Kafue National Park

My fifth weekend in Lusaka, and it was time for my first African adventure. I decided that Vic falls would be a good place to go with my mum when she comes in April, so this weekend went to Kafue National Park, the second biggest National Park in the world (after Victoria Park in Hackney). It was staggeringly beautiful, a land of vivid plants and wild elephants, of original sun and deep waters, of breathtaking stillness. I’ll let the photos do the talking.

I took this opportunity to learn how to fish (Shloka had, for some time, been telling me what an intricate and enjoyable art it was). It turns out I am an incredibly talented angler. A natural virtuoso. Fish – unsurprisingly, given my name - love me. My first ever catch (below) was a decent sized silver babel, which I ate for lunch (filleted and lightly battered: delicious). I caught six more that morning, and so most of the lodge staff ate well that day.

Fishing is lush

I have always loved nice birds, but never been that interested in the flying kind – and I don’t mean that I like ostriches…get it?!!! Anyway, given that it’s the end of the rainy season here, the grass on the plains is very long and you don’t see many animals grazing – apart from elephants and impala (antelope). But you see plenty of birds flying around and doing other crazy shit (see above).

Hippos kill more humans than any other animals in Africa – more than crocs, snakes, lions, elephants….even more than pigeons. So I was a little anxious to find a large male hippo chilling out doing some grass at the door to my chalet. Nevertheless, this moderately life-threatening situation made a lovely photo opportunity.

What the fuck is a hippo doing outside my hut?

Why the fuck is that guy in a metro t-shirt taking pictures of me?

I can say that my reading material helped a lot. Richard Dawkins’ The Blind Watchmaker explains how every nuance of nature came about through the unstoppable and potent force of evolution; and made me see the wildlife around me with new appreciation. In parallel, Borges’ Labyrinths postulated many arresting alternate realities, and left me even more astounded at the one we actually live in. So thank you to Yugin and Bruce, respectively, for providing a literary commentary to my safari this weekend.

My ridicously laid back guide, Gilbert

I am such a wannabe colonialist

This is a croc chilling the fuck out

The traffic on game drives was terrible

Seriously, fishing is lush






I came back to Lusaka on Sunday, deliriously relaxed and very happy. My next venture will be to Cape Town to see a girl called Kate McCay, wonder at the meeting of the oceans, and drink plenty of red wine as the sun sets over the vineyards. I’m excited about that one.