Elizabeth Livingstone, winner of Travel Africa’s Spring 2008 Subscribers’ Competition, is back from her prize trip – a Zambian safari with Kafue Lodges. She’s written to tell us all about it.

Given that I married a man called Dr Livingstone, it shouldn’t have come as a surprise to me that life would contain many African travels. However, I hadn’t expected that it would be me spending the most time researching and plotting where our next adventure might take us.

Earlier this year we were delighted to hear that we’d won the subscribers’ competition, and we were even more excited to find out that it was to Zambia’s Kafue National Park – it had featured in our ‘must see’ list for so many years. Despite that fact, we’d never heard that Kafue has been referred to as the “the paradise that Livingstone never found”. As the trip grew near, we were enthused about being able to put that particular statement right!

We started our adventure with a Zamfari flight from Lusaka into McBride’s Camp in north-central Kafue. We were told it was also accessible by road, but it would have been a much longer journey. And as we needed our energy for our walking safaris, we were not complaining! We weren’t in camp long before we understood why McBride’s is well known for its family-style hospitality – the staff was indeed lovely. Although they also have a reputation for spotting lions on walking safaris, I was neither expecting it – Kafue is a park, not a zoo – nor upset that we didn’t tick that box. Walking in their enormous footprints, hearing their guttural roars and then seeing them later from our 4WD was more than enough excitement for me!

From here we crossed to Mukambi Plains, a bush camp located within the wildlife-laden Busanga Plains. Crossing the river near here, we were rewarded with close-up sightings of cheetahs, a huge herd of buffalo and an accompanying pride of lions.

We made a brief detour to Hippo Lodge to take in their lovely riverside location, and to enjoy a dip in their delightful hot spring. As they say, “the springs invigorate the mind, body and soul!” We’ll be sure to book a few nights here next time around – it’s too nice not to.

My husband, Brian, has a real passion for Africa’s flora, being something of an expert botanist. So at Kaingu Lodge, while we both loved heading out on to the Kafue River to view wildlife and watch birds, Brian was happiest when driving and walking around the park’s varied woodlands, comparing notes with Kaingu’s senior guide, Bessa.
When we left, Tom Heinecken, the owner of Kaingu, told us: “It’s not often Bessa encounters anyone with a wider botanical knowledge than his own, so it was difficult to decide who enjoyed your stay most, you or Bessa!”

Brian said that his woolly caper bush, false baobab, dwababerry and rain tree sightings were all excellent, and who am I to argue! Speaking of interesting trees, the large acacia within the lodge grounds caused much discussion – it was flowering at the wrong time to be an acacia seiberiana, so if anyone can make a positive identification, Brian and Bessa would be delighted to hear.

I’m less of a flora fan myself, so I spent more time with Tom and his wife, Viv, sampling the delights of the lodge’s waterways, saltlick hides and an eerily ‘spiritual’ hilltop site. Kaingu is so pretty, so very quiet, and so away from it all. While the area does have wildlife, I’d say Kaingu is a destination for safari-goers looking for a broader and (dare I say it?) more real African experience, allowing you to feel very close to nature. I found myself so relaxed, at one with the world.

Our final stay was at Konkamoya, located on the southern shores of Lake Itzhi-Tezhi in lower Kafue. Our arrival there was a rather special one – we were the camp’s first ever visitors! It is run by 23-year-old Chris Cooke, who brings with him three years of senior guiding experience gained from working with the famed Robin Pope Safari Company. His enthusiasm and genuine warmth were truly a delight. With such a varied landscape around the lodge – mopane woodlands, teak forests, wide-open plains and seasonal wetlands – you could easily stay a number of days without ever seeing the same terrain twice.

Our Konkamoya wildlife highlights were just as varied: seeing the area’s ‘resident’ male leopard; watching elephants in the untouched ancient teak forest; and visiting the nearby David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation’s elephant orphanage, which was recently established in the area. We felt so privileged to see the orphanage’s worthwhile conservation work in practice, and we’re happy knowing that Konkamoya is committed to supporting it. We hope our small donation helps too.

Our most memorable moment at Konkamoya was undoubtedly while in the middle of Lake Itzhi-Tezhi. We we surrounded by hippos, and clinking our gin and tonics, when the flame-red sun set majestically on one side while the moon magically rose on the other. Sheer heaven on earth.

We’d have liked to visit Nanzhila Plains Safari Camp down in the most southerly section of the park, but we know that you can’t win them all! And it gives us a perfect excuse to return next year.

After our extended two-week trip, we’d say Kafue is not a destination for people wanting to simply tick the greatest number of species off their ‘must see’ list, since as at certain times of the year there aren’t copious amounts of wildlife. However, this should not be seen as a shortcoming. The park offers many different experiences, and is a true delight. It’s perfect if you are looking for a rawer Africa, where you’ll see few, if any, other tourist vehicles.

All the above-mentioned lodges and camps, including the coordinating of transfers can be completed by Kafue Lodges Inc. (www.kafuelodges.com) or with Kushiyana Safaris (www.kushiyana.com).

Edition 45: Winter 2008/9