Luangua del Sur, the quiet safari
The day wakes up early in the national park of South Luangua, southeastern Zambia . The shy clarity brings a fresh breeze that is just an early morning illusion before the heat whip. The sky breaks with a sun still waking up before six in the morning.
The safari It starts at dawn hurrying to finish breakfast. The memory of the laughter of hyenas and the bellow of the hippos they still resonate in a thirsty natural environment.
The dry season is the best invitation to see how the animals are concentrated around the Luangua River , which vanishes down the drain. The park cries out for rains that settle the dust and soak its cracked land.
Hippopotamus in Luangua del Sur
The SUV comes out, uncovered, and through Mfuwe , the main entrance to the park. A pure bureaucratic procedure, in which twenty-five dollars are paid, since the nature reserve does not have a wire fence.
The animals are the owners of the territory although for the tranquility of the visitors, most of the beasts prefer to roam on the other side of the river. The national park invites you to relax and the noise of the engine hardly disturbs.
Thanks to more than 9000 km2 of surface vehicles can go on an adventure no need to meet . The safaris are then one crowd free experience where the visitor witnesses hundreds of species with hardly any distractions.
The wide open spaces are perfect for viewing zebras and Thornicroft giraffes. Luangua del Sur is the only place in the world where you can see these beautiful " leopard print camels ” whose forms are softer in color than those of their relatives.
This feature, along with its white ankles and black knees , is a hallmark of a endemic giraffe in Zambia and whose peculiarity made the reserve become a national park in 1904.
Giraffes Thornicroft
In the areas closest to the river bank, the elephants knock down mopanes , local trees, to access the still green leaves that are located in the upper part of their crowns. After the aperitif, the rest in the shade or a sand bath to avoid insect bites is the tradition.
While, antelope and fecocera they graze through the vast landscapes that give them safety from any danger. some accompany them bedouin and lots of guinea fowl that run alongside them keeping alert in the presence of any predator.
The Lions , whose largest herd is in the Mfuwe area , entertain themselves with the remains of a buffalo hunted the night before. Around him, attentive, a legion of vultures waiting impatiently to dive for the carrion.
The vehicle stops near the felines. The males ensure safety and the lionesses take care of the playful cubs. It is the culmination of a morning safari that ends with a cafe in a lost place in the park . It only remains to rest and after lunch, the siesta awaits.
As the sun goes down, everything prepares for a second safari. The temperatures give a truce and the park returns to the racket. The animals seen in the morning return to their shelter and many others show up. Night falls and there is another priority.
Sunset over Luangua del Sur
The sighting of a new predator gives the adrenaline needed to search through the brush, narrow your eyes and try to see beyond the light cast by the guide through a portable spotlight . The antelopes they are nervous, you can hear their signal warning of danger.
Behind the mound of dry bushes, yellow, fluorescent eyes are reflected. The light reveals it. The spotted figure of the leopard or he appears elegant with his walk glued to the ground. Annoyed, he disappears in search of another place to hatch his new hunting plan. The night is placid. The hyenas make the rounds again and It's time for dinner before going to bed.
A LIVING CORPSE
the luangua river, with more than 700 kilometers in length is the main artery of this ecosystem which dehydrates from August to early December.
The energetic torrent loses the game in favor of sand and the water is reduced to a decaying thread shared by the largest community of hippos in the world . And the crocodiles. The fight for water exposes the animals to a continuous threat.
The riverbed would be a ghostly landscape were it not for the clarity of the day. The sun beats down energetically while the descent of the current reveals a tree graveyard . The abrupt game of convoluted branches and succumbed trunks turns in color with the bee eaters.
Luangua del Sur, the largest community of hippos in the world
These crimson-toned birds take advantage of the dry season to nest on the sandy banks of the river. Small, when they fly in formation they throw red flashes into an evaporated torrent.
In the tributaries of the park the water also decreases and they become verdín highways that the antelopes, zebras and hippos they use to move.
Despite the natural barrier provided by the dry bed of the Luangua River, it is not difficult to see how in the surroundings of the different accommodations , Some elephants and baboons curious people make the land their own before the eyes of the guests.
It only remains to keep your distance respect them and let go for the natural diversity and calm of one of the gardens of Africa.
Elephants in Luangua del Sur