Zambia's verdant North
Some herds consist entirely of rams. They have this funny way of running with their bums higher than their forequarters (look at the one on the left).
Via Livingstone’s resting place to Bangweulu.
From Kasanka (see “Bat explosion!” in Go #45, March 2010) we head further north to Shoebill Camp on the Bangwuelu flood plains. It’s just a 200 km drive, but it’s the kind of 200 km which takes a full day to drive. Our first stop is the Livingstone memorial. David Livingstone died here on 1 May 1873. His heart was buried under a tree and his trusted trackers Susi and Chuma then salted his body, hid it in a tree trunk and carried it all the way to Bagamoyo on the Tanzanian coast – a nine-month journey! From there Livingstone’s body was shipped to England where it was buried in Westminster Abbey in 1874.
A long drive
After a brief visit we double back and then continue to what’s left of the campsite at Lake Waka Waka, where we enjoy lunch. We hardly ever drive faster than 20 km/h, so the going is painfully slow. Though it appears empty on the map, the road is lined with villages – there also seems to be a Jehovah’s Witnesses church every five kilometres. When we eventually reach the Shoebill Camp, the sun has already set. We’re exhausted after the long drive, so we decide not to camp and instead move into one of the safari tents.
Quest for the Shoebill
As the name indicates, Shoebill is known as a place where you can see shoebill storks, one of Africa’s most sought-after birds (if you’re a twitcher like me). It’s a large, greyish bird – 1,2 m tall with a beak shaped like a Dutch clog – and actually more closely related to pelicans. Unfortunately the shoebills are currently far away from Shoebill Camp and the guides tell me it will be a 12-hour hike through marshy papyrus before I might see one.
Lechwe spotting
We’ve only got a day here, so I take a rain check. Instead, we venture out to see the herds of black lechwe which gather on the green plains in large numbers. Soon we see a herd of about 100, then another 200 here, 30 there and so on. On the distant horizon I see more herds, jiggling in the heat waves. We also see a herd of about 100 tsessebe. We’re the only guests at Shoebill (most guests fly in from Kasanka, as the Kasanka Trust also manages this camp) and that night we pitch our tent. We light a fire and cook our food.
Fireflies in the night
Every now and then we hear a lechwe splashing through the shallows. Soon, Shoebill will be an island again as the summer rains come. The tall grass around the campsite is alive with fireflies as it gets dark. It looks like a sprawling city seen from above. The horizon lights up every now and then, another storm dousing some distant corner. At this point I should be able to say we slept soundly, but we didn’t – a barn owl screeched around our tent all night.
What does it cost? There are no entry fees at Bangwuelu.
Accommodation. Bangwuelu: Safari tents at Shoebill Camp cost R402 pppn and camping R76 pp.
Meals. You can book meals (in advance).
Activities. A guide at Shoebill costs R160 per group, but if you want to seek out the shoebill storks. Specifically it costs R261 pp. Boat rides at Shoebill are R131 pp.
Contact: www.kasanka.com; trust@kasanka.com
* Note: Prices will go up some time in 2010, but not by more than 10%. Consult their websites for the latest prices.
Read the related articles: Batwatching 101 and Mutinondo
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