We have only one trip left for 2010 and it will be our Photography trip to Chobe from 23 September 2010 - 2nd October.
Our last visit to Kafue was during the winter of 2006 and we were keen to visit this Park again.
When we drive in a big convoy we allow more time for rest in between and do not travel long distances, but driving in a small convoy we can travel further distances provided we have 2-3 drivers per vehicle. One of the big mistakes travellers in Africa often make is to allow too little time for overnight camping. They estimate, for example, that they could travel all the way from Martin’s Drift Border post in the south to Kazangula Border post in the north in one day. This is very hard travelling as it is a distance of 750 kilometres. When you plan to travel long distances you need to know where all the alternative campsites are en route.
We started our journey at Kwa Nokeng where we slept over the previous night and used a Conquest trailer towed by a short wheel base 3.2Did Pajero. The only problem with the Pajero was that it has a 60litre fuel tank which inhibited the range we could travel thus making refuelling stops more frequent. Our Pajero whilst towing only gave us a range of about 400 kilometres. Fuel in Botswana cost us BWP 6.50 per litre as to nearly R11,00 per litre in Zambia. Knowing this we took along another 5 x 20 litre jerry cans.
The road to Nata was not bad and as we left Kwa Nokeng early in the morning we were at Nata round about midday. We knew that from Nata to Kasane the road was potholed and found a couple of detours as there are busy with upgrading [or rather should we say building a new road]. These detours and potholes hampered our progress and we decide to camp at Kasane depending on the time of arrival. As it was the end of the month [and we know of the shortage of fuel normally experienced at the end of the month in Kasane fuel problems they have] we decided to refuel at Pandamatenga and also filled our jerry cans there.
We reached Kasane quite early and decided to push through to Zambia and find a camp spot at Livingstone. We went through the border post easily without delay and as the sun set we reached Livingstone. Our first choice for camping was Maramba were we often stayed over in the past and we got a reception as hot as an iceberg from them. We opted to go to Zambezi Waterfront [normally a noisy with Overlanders] and their fees were $10 [US] per person. Their ablutions were clean and we had a hot shower. All the ‘overlanders’ were at the bar watching the world cup soccer and every now and then you would hear a vuvuzela. We thought we left the vuvuzelas back in South Africa but they are everywhere in Africa. Where are the days that you only heard the monotonous beating of drums? In any case we were able to relax and went to bed early as we endeavoured to make the trip to Kafue the next day [a distance of plus minus 850 kilometres].
We stood up early packed up and before 07:00 [still dark then] we were on the road. From about 60 kilometres from Livingstone en route to Zimba there are major road works as they are rebuilding the road. You drive 5 kilometres on very dusty gravel ‘detours’ and another 5 kilometres on the old road [which make you wish that you find another detour gravel road]. This causes a lot of dust which slows down driving. From Zimba the road is not bad and at various towns we noticed that they have ATM’s where you can draw money on your credit cards. We make good time and by lunch time we reached Lusaka. At the Embassy Bakery & Store we were able to exchange our US dollar for Kwatcha [$1.00 = 5000 Kwatcha].
The streets of Lusaka were very busy and overcrowded and made us feel very uncomfortable as it was the beginning of a very long weekend. Apparently the Monday was Hero’s day and the Tuesday was World Cup Soccer day [or something like that]. After what seemed to be hours we managed to get out of the traffic chaos and madness of Lusaka and found ourselves on our way to Kafue. We thought we would find a campsite outside Kafue and go in the next morning depending on time. By 17:00 we reached to outskirts of Kafue and found a campsite on the opposite of Lufupa [a new place with a leopard or cheetah logo] and drove the 6 odd kilometres to the site via a gravel road. When we arrived at the campsite we found a type of clearing with a couple of huts right on the banks of the Kafue River. The place did not appeal to us and when we heard that they charged $15.00 USD per person without proper ablutions we decided to go. It seems that they are building a new lodge there. Before we could find another campsite we were at Hook Bridge Gate of the Park and the girl at the entrance were adamant that we had enough time to get to Lufupa and issued us an entry permit.
We did not drive far and in the twilight we were greeted by the excited cry of a couple of African Wild Dogs – we could not believe our luck! Unfortunately it was too dark for photos and I could tore the hair from my head as just a couple of days before our trip I paid a visit to Hedrus at Outdoor Photo who advised me to buy a flash and flash extender for this trip. The idea was to use it more than a fill in light source rather than a primary light source. These Wild Dogs were less than 30 metres away and we could not get a shot in on them!
It was getting dark fast and as we approached Lufupa camp we found a serval walking leisurely along the road and then disappeared into the thick bush.
We were greeted by Lufupa’s very friendly staff who immediately made us feel comfortable and told us that much has changed since our previous visit. They now use solar and electricity to light up the campsites. Where the previous reception stood is now a car park for the guests of the lodge and they have a new reception, lounge and bar area with a large deck overlooking the confluence of the Lufupa and Kafue Rivers. The next morning as we completed the check-in forms we received a complimentary ‘welcome drink’ on this deck.
Where the old campsite was they now have a luxury tented campsite and for self-catering campers a brand new campsite are built each with its own water supply and washing basin. A couple of solar electric floodlights provide lighting until about 22:00 whilst their generator provides power until the same time for the rest of the lodge. They have 220volt supply at each campsite which we found very useful to keep our batteries charged.
As we arrived late we had to temporally set up campsite at the nearest spot – the campsite was full of campers. While we were busy doing that one of their housekeeping staff brought a wheelbarrow full of wood. It did not take very long for us to get a campfire started. The ablutions are neat and hot water are still made with a “donkey”. What is also something nice is that they have “family” ablutions which consist of a private toilet, shower, dressing room and washing basin in one room.
It seemed everybody from Lusaka were at Lufupa as this place seems to be the spot to launch their boats from. We heard remarks of abundant fish at a place called “Bay of Plenty” in one of the rivers. The boat trailers were parked everywhere.
The next morning we decided to go back to the area of the entrance gates to see if we could find the Wild Dogs again and as we drove through the area [which we marked on our GPS] we suddenly had a glimpse of a leopard. As we stopped it jumped up and ran into the thick bushes. We found this leopard a day later in the same area – as it saw us it darted off again.
We were hoping to find a cheetah but they are elusive – the only time we found lions was the morning we left.
Puku are abandunt and it took us some time to distinguish the difference between a lechwe and a puku [see photos]- apart from the horns that differs the lechwe has a very distinctive black markings on its front legs:
The winner of last year’s Getaway Fuji Wildlife Photographer of the Year, Johan van Graan, always tells us that if you cannot find wildlife to photograph there is always birds, reptiles and insects to photograph.
We did not find as much wildlife as we expected but did find the Defassa Waterbuck, as depicted in our headline photo as well as the Roan Antelope and the Hartebeest. What we did experience, however, was the wrath of the moody elephants of Kafue. Whereas the elephant in the Chobe are mild mannered creatures the elephants of the Kafue are ill tempered – they will summarily charge you. At one spot we came around a corner and an elephant stood in the bush – the moment he just charged us. “Go, go, go!!!” Loftus Jr. and Amori yelled. “No” said I “give him a chance to catch up”. Well the kids did not think it was funny as the elephant ran for at least 100 metres behind us. This happened at a few places – later that night we heard gun shots and it appeared that the people from the lodge was firing shots in the ar to keep the elephants out of their campsite. No wonder these elephants are moody ad will charge any vehicle. We do not believe that firing guns shots is the way to scare elephants away. When visited Lufupa 4 years ago the elephants did wander through the campsite at night and did not bother us at all.
We took a trip to Kafwala Campsite and on our way we say the Kafwala north loop which is a route close to this campsite. This loop has not seen a grader for years and the tracks are narrow and very bad – real extreme 4x4 stuff and we do not recommend it. We nearly lost our car’s battery.
We also went up to Busanga Plains but did not leave enough time for the trip there and back so we only reached the edge of the plains. We were lucky to find roan antelope there.
The cost of camping at Lufupa is $14 USD per person per night and they offer hot showers, camp security, 220v electricity and firewood for sale, compared to their neighbours across the river who charges $15 USD and do not come near to the services offered by Lufupa [compare these camping costs to those of Botswana then visiting Zambia is becoming more and more a viable option]. We will certainly visit Kafue [and Lufupa] again.
On our last day at Lufupa we received an urgent email of a broken caravan at Kariba and we had to break our trip to go and investigate. We drove all the way from Kafue via Lusaka to Kariba and managed to cross into Zimbabwe late afternoon. Unfortunately we could not find the caravan and had to rush back to Zambia after two hours search. We than decided to drive all the way back to Livingstone and complete our scheduled tour.
We arrived at Zambezi Waterfront at midnight setup camp and slept. At 07:00 we were up and going as we needed to go to Kasane. Everything went smooth and fast at the border post, but we had to wait for the ferry for nearly an hour before we could cross. Only one of the two ferries was operational.
Normally we stay over at Toro Lodge but we had many complaints from our Readers about that campsite so we decided to check out Chobe Safari Lodge. In 2005 we had a bad experience with filthy ablutions there and that was why we boycotted them ever since. We were pleasantly surprised with their ablutions and from the housekeeping checklist behind one of the toilet doors we can see that they clean the ablutions every two hours. We must say that the new ablutions are lovely and we never found it dirty. Previously the campsites were also small and did not allow you to camp with a caravan or trailer [especially those with high roof top tents]. Campsites 4 & 5 especially are suited for groups and caravans. We used that afternoon to take a boat cruise on the Chobe. We checked with Chobe Marina Lodge for a boat cruise and found them to be 14 pula per person more expensive than Chobe Safari Lodge so we opted to go with Chobe Safari Lodge on their double decker boat “The Kingfisher”. This was one of the highlights of our trip.
Our experiences in and at Chobe is a story itself and will tell you more about it in next month’s newsletter.
