Driving into the dawn light.

Another long day of driving today. Up before dawn, yet again, followed by many hours on the road. The only road into South Luangwa National Park (http://www.zambiatourism.com/travel/nationalparks/sluangwa.htm) is currently being upgraded (on African-time). So, we got treated to 3 hours of bumpy-fun along a deeply rutted dirt road. The locals call this an “African Massage” – no fillings were jarred loose but rather conveniently, all my kidney stones were crushed….

Road into S Luangwa Nat’l Park.

We pulled into the Wildlife Camp near the entrance to the park at about 3:30 PM; just in time to start a night game drive at 4:00 pm.

The group loaded into a Land Rover modified for safaris. The wildlife is certainly abundant in the area. We saw our first giraffes just after we left the campsite, even before entering the park. Joseph, our driver and guide, talked about each of the animals we encountered. He taught us about giraffes, elephants, lions and hyenas, as well as the various forms of antelope.

Joseph

Curious Giraffe just outside camp.

Park greeter.

Once in the park, we drove down an embankment into a green field, and to our delight many animals had gathered there in the dusk: elephants, giraffes, cape buffalo, zebras, bush buck, impalas, and baboons.

Our first Zebra.

Impala with friends.

Warthog

We had our first safari sundowner (the tradition of having a cocktail while watching the sun set) on the banks of the Luangwa River. The hippos entertained us with their antics.

First safari sun-downer.

Sunset Hippos.

Sunset over the Luangwa River.

Eventually, darkness overtook the park. One of the guides (the “spotter”) stood in the front of the truck with a high powered light, shining it from side to side looking for the tell-tale yellow glow in the dark of a predator’s eyes.

Eventually we noticed the cloying smell of rotting flesh. Joseph followed the smell down rutted tracks and through bush until we came upon a partially eaten cape buffalo kill.   Joseph continued to maneuver the truck around until we found two lionesses nearby. They were laying together, resting in the dark, only a few feet away from us. We watched them, mesmerized, and in awe of their strength and beauty.

Lionesses in the grass.

Eventually, one of the lionesses got up and went back to the cape buffalo carcass. She began to gnaw on the bones. We were less than ten feet away. The sound of teeth against bone was clearly audible, her yellow eyes were gleaming, and blood was smeared across her nose.

Lioness eating Cape Buffalo.