South Luangwa

South Luangwa National Park, in eastern Zambia, claims to be one of the most unique safari destinations around. Why? Because it has among the highest densities of game, and lowest density of tourists, of any game park in the world.

When my mum arrived to visit me in Lusaka over Easter, I decided that we should go and check it out. The result was an incredible and beautiful week, which brought us within hugging distance of lions, elephants, giraffes, hippos, crocs, hyenas, and Norwegians. I’ll never forget it.

Our accommodation was a beautiful wooden hut perched on the side of a lagoon, from which we could see hippos and crocs playing with/killing smaller things. The feeling of being a trespasser in the animal kingdom, of being truly exposed to the wild, was overwhelming.

Our hut (note hippos in water...)

Breakfast on the deck at Mfuwe Lodge

Breeding colony of Egrets

Yellow billed storks in flight

An ibis fishing at sunset

a dry river bed - from april to november there are no rains

Lunching with some elephants

A family of giraffes (see the baby, on the right)

mental

I did start shitting myself at this point

But turns out she was just going for a drink

The enormous Baobab tree vs. my ridiculously small mum