The year so far has been filled with excitement and adventure. The rains gave us the most amazing electric storms and huge cumulus clouds that engulfed the African skies resulted in some amazing sunsets.
FLOODS
We also experienced the Luangwa river in full flood….! Somehow luck and some great planning on the original building of the camp came into effect and while we were completely cut off and were an island the camp remained dry. We were anticipating the worst and the whole camp was packed up and the river was flowing all around us. We did have amazing game viewing as all the animals had also realised we were on high ground and moved in. However the rains are coming to an end, the water levels are dropping considerably and the flooded banks of the Luangwa are only a memory and a campfire story.
The best result on all of this is that our local authorities have proved their worth and a lot of work has been done on the roads. The roads inside the park are being worked on daily and the Chipata road is open and is having work done on it. At the moment it is taking about 2.5 hours to get to us from Chipata.
The park is open and looking beautiful, it’s lush, green and bustling with life. There have been some great sightings and the drives have been very productive. The emerald season is such a beautiful time to visit the valley.
STAFF
Our latest member of staff is Colleen and here is a comment from her:
Colleen will be taking over the updates on the newsletters and I am sure will keep you all entertained!
“I became a member of staff at the Wildlife camp, early January this year. My main job around camp is as a teacher to Pasty and Herman’s 2 younger children and several other children whose parents are either with National Parks or other camps in the valley. I have 7 children in total at the moment and am expecting numbers to increase and vary throughout the season.”
You will see me around camp, helping where I can and where I’m needed. If you are coming into camp with children we will be offering exciting activities for children of all ages. Please contact me or Patsy for details on this.
We have also just acquired 2 new kittens that are our office cats, they are supposed to be here to keep the rodent population under control! (but Patsy feeds them so well at the office they don’t seem to keen to get to work yet) Rosie and Fuzzy- Buns will be just some of the friendly faces you will meet at reception. I am also happy to report that Bushy (the bushbuck) is still regularly seen around camp and is looking strong and healthy and we are all hoping for baby this season. Bob and Esmeralda are also still around but are a lot more timid. Penny (THE squirrel) still lives in Patsy’s house and is seen every day – usually at meal times.
We hope to welcome you all (back) to our camp for the new season!
