Hippos, Elephants and a broken down safari vehicle

Over the last month or so, I’ve developed a small passion for hippo watching. Where I live in Chipata the only interesting wild animals that can be seen are the occasional group of monkeys crossing the street towards the golf course in town. Although that’s often an amazing sight, monkeys against a back drop of Barclays Bank and the filling station hasn’t made the experience as wonderful as the experience of seeing wild animals in the bush. Following a recent trip to the National Park at South Luangwa, I have begun to appreciate the diversity of Zambia’s wildlife and have been lucky to experience not only monkeys, but giraffes, elephants, Kampala and the most amazing exotic birds I’ve ever seen. In fact some of the most exotic and diverse birds in the world have made their home at the South Luangwa National Park in Zambia, which I personally feel is the most beautiful and underrated National Park in the world (ok overstatement, but it’s true..it’s a gem and the Conservation staff are amazing at what they do).

My most surreal experience at the weekend was waking up from my safari tent to come face to face with a baby elephant eating branches from the tree about 10 metres in front of me. It’s at that moment (whilst nervously clutching onto my toothbrush) that I realised I’m actually in the territory of some of the most dangerous wild animals on the planet and that anything could happen. But the baby elephant didn’t seem to mind our presence and instead spent most of its energy eating and roaming around minding it’s own business (as you do on a Sunday morning).

One of the highlights of the weekend was helping a safari vehicle get out of the mud in which it was stuck for nearly an hour with some eager game viewers on board. Whilst waiting for more assistance from the rescue team, our group got out of our vehicle and took in the sights of lizards, birds and not too mention the sounds of the hippos and the crickets in the blazing sun. It was great fun, but yet again, I was praying that whilst we waited for help we weren’t going to be attacked by lions lurking in the bushes. After a patient wait, the vehicle was hoisted out of the mud and the traffic jam of safari vehicles dispersed back into the jungle in search for more animals – classic! I’m now back in Chipata and still hoping that I bump into those monkeys again near the golf course. Although after the experience of the weekend, I still think my heart will always be back in the wild plains of South Luangwa.