Safari to Southern Africa: Zambia & Zimbabwe
November 3rd, 2015 by Curator
Trip Report – Margaret & John, Palm Desert
Well, we recently returned from that fourth trip with Mills Africa. It was our best trip and will not be our last trip. It was another African experience that is like no other, only this time it was even better.
Save your miles! We use them only for travel to Africa. Since it is such a long haul from the West Coast, it is best to travel comfortably, if you can. On arrival and for each leg of our journey in Africa we were met and taken to wherever we needed to be for yet another flight – and we always know what to expect in the way of visas. It is amazing how smooth far away travel can be.
We spent two weeks in Zambia in the South Luangwa National Park, and stayed in three small camps. At the last camp our guide was the same one that we had at our first camp, on our first trip eight years ago. Amazing and fun to be together again. We always meet and talk with interesting people .. the people in camp and/or other visitors.
But it is the game viewing why we go. On the second day we spent the morning watching eight hyenas and seven wild dogs at a kill. The dogs had taken down a female kudu and the hyenas took over the kill. But it was not over. The dogs did not leave but continued to nip and to hassle the hyenas. This dance between wild dog and hyena went on all morning. Not only did we follow the dogs on other days, we followed lions, leopards, elephants, zebra and other animals, both large and small, through the day and at night.
After Zambia we headed to Johannesburg and then on to Zimbabwe for a week. This portion of the trip was a repeat with old friends at a lodge in the Malilangwe Nature Reserve, on the border of Gonerazhou National Park, Zimbabwe.
More fabulous game viewing here with wild dogs (in the rain), cheetah, lions and , of course — hyenas. One morning we followed three hyenas in pursuit of two cheetah. Our last morning game drive we watched fourteen hyena attacking a lioness. I was scared, scared enough to scream – a real no, no when you’re on a game drive.
I did not even mention the bright red sunsets or the many beautiful birds. If Africa is on your bucket list… Go! Now! But do it right. And, yes we were once again sad to leave… another good book comes to an end. Trip number five coming up!
Margaret & John, Palm Desert
PS – you can read more about our travels on safaritalk.net – here:
Zambia: http://safaritalk.net/topic/15286-south-luangwa/
Zimbabwe: http://safaritalk.net/topic/15332-zimbabwe-chapter-two/
