I just finished my last official game drive in South Luangwa (not counting the quicker drive to the airport in Mfuwe later on). It was a beautiful morning, but there just wasn't much game about other than the common animals - and seemingly fewer of them than we've been seeing.
Highlights were elephants again going crazy for the wild mango fruits, a water monitor lizard eating, and a silly young elephant who wasn't paying attention to where he was running and didn't see our vehicle until the last minute. He visibly jumped, turned tail, and ran away to find his mom, trumpeting all the way.
I'm almost packed, just need to take a final shower after lunch and change clothes, and my iPhone and iPad are charging for the final leg of the journey home. I've absolutely loved it here, but I am excited to see my cats and sleep in my own bed. I think this was the perfect amount of time away, as I feel refreshed and rejuvenated. I had a tough few months prior to this and so really needed to disengage. And this has certainly been what I needed; I stuck to my vow not to check work emails at all. I may start peeking in airports on the way back, but that will be mostly to triage.
Zambia is a lovely country with warm, friendly people and amazing natural beauty. I think I could happily serve in Lusaka. It's a small city with not a ton to do, but it has my favorite South African brands and has decent weather and is close to lots of great safari destinations. I asked a lot of questions of the other family about life in Lusaka, and they were very positive. I'm always scoping out future posts!
South Luangwa has been wonderful for its leopards and the night drives - that combination is unique, and I'd love to come back. We explored some areas of the park on this morning's drive that I hadn't previously seen, and these were gorgeous as well. I love the Sanctuary brand, but I also scoped out some other options that are much more affordable on a non-super-splurge trip.
2 comments:
Thanks for sharing another wonderful time out in African nature. It really is so calming to have fresh, fresh air and a sense of expectancy for all the possibilities you could see, isn't it! I think it is that last part that makes the adventure such a great mind get-away.
I completely agree! I find it one of the best therapies in the world. I don't meditate but probably get the closest to that kind of peace of mind while looking for animals, because you have to focus so completely on what you're seeing.
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