We arrived at South Luangwa National Park in the early afternoon. We had gotten a deal, pay for 2 nights, get the 3rd night free as "full-board" guests. It was some of the best money I've ever spent. Especially after the horrible 40+ hours it had taken to get there, I felt like I earned . We got to stay in a chateau and had several meals a day: light breakfast at 6am, brunch at 11:30, tea time snack, then dinner. It was so nice to be pampered! We stayed at Croc Valley Lodge, which was right along the river, so we could see and hear hippos all day and night. There was a swimming pool at the lodge that we laid by in the afternoon. Brittni and I were the only 2 guests doing the full-board option. It was great! In 2 days we went on 16 hrs of game drives!
Walking Safari
We drove from the lodge into the park, which was probably a 20 minute drive. I was so excited to see a bunch of elephants as we drove along. Little did I know, that we'd be seeing lots of elephants!
The first safari we did was a walking safari. I'd read some great things about doing a walking safari. We had our guide, Fred and our scout who walked ahead of us with a gun. While walking we didn't get close to any animals, but we got to see lots of poo! We learned about the vegetation and what kind of foods certain animals eat. We walked around for about 2 hours and then got back into the vehicle to do 2 hours of a typical morning ride.
Day 1 Morning Safari
We had 2 morning safaris, each lasted 4 hours! I really wanted to see zebras, and Fred assured me that we would, around 8am. Fred never did disappoint! We left around 6am and drove around till 10am. The first morning we saw zebras, elephants, warthogs, monkeys, waterbuck, impala, puku, and crocs! Needless to say, I was impressed!
Day 1 Evening/Night Safari
After a relaxing day, we headed out on our evening drive. Found a giraffe but it was hiding, so all we could see was it's head. We then saw a big buffalo (one of the "Big 5!"). Very exciting! We then went to the river (across from Croc Valley) for an amazing sunset around 5:30pm. Once it was dark, the scout took out his spotlight and searched for animals. We saw a lot of smaller animals, including some hyenas and porcupines. But, I couldn't get any good pictures because it was too dark. Fred's goal was to find us a leopard that night. We drove around for a while and then, we found one! It was soo cool. We stalked it for a while, then a few other trucks showed up too. All the scouts had big spotlights on the leopard, which made it too afraid to move. I got some really good pictures and videos. At one point, it got up and started walking straight toward our truck. SCARY! It stopped about 10 feet away. I swear, that was the longest 10 seconds of my life. We were told countless times that as long as we are in the vehicle, we are safe, the animals wont jump in.
Day 2 Morning Drive
We had 3 other people join us this morning. We were smart and brought several blankets to cover up with. We'd frozen our butts off the morning and night before. One of the ladies spotted a giraffe and Fred stalked it for us. It was a beauty! We stalked it all the way to and across the river. It knew exactly where to cross the river, so it's knees never got deeper than a certain point. The hippos in the river were not exactly happy about this guy. The made tons of grunts and noises and moved out of the way. We saw a lot of the same animals again, but it never got old. We looked for lions but never found any! I was disappointed. Fred asked around, and no one had seen any lions in days. Bummer
Day 2 Night Drive
We had a big group of 7 that night, but we got the best front seats. It was Sunday and I think all the animals took the night off. We hardly saw anything, but still had a good time. Just as we were leaving for the night a different truck spotted a leopard! Fred pulled our truck ahead of the rest, and the leopard walked right in front of our car. Very Cool. This one was bigger than the previous night.
The BIG 5
1. Lion (nope)
2. Leopard (check!)
3. Buffalo (check!)
4. Elephant (check!)
5. Rhino (not at this park)
Walking Safari
We drove from the lodge into the park, which was probably a 20 minute drive. I was so excited to see a bunch of elephants as we drove along. Little did I know, that we'd be seeing lots of elephants!
The first safari we did was a walking safari. I'd read some great things about doing a walking safari. We had our guide, Fred and our scout who walked ahead of us with a gun. While walking we didn't get close to any animals, but we got to see lots of poo! We learned about the vegetation and what kind of foods certain animals eat. We walked around for about 2 hours and then got back into the vehicle to do 2 hours of a typical morning ride.
Day 1 Morning Safari
We had 2 morning safaris, each lasted 4 hours! I really wanted to see zebras, and Fred assured me that we would, around 8am. Fred never did disappoint! We left around 6am and drove around till 10am. The first morning we saw zebras, elephants, warthogs, monkeys, waterbuck, impala, puku, and crocs! Needless to say, I was impressed!
Day 1 Evening/Night Safari
After a relaxing day, we headed out on our evening drive. Found a giraffe but it was hiding, so all we could see was it's head. We then saw a big buffalo (one of the "Big 5!"). Very exciting! We then went to the river (across from Croc Valley) for an amazing sunset around 5:30pm. Once it was dark, the scout took out his spotlight and searched for animals. We saw a lot of smaller animals, including some hyenas and porcupines. But, I couldn't get any good pictures because it was too dark. Fred's goal was to find us a leopard that night. We drove around for a while and then, we found one! It was soo cool. We stalked it for a while, then a few other trucks showed up too. All the scouts had big spotlights on the leopard, which made it too afraid to move. I got some really good pictures and videos. At one point, it got up and started walking straight toward our truck. SCARY! It stopped about 10 feet away. I swear, that was the longest 10 seconds of my life. We were told countless times that as long as we are in the vehicle, we are safe, the animals wont jump in.
Day 2 Morning Drive
We had 3 other people join us this morning. We were smart and brought several blankets to cover up with. We'd frozen our butts off the morning and night before. One of the ladies spotted a giraffe and Fred stalked it for us. It was a beauty! We stalked it all the way to and across the river. It knew exactly where to cross the river, so it's knees never got deeper than a certain point. The hippos in the river were not exactly happy about this guy. The made tons of grunts and noises and moved out of the way. We saw a lot of the same animals again, but it never got old. We looked for lions but never found any! I was disappointed. Fred asked around, and no one had seen any lions in days. Bummer
Day 2 Night Drive
We had a big group of 7 that night, but we got the best front seats. It was Sunday and I think all the animals took the night off. We hardly saw anything, but still had a good time. Just as we were leaving for the night a different truck spotted a leopard! Fred pulled our truck ahead of the rest, and the leopard walked right in front of our car. Very Cool. This one was bigger than the previous night.
The BIG 5
1. Lion (nope)
2. Leopard (check!)
3. Buffalo (check!)
4. Elephant (check!)
5. Rhino (not at this park)
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