South Luangwa I

Day 16 - South Luangwa

This morning we had breakfast at 5 am, left the beach lodge on the shore of Lake Malawi before sunrise, and set off for Zambia and the South Luangwa National Park. After crossing the border into Zambia, we make a stop in Chipata at a supermarket before continuing to traveling to the banks of the Luangwa River. 

After hours of long drive over bumpy roads (“African massage”), we arrived the Wild Camp, enjoyed a spectacular sunset over the Luangwa River, and saw baboons and hippos nearby, enjoyed a wonderful dinner , and chapped in the bar over drinks this evening. I had the most popular Zambia beer Mosi at dinner. 

South Luangwa is dry woodland, watered by the meandering Luangwa River and its many oxbow lakes. The dominant tree is the mopane. Since the camp is in the middle of the park, the accommodated people were escrowed in and out of their permanent tents to the truck by local camp staffs. I and the Nomad staffs camped next to our truck, and slept in the sounds of birds, baboons, hippos, and elephants. No food was kept in the tents so we will not attack animals. Here is warmer than the Malawi Lake and less buggy, thus more pleasant. Best of all, there are many wild animals on site. 

Africa is big, so I simply have to endure the long bumpy rides between sites. It was too bumpy to read during the rides, while listening to podcasts making me sleepy, so I look at views and take photos most of the time. Every 2-3 hours, the truck will take a toilet stop at roadsides (we need Ti walk into bushes, so we refer it as “bushy bushy”), if not at a supermarket or gas station.