Kafue or not Kafue
Jan 22nd, 2007, 03:39 PM
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Kafue or not Kafue
Wow! I just received my Travel Africa magazine (winter 2006 issue). In a letter to the editor, a woman from Arizona completely pans Kafue. Among her comments: "eight hours of driving day after day for one elephant or distant wildebeest was indeed a different experience." She visited Lunga River Lodge and Busanag Bush Camp in August 2006. Even though it was a wet year, Busanga should have yielded a lot of game in August. This review is so different from the game reports on the Wilderness Safari's website. Any thoughts from those who have been to Kafue lately? (particularly interested to hear about Busanga, Kapinga, Shumba, Lunga and Nanzhila) I am booked for late August 2008, and I don't know what to make of this...
Jan 22nd, 2007, 04:11 PM
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She saw an elephant!? I was there five nights and never saw a single ele.
Perhaps the poor luck can be blamed on an extremely wet year. When I was there in July 2003 (when the rains had come late so wildllife was behaving as if it were a month earlier) areas of the park were off limits to vehicles due to the extreme sogginess of the soil. In fact, mekoros were needed to get to camp. All the extra water of record setting rains may have limited her mobility and dispersed the animals.
In the 3 days at Busanga Plains Bush Camp, we spent most of our time hanging out with a pride of about 8 lions as they lounged in the day and hunted at night. Also spotted: a pair of cheetah, 2 separate serval sitings, a honey badger, sable (too far for good photos), oribi, Lichtenstein's hartebeest, roan (too far for good photos) antelope, puku, reedbuck and huge herds of red lechwe. Some jacana, numerous wattled crane, open billed stork, and black bellied korhan.
Because the Busanga area is a 3-hour drive from the airstrip at Lunga, I spent a day at Lunga River Lodge, also in Kafue, before and after Busanga Bush Camp. (That totals 5 nights in Kafue) At Lunga we could do walks, day & night drives, plus canoeing and boat rides on the Lunga River. Sightings included: tree hyrax, otter, roan antelope (on foot but too far for good photos,) a serval (on foot), and 2 cheetah brothers. Lots of hippos and some crocs, including an adorable baby, from the boat and while canoeing. Other people saw elephant on a game drive. Interesting birds: wattled crane, African finfoot, purple crested lorie.
Interestingly, all 4 cheetahs were spotted on night drives.
Perhaps the poor luck can be blamed on an extremely wet year. When I was there in July 2003 (when the rains had come late so wildllife was behaving as if it were a month earlier) areas of the park were off limits to vehicles due to the extreme sogginess of the soil. In fact, mekoros were needed to get to camp. All the extra water of record setting rains may have limited her mobility and dispersed the animals.
In the 3 days at Busanga Plains Bush Camp, we spent most of our time hanging out with a pride of about 8 lions as they lounged in the day and hunted at night. Also spotted: a pair of cheetah, 2 separate serval sitings, a honey badger, sable (too far for good photos), oribi, Lichtenstein's hartebeest, roan (too far for good photos) antelope, puku, reedbuck and huge herds of red lechwe. Some jacana, numerous wattled crane, open billed stork, and black bellied korhan.
Because the Busanga area is a 3-hour drive from the airstrip at Lunga, I spent a day at Lunga River Lodge, also in Kafue, before and after Busanga Bush Camp. (That totals 5 nights in Kafue) At Lunga we could do walks, day & night drives, plus canoeing and boat rides on the Lunga River. Sightings included: tree hyrax, otter, roan antelope (on foot but too far for good photos,) a serval (on foot), and 2 cheetah brothers. Lots of hippos and some crocs, including an adorable baby, from the boat and while canoeing. Other people saw elephant on a game drive. Interesting birds: wattled crane, African finfoot, purple crested lorie.
Interestingly, all 4 cheetahs were spotted on night drives.
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