Lower Zambezi National Park

We were awake when we our valet, Ashsefu, came to the tent to wake us and deliver our breakfast beverages of choice. The camp chef made each of us omelets to order along with toast and muffins. As we ate, we talked with Ross from Ottawa about his fly fishing for tigerfish. He had no success in any of his flyfishing attempted on the Zambezi River. We also wished Phil from Santa Fe well as he prepared to leave for another camp.

Clement, Francis and Mary at a huge hollow baobab tree

For our game drive in Lower Zambezi National Park, Francis, a National Park ranger, met us at the lodge. The four of us along with Clement, Francis and Alex, got into the truck for a walking safari in the national park. Francis was armed with a .375 high powered rifle for our protection. We also learned that Alex was a National Park ranger prior to becoming a safari guide.

Cape buffalo skull

After driving into the park for 30 minutes, we left the truck and walked through the national park. Clement, Alex and Francis pointed out tracks of hippos, elephants, lions, baboons, impalas, water bucks and hyenas. We spotted a small group of zebras and a large herd of Cape buffalos. There are lots of impalas and baboons with a fair number of elephants. We stopped at an especially old baobab tree that was hollow inside. The tree had gained significant damage from elephants.

Clement showed us difference in dry wood termites, fungus eating termites and harvester termites. The many termite mounds found throughout Central Africa are fungus termites that join saliva and soil to make the mound. They bring sections of leaves into the mounds to grow a fungus that is eaten by the termites.

Elephants crossing the Lower Zambezi River

After returning to the truck, we had tea while we talked with Clement, Alex and Francis. We took the 30 minute drive back to camp and had about an hour before we were to leave for a shore lunch at a nearby landing. The guides talked with us about the Arab slave traders who came to the area obtaining people to be sold to Europeans. They also talked to us about how the tribes dealt with each other and warfare over land. They told us that when Zambia gained independence from Great Britain in 1964, they made a concerted effort to focus loyalties to the country rather than individual tribes. They also told us how villages were displaced when the dams were built on the Zambezi River. We found several artifacts including an abandoned grinding stone and some pot shards.

Shore lunch on the Zambezi River

During the short boat ride to lunch, we saw three male elephants crossing the Zambezi River which was quite a sight. As we neared the landing, we saw that lunch appeared to be quite elegant. The meal was being prepared by the kitchen staff from Sausage Tree Camp at a scenic spot on the river. They had our table set up with the usual white tablecloth and napkins.

Mary, Steve, Mark & Cindy at an elegant shore lunch

The cooks had prepared beef and chicken skewers, a three-bean salad, couscous and a garden salad. Dessert was a lemon tart. As usual, everything was delicious. They had a good selection of wines as well as gin and tonic using local Zambian gin. After lunch and drinks, Clement brought us back to the camp where we had a couple of hours to relax, nap, read and record in the journal. I took a brief nap in the hammock while I listened to Lexington’s oldies country station. We saw an African sand snake just off the boardwalk leading to our tent.

Mark relaxing at the tent before high tea

We went to the lodge for high tea at 3 pm then met Clement for our evening game drive. Joining us was Leonard, a young apprentice guide, who was very pleasant and helpful. We drove over some very rough roads to the eastern side of the National Park where we looked for African wild dogs.

Wild dog pack in Lower Zambezi National Park

Along the drive we saw many elephants making their way to the mountains. There were impalas, baboons, water bucks and guineafowl. Clement told us that he had heard of a wild dog sighting and suggested that we head that way and not pause to view more common game.

Wild dogs watching an impala herd

We bumped over the deeply rutted sandy roads to where 15 adult wild dogs were resting in the shade. It appeared that the dogs were still full from a kill earlier in the day. We had heard that the dogs were the most efficient predators in central Africa killing a very high percentage of game that they pursue. Clement said that the dogs killed their prey in the most brutal fashion. Lions, leopards, cheetahs and other cats kill by biting at the neck resulting in a quick death. However, the African wild dogs bite the abdomen to disembowel the prey. They begin feeding the prey animal while it is still alive.

After watching the dogs lounging in the shade for about 30 minutes, we decided to drive about a kilometer away to have a sundown drink of gin and tonic. Once we got the drinks poured, the dogs started in pursuit of a herd of impala. They didn’t run far but watched the impala. We suspected that they were still full from their earlier meal and didn’t really need to make a kill.

We noticed that one of the dogs had an injury and appeared to be in poor health. The other dogs licked the injured dog’s wounds and urinated on the injured dog. Clement said that the other dogs would care for injured pack mates and bring food following a kill.

When we saw that dogs were unlikely to go after the impala, we started back toward camp. By then it was nearly 7 pm and in midwinter in the southern hemisphere, it was dark. As Clement drove, Leonard used a powerful light to scan for animals. He took care to not shine the light in the eyes of possible prey animals since they might become temporarily blinded and would be easy prey.

As we drove, we passed several groups of elephants sometimes waiting for them to get off the jeep trail so we could pass. We saw a young elephant ahead on the left side of the trail and the mother on the right side. We knew that could be trouble, so we waited until the baby crossed the road and joined the mother. Once the two were reunited we started along the road. The young elephant trumpeted as we passed then in response the mother elephant trumpeted and began to pursue our vehicle. We wasted no time in leaving the area.

As we were nearing camp, we saw that an elephant had placed a large branch over the jeep trail, making it impassable. Mother elephants often break branches from trees, allowing young elephants to browse. We were unable to move the large branch since it would be dangerous to exit the vehicle when the elephants maybe nearby. In addition, there may be lions or other predators in the area.

Clement backed the truck to a point where he could turn it, so we backtracked to take a longer trail back to camp arriving at 7:30.

The couple from Ottawa was at dinner as was a foursome from New York City. They had been to Tongabezi Lodge not far from where we had been in Sindabezi Island Lodge. They were very pleasant and looking forward to their African adventures.

Dinner was a variety of curry. Mine was chicken curry while Mary had chickpea curry. Both meals had rice on the side and mixed vegetables. We all had pinot grigio with the meal. Our valet escorted us back to the room.

When we arrived at the room we saw that the valet had arranged leaves on the floor of the text wishing us safe travels back home. The tub was filled with bubbles and candles were arranged in the sleeping area and bathroom. As we fell asleep we heard the call of an unknown African night bird.

Fishing in the Lower Zambezi River

Large crocodile across from Sweet Potato Camp

When our valet, Ashsefu, came to wake us at 5:30 we were already awake and dressed. We went to breakfast and enjoyed the eggs made to order. Mary had a breakfast wrap, and I had a ham, cheese and mushroom omelet. We got in the truck with Clement at 6:30 am to drive around Lower Zambezi National Park. This 1,600 square mile national park was established in 1983 as a game reserve to be protected from mass tourism and to allow native game to thrive.

Our safari vehicle at Potato Bush Camp

We saw several birds that we hadn’t seen including the trumpeter hornbill, goliath heron and crested guineafowl. There were a number of water bucks, kudus and warthogs. A troop of baboons, that certainly had over 100 animals, included many mothers with babies clinging to their backs. Impalas frequently travel with baboon troops to better look out for predators to the benefit of both.

Waterbuck

Waterholes in the area are drying up at this time of year, but the Zambezi River is near. One remaining water hole had four crocodiles basking in the sun as wading birds walked among them. One crocodile was half submerged and had its mouth open exposing the bright yellow flap preventing water from entering.

We followed some lion tracks for a while then started looking for a leopard but had no success with either. We stopped for a tea break and gave Clement our lunch order from a menu. We then drove back to the camp arriving by 10:30.

Cindy & Mark relaxing at the tent

We changed clothes at out tents since the day had warmed since we left this morning. We walked back to the lodge at 11:30 for lunch. Mark had a large burger, Cindy ordered a salad with grilled chicken, Mary had an open-faced roast beef sandwich, and I had a chicken schnitzel. Dessert was chocolate mousse.

We went back to the tents where we read, napped and wrote in the journal until Mark and I were scheduled to go fishing in the lower Zambezi.

Mark with a 10# tigerfish

Mark and I met Lazarus at 4 pm and went out on the Lower Zambezi River to try to catch some fish. We were hoping for a tigerfish but with the lack of success on our two previous fishing trips, we would be happy to get a bite from any kind of fish. Mary and Cindy stayed at the lodge and played cribbage.

On the way to selected fishing spots, we passed several large pods of hippos. We also saw a few Cape buffalo and crocodiles along the banks. Once at a spot, Lazarus either tied off to a limb or embedded the lower unit of the motor into a sand bar to anchor the boat. We used cut-bait on a large stainless steel hook on a steel leader and rigged with a slice of fish. The reels were loaded with a strong braided fishing line.

Steve with an electric catfish

We stopped in several spots, allowing the current to take the bait and hook downstream. We had no luck at the first two places we tried. However, at the third spot, Lazarus hooked a fish then handed the rod to Mark. The fish fought well and even went airborne once before Lazarus was able to net the large tigerfish. The nearly 10-pound tigerfish had a mouthful of sharp teeth that meshed together for a bite that could be dangerous. From looking at the teeth, it was obvious how the fish earned the name tigerfish. We weighed and photographed the fish before releasing the tiger fish back into the Zambezi River.

A few minutes later I felt some bumps on my line and assumed that I had drifted into a branch on the river bottom. However, when I retrieved the line, I saw that I had hooked a catfish. The fish was olive in color and was covered with darker spots giving it a leopard-like appearance. When Lazarus came to net the fish, his eyes widened and he said that it was an electric catfish. These fish are capable of producing several hundred volts of electricity and can easily knock an adult out. The catfish uses the shock to capture prey as well as to avoid predators. Lazarus told us that he was knocked out by one of these fish as a youth.

Once on the boat Lazarus used needle nosed pliers to remove the hook from the deeply hooked catfish. He was careful to use rubber handled pliers and to not touch the fish with his hands.

Relaxing at the tent

We returned to the dock a little after 6 pm so we could shower, watch a horticulture Wednesday webinar and prepare for our short night game drive. The webinars would be inaccessible outside of the US, but we used the VPN to connect through Atlanta with no problem.

Clement picked us up in the Safari truck at 7 pm and drove away from the camp. Along the way, we saw a genet running along the ground. This cat-like mammal is related more to the mongoose than to cats.

As we drove along, we spotted lights and a fire. Clement told us that he needed to check on the people since camping is prohibited in Lower Zambia National Park. As we approached we saw that it was a setup for an outdoor dinner where we would join Sausage Tree Camp for the meal. It was a nice surprise.

We sat around the fire with a group of Belgians who were staying at Sausage Tree. We enjoyed drinks and conversation until the soup was brought to us. The split pea soup with curry was quite good. After soup bowls were collected, we had chicken, beef, lentils and salad from the buffet. Dessert was a tasty macron with chocolate filling.

We left the dinner around 8:30 and saw two more genets on the way back to Potato Bush Camp. We turned in as soon as we were escorted to our tents.