South Luangwa - Day Six AM

I woke up to bright sunshine and a slightly warmer morning than the past two days. I still stuck to socks and shoes this morning but am now happily back in sandals as I write this later in the day. Game was plentiful this morning, seeming to be happy to see the sun again but with lots of water and new grass to munch on. Our first sighting, after the impala on the lawn and a warthog digging in the mud, was a family of five elephants. That was our only up-close elephant encounter today, though we saw others from afar.

The first ninety minutes of the drive was quiet as we traversed riverine tracks to try and find some predators, finding plenty of birds and antelope but nothing to eat them. About 7:30 we were driving down the main road when Elias stopped and pointed. I saw impala and puku a few hundred meters in the distance, but he saw a leopard. So we picked up speed to get to the next cutoff into this area, an area where we'd previously seen most of our leopards and where we spent two hours last night trying to find them. As we neared the area where he'd pointed, the impala and puku were sounding warning cries and moving away, but there was nothing. Until I saw a rustle in a tree and then the leopard jumped down and ran off. We came closer, but it was determined to avoid us. I caught a couple snaps of her, but she ran and hid by a termite mound. As we drove back to her tree, we saw a fresh impala that she'd been munching on. She was popping her head up now and again to check on us, but she didn't come back. 

We gave her some space and drove around looking for other leopards - her mom is Limping Mother, and she and another sibling live in this area. We circled back around the termite mound, but she wasn't there. Elias drove on, and then we both saw her at once. She was lying down in the open in a muddy area, very relaxed now. Elias told me this is where she was born and raised, and she's comfortable here. At the tree she'd been surrounded by yelling antelope and baboons and vervets so she hadn't wanted to tarry. But now she posed for us and let us admire her gorgeous spots. Another Sanctuary vehicle came up (from our sister camp), and she posed for them before flopping onto her back in a typical cat pose. Finally she tired of this and walked away. But what a lovely sighting!

Having had a great encounter with her, we drove on and continued to drive around the river bed, now with a significant flow of water, enjoying the happy animals basking in the sun. Newly-born pukus seemed to have appeared overnight, their births likely spurred on by the onset of rain. They were tiny, furry, curious, and a bit awkward still; it was great to watch. We drove around for another 40 minutes or so before heading back towards the leopard's area where the other driver told us he'd seen another kill. Sure enough, there it was, in a thicket. This was no ordinary impala kill - this was an aardvark! Or at least 2/3 of an aardvark; the head and one claw were missing. But it was intact enough to see the claws and tail and odd-looking skin. It may seem morbid to delight in this, but aardvarks are not commonly seen, and I was fascinated by its unique features.

We headed toward the river, stopping to stretch our legs at a spot where hippos and crocs were sunning themselves and hundreds of Southern Carmine's bee eaters were hunting and hovering and feeding their chicks in their riverbank nests. It was quite a sight to see and hear the swarms of these gorgeous red and blue birds; I've seen a lot of them on this trip but never so close and so many. They usually don't pose for photos, but I think I got a few nice ones.

The last hour was a chance to explore some areas that we hadn't seen since earlier in the week, now that the roads are drying up a bit more. We found a tiny baby zebra with its mother, probably only a couple days old. It was definitely still getting the hang of using its legs, and it was a ruddy brown color and very fuzzy. These are the endemic Crayshay's zebras, a subspecies of the common Burchells' zebra.

And then it was back to the lodge for lunch and a nap. I can't wait to see what's in store this afternoon!

Warthog enjoying mud in the morning.

Mom and baby sharing some branches.

Giraffe with stomach tumor.

Leopard! Finally!

She did not want to hang around.

Here's her impala in the tree.

Another impala shot

Huge crocs.

Now she didn't mind us watching as she lay in the sand.

Always alert

Proof she's just a big kitten

African fish eagle

Much more water in the river now!

The lower 2/3 of a baby aardvark

Southern Carmines Bee Eaters swarming in the morning

Brand new baby puku!

Hippos

Bringing bugs back to the nests by the river

Such gorgeous coloring!

beautiful birds

Kudu!

So majestic

Our tortoise friend again

Brand new baby zebra! Look at him trying out standing. 

Getting a little more comfortable on his feet

South Luangwa - Day 5

This morning was another fairly sparse game drive, though there were plentiful elephants and some much bigger bulls than I'd previously seen here. We saw several Bateleur eagles, a Western Banded Snake eagle, a beautiful paradise flycatcher, and open-billed storks in addition to the usual menagerie of birds. Hyenas were out and about this morning, possibly because their dens/burrows are filled with water and they're feeling displaced.

Several passing vehicles told us about four lions, but by the time we reached the area we could barely see one of the males, and the other male passed through our viewpoint quickly before lying down in a thicket. We watched Matabele blank ants on parade, their mouths full with termites. A saddle-billed stork caught an impressive catfish in a mud flat, and we had great fun watching it try to swallow it whole, which it finally did.

There were a few scattered zebras and giraffes and lots of female waterbuck with the impalas. It was another very cool morning, and I was grateful for the blanket in the truck to keep me cozy as we drove. A few slender mongooses ran in front of us, as did a number of squirrels. It's still overcast, but the sun is trying to peek out. I'm hopeful the drives get a bit more exciting from here on out as the roads dry a bit more. There's a lot of new tufts of bright green grass sprouting as well as new buds and leaves on the trees, including the baobabs. 

This afternoon's drive started out well with lots of herbivores out grazing and access to a few more roads than yesterday after a day of drying in the sun. We saw a lovely leopard tortoise hiding in a thicket as well as several banded mongooses. Once the sun went down we saw several genets and a couple of hyena, but nothing else was about. Still, it was lovely to be outside and enjoying the scenery and the views for several hours. Even if the rest of the week is poor sightings, I had such an amazing first few days that it's all fine. And the lodge is wonderful and very comfortable; the staff are delightful, and the food is delicious. Every whim is catered for. Tonight is my last night of being alone here, as a family of four arrives tomorrow. We'll see what the new day brings!

In search of mangoes

Lazy morning

Crested cranes

Greenery!

African Fish Eagle

Saddle-billed stork

Eating a pretty big catfish from the mudflat!

Lion, standing left of center behind the tree

Fresh buds on the baobab

Reaching as far as possible!

Leopard tortoise!

Happy croc

Lilac-breasted roller

That hoof is not in good shape

Large spotted genet

You can see why people think they are cat-like

Elephant shrew

Welcoming 2016 in Beirut

A lot of people are doing their 2016 welcome blogs, and it's a good opportunity to reflect and think ahead. I'm not big on resolutions, or at least not in January, because they seem like a good way to set yourself up for failure. I find that February and March are, for me, a better time to try to do something new, resolution-style.

I rang in the new year in low-key Lebanese style, with colleagues and new friends and a huge spread of delicious treats. The kids passed out just after 11:00 and didn't wake even when the noisemakers and toasts and fireworks began an hour later. So the parents put silly hats on them and took pictures, as one does with sleeping children. We had a lovely profiterole cake and champagne before heading back to the Embassy, rejoicing in an absence of the harrowing holiday traffic that has made Beirut a parking lot for the last few months. Apparently there's a golden time until 4:00 am when everyone starts leaving the parties. We got home at 1:30 am, and I was pretty impressed at myself for making it to that late hour!

This second three day weekend in a row is bliss, but the holidays aren't over yet! Armenian Christmas gives us another four day week next week with a mid-week holiday. And after that it's vacation time - look for some blogs of a different flavor from the recent safari posts coming soon. 

2015 brought a new post, two new countries (Lebanon and Turkey) and two familiar ones (UK and Zambia) and one Lyle Lovett concert. I gained a new sister-in-law, got to see tons of friends and relatives, and had some lovely new adventures in my new home. I get to stay put in 2016, at least in terms of moving house, and I have three new countries and two familiar ones on the books for the first half of the year.  I get to bid next summer and am excited by the possibilities for 2017 and beyond.

I'm thankful for a loving family and amazing friends and a dream career. I have things to work on, but life is generally quite good. 2015 had its ups and downs, and I'm sure 2016 will too, but I look forward to the adventure!