South Luangwa National Park--SAFARI TIME (or to quote LM, "You Can't Make This Sh$& Up"

First, dear readers, let me apologize for being woefully behind on my blog posts.  Other than being ridiculously busy and having spotty internet, there's no excuse.  My New Year's Resolution (come a month early) is to post at least once a week.  While the big trips and events are obviously noteworthy, the mundane day-to-day posts are what will really paint a better picture of Zambia for you.  However, this will not be one of those posts--this post is going to talk about the most amazing trip ever--our Grand Adventure to South Luangwa for the October Break.  (I can write mundane next week, I suppose).

So, at AISL we're lucky to have an October break; this year it was 5 days and "The Crew" (my buddies here) and I decided to go to South Luangwa National Park which is world-renown for it's amazing wildlife.    As there were 6 of us going, we thought it wisest (and cheapest) to rent a car/driver for the trip (at $110/day as opposed to the round-trip ProFlight flight which would have cost ~$550).  Anyway, divided by 6, the long drive (it's supposed to be ~9-10 hours) was worth the cost.

So we hired a van driven by Kennedy, our driver.

Anyway, this shot was taken just after it broke down (about 5:30 pm) halfway between Lusaka and our destination for the night--Chipata.  We were stranded by the road next to Peter's Village (a small traditional village with no electricity).  Luckily, the village head, Chief Joseph, was very friendly and helpful and brought out a wicker/rattan mat thing for us to sleep on.  Long story short, we were kept warm by cuddling on the roof and the bottles of booze we brought for the trip; entertained by shooting stars and goofy stories; and were finally "resuced" at about 1:00 am by the replacement van.  We almost ran out of gas two times and got a flat tire as we limped into the park (not a good place to change a tire with lots of wild animals roaming around), but we finally made it to Mfuwe Lodge.

The next four days were filled with adventures, delicious food, the most knowledgable guide ever (seriously--how did Fannuel spot some of those things??),  amazing animal and birdwatching, games, "sundowners" (my new favorite thing--cocktails as the sun sets), and memories with great friends.  Highlights included getting quasi-charged by an elephant, coming upon a lion kill (water buffalo), having 2 lions walk THISCLOSE to the van (and me, by proxy).  I cannot wait to go back with Mom and Pop Cline when they come visit in December.  Though, this time, we're flying.  :)

Below are some shots of the safari, which was, honestly, the vacation I've been dreaming about since I was a little girl.

A giraffe with birds eating the fleas and ticks on it's back.

Gorgeous sunset over the (very low) river.

Kudu (I think):

My favorite African birds thus far, Carmine Bee-Eaters:

Our "rig:"  Of great importance is the roof which provides shade in the midst of the hot, hot days (it was roasting by 9 am and the twice daily game drives; from 6:30-11:30 and from 4-8, while awesome would have been unbearable without the shade).  I was told one day it got to 45+ degrees Celsius (that's 113).  Regardless, it was very, very hot.  Sadly, not all tour companies provided sunshaded Land Rovers and, boy, did we feel sorry for those suckers.

We did a lot of silly jump shots.

Male lion, VERYCLOSEUP.  He'd just brought down a water buffalo, so he wasn't hungry, luckily.  You can notice the blood in his mane.  Also, I learned that lions are only successful about 30% of the time (when hunting). 

Then, we saw the same pride later in the day, lounging by the river.  A kudu attracted their attention and they walked right beside our vehicle to go check it out.  Amazing and scary.  This picture is taken with ZERO zoom; he's just walking by the side of our truck. 

The pride, lounging by the banks of the river...probably digesting their water buffalo feast.

Beautiful African sunset.  If you notice all the stumps/deforestation, it's caused by elephants.  When a large herd comes into an area, they can cause major damage.  This damage is pretty much irreparable and the landscape is forever scarred. 

Right before the elephant "charged" our car.  Scary!

Galloping zebras.  Incidentally, a herd of zebras is actually called a "dazzle."  One wouldn't think that black and white strips would be much of a natural defense against predators, but in a large group they 'dazzle' their predators (thus the name).  Apparently, it's a natural optical illusion and the stripes cause their predators to misjudge distances and causes problems with depth perception, which enables the zebras to escape.  Strength in numbers, eh?!?

Super posh lodging at Kapamba Bush Camp (a sister company of Mfuwe lodge).  

Included in the bush camp stay was a walking safari...we strolled through the dry river bed and "walked" with giraffes and a herd of water buffalo.

The gang on the walking safari.  There was hyena urine in the skull (which dripped on my head).  Super gross and super stinky!

Baobab tree; one of Africa's treasures.