lost his foot to a poacher's snare. Very sad to see.

side-striped jackal

waddled crane and puku

roan

lechwe

open plains with lots of antelope

scuffle at the hippo pool

very small termite mounds here compared to the other parks

just "lion" around - they excel at this activity

At the end of our second day, we arrived back at camp just before dark. We had a cup of tea with one of the camp staff, learning about his family, life in Zambia, and the adventure that awaited him during the rainy season on Busanga Plains. Once the rains start in earnest, the area becomes a wetland, is completely inaccessible to vehicles, and is navigated solely by canoes. Supplies are flown in and canoed to the camps, and staff sometimes canoe to neighboring camps for a bit of social interaction. This description sounded incredible, but also a bit abstract because it was still dry. As we finished our tea, as if on cue, the clouds moved in and thunder echoed in the distance. We quickly cooked our boerevors over the fire, hoping to finish dinner before the rain started. I should mention at this point that we saw very few people in the park. We saw a couple of lodge vehicles, including one that had left the park that afternoon, taking all non-necessary lodge staff with them. That should have given us an indication that the weather was changing, but the mostly clear skies had lulled us into believing that we would be lucky and get out before the rains came. 

And then the rains came. We finished cleaning up after dinner just as the rain started and the storm moved closer. We headed for our tents and once again tried to stake out our tent flaps so we could have some air circulation in the tent. As the rain started pelting our heads inside the tent, it became clear that that was not going to work with this storm. Pete bravely went outside in the pouring rain and secured all of the flaps, keeping us dry but increasing the temperature inside the tent significantly. Fortunately, our little battery-powered fan was still working, so we switched it on in the hopes it would help us sleep. The storm turned into the most impressive thunderstorm I have experienced since my childhood in Minnesota. It was awesome! The center of the storm passed directly over us and parked there for a while. We were quite happy in our ground tent, but a bit concerned for our friends in the roof-top tent. The sound of the lightning was deafening and you could feel the charge in the air. The rain stopped briefly after about four hours and then round two came through about an hour later. It was still raining when we crawled out of our tent at 5:30 am to assess the scene. 

cooking the boerevors before the rain

Near our campsite, there was a small puddle that was inhabited by fish and frogs, and was the watering hole for the resident bushbuck. The water level was getting very low and the fish were congregated in a small area with their mouths above water gasping for air. Pete had commented that the rain better come soon or the fish were not going to make it. Wish granted - fish were fine! Judging by the puddle that had now become a proper pool and the lake that had formed around our tent, we likely got about four inches of rain in nine hours. Our plan had been to have a leisurely breakfast before moving to a different part of the park, but we were now concerned that the Busanga Plains had turned into the Busanga Wetlands overnight and we were going to be joining the camp staff for the next six months if we did not get out soon.  

We had planned to drive back to the main park road and then head north to get to the second camp in Kafue NP. This route would have taken us through villages and required crossing the river on two pontoons, which sounded fun. As the camp staff helped us pack up camp, they mentioned that they had radioed the rangers and there had been no rain in the south but that it was still raining in the north. The previous evening our camp person had also told us that the road north would be fine after the rain, but he admitted the next morning that he had only ever travelled that route because his village is to the north of the park. The rangers suggested going south, which turned out to be good information to have. 

As we left camp, we quickly discovered why this part of the park is inaccessible during the rainy season. With a single night of (heavy rain), the road looked like a small stream. It became clear very quickly that this was going to be an interesting exit from Busanga Plains. The Land Cruiser did pretty well, but would occasionally get bogged down and slide as the clay soil coated the tires. The going was particularly challenging in the areas where the water had soaked into the clay rather than still sitting on top of it. At one point we approached a left-hand curve in the road with a steep drop off on the inside of the curve. As Andrew slowly approached it, the back end of the truck started sliding sideways, pulling us towards the drop off. We stopped and backed up to try again, but quickly got pulled back into our muddy ruts heading for certain disaster. Jenny graciously offered to get out of the truck in thick tsetse fly territory to see if the ground next to the road was solid enough to support our weight. Her facial expression did not suggest great confidence in our next move, but she thought we might be okay if we could get the wheels on the right side of the truck up and over the grader berm. The rest of us agreed that it was worth a shot, so Andrew carefully started to maneuver us over the berm. As the front wheel made it over, the back end started sliding to the left again, but the berm was holding us and soon the back end pulled back in line, allowing us to get around the curve. An audible exhale and cheers of relief filled the truck and inspired a game of "would you rather," comparing the conditions of getting stuck in the Lower Zambezi (hot and dry) vs. Busanga Plains (cool, rain, and tsetse flies). Everyone agreed that the Lower Zambezi conditions were better, so we continued on keeping our fingers crossed that we didn't need to dig ourselves out of Busanga. It was a long and slippery 30 km to the crossroad where we had to decide which direction we would go. If we went south, we would be backtracking most of the way we had come a few days prior, which is never as exciting as a new route. However, as we looked at the menacing rain clouds to the north, the blue skies to the south, and our slog through the flooded road, we decided to play it safe and head south as suggested by the rangers. When we arrived at the park gate, the ranger was surprised to see such a muddy vehicle and told us they had received no rain at all. 

the road disguised as a stream

just a bit of water

and a bit of mud

We made it out of Busanga Plains, but our adventures in Kafue NP were not quite finished. Stay tuned for the final trip report from McBride's Camp (including some adorable baby genets) and our final days in Zambia.