South Luangwa National Park Zambia

The feelings stirred up just before going on safari reminds me of Christmas Eve as a child..knowing you're going to see good things, maybe amazing things and make great memories with your family.

One of the most famous national parks in Zambia and reportedly where the walking safari started is South Luangwa on the banks of the Luangwa River.

We watched many a video taken in the park before we left for the trip as well as a few taken by people staying in Crocvalley Camp.

Being the middle of the dry season the animals congregating closer to the river means more sightings.

Our first day consisted of us joining folks with the group named Intrepid for both a morning and afternoon/evening game drive. 

Fritz enjoyed getting to chat with new folks.

We headed out just after 6 a.m. stopping during the short 5 minute drive to the park gate for pictures of a giraffe and baby and the sunrise.

 A bit chilly everyone wore jackets and some brought blankets for the drive.

Our first stop in the park was to watch a small group of male elephants cross the river back into the park. Right after exiting the river they bathed themselves with dust for protection from biting flies. 

The next exciting stop was to see a leopard resting on the ground with a fresh kill above in the tree. 

Because of many visitors we stayed only a few minutes before moving on. 

South Luangwa is known for having one of the world's highest concentrations of leopards in the world 

Five lionesses along the river who moved into the brush shortly after we arrived provided another breathtaking moment. 

Our Creator God certainly loves diversity. 

We saw the park's unique Thornicroft's giraffes that have a darker, star-like spots.

 Also new to us were Crawshay's zebras which have narrow sharp black-white stripes that cover the belly and legs.

Lots of antelopes: puku, impala, greater kudu, bushbuck and waterbucks. As well as warthogs, mongoose, squirrels, monkeys, baboons, and lots of kinds of birds. 

Where we stayed.

With the river waters receding due to the dry season hippos and crocodiles were visible at all times from our camp as well as in the many lagoons in the park.

After a break in the hottest part of the day back at camp we were ready to head out again but three elephants were walking through the tent area and so we needed to wait so that folks could get what they needed for the drive.

We also saw monkeys being careful not to leave food or belongs unwatched. Baboons and puku roamed the area with plenty of hippos and crocodiles to watch just down a steep bank to the river. 

After a vote we headed not back to the leopard with the kill but further into the park where lions had taken down a buffalo. 

After a bit of very bumpy off roading we saw them- after a time we saw a couple of the male lions resting, a couple of the lionesses feeding, and spotted hyena and many vultures and Malabo storks waiting for their turn. 

After a beautiful sunset we headed back and caught a glimpse of a small cat-like carnivore, the large spotted genet. 

Using a red-filtered light we quietly watched a leopard creeping up on a small batch of impala...sadly not all of the vehicles were as considerate as our driver Paul. 

Bright lights scared the impala away and the leopard walked away between the vehicles and right beside where Cory was sitting. Beautiful, powerful animals. 

The following day we were again up early and this time spent the day exploring on our own. 

We headed further south than the day before seeing buffalo and ground hornbills, along with many of the animals from the day before.  

We again returned to the park in the late afternoon returning to the location where the leopard had the kill. 

Taking our place in line with the other vehicles we were able to see the leopard now resting up in the tree. 

What a good couple of days even though we still haven't seen African wild dogs in the wild, just one sad one in the Lusaka zoo. 

Guess we'll just have to continue to visit national parks to try to see them.

I'm so thankful for this way of connecting with nature. 

Our God is amazing. I can't wait to see the new world, a world not suffering from the consequences of sin and evil. A world that is as this one should have been. A world without fear.