South Luangwa, Zambia
S O U T H∙L U A N G W A
Z A M B I A
Overland Safaris provide an economical way to see several parts of Africa without flying from place to place. Our tour operator is Acacia Africa and our truck's name is Chobe! Our Acacia Africa host/cook is Joe and our driver is Phil. They're both from Zimbabwe and are familiar with the places we'll visit, so it will be great having them with us.
One of Danny's (many) talents is creating the best Travel itineraries, but Acacia Africa took care of everything, so he just had to sit back and relax. This isn't always easy for Danny, so stay tuned for how he's handling it. You can check out the itinerary here.
Our first stop on the Safari was a campsite just outside of Lusaka, the capital of Zambia. After checking into our accommodations, we were greeted by a spider the size of Hailey's palm just above our bed. This was the first of many adjustments Hailey experienced on our first few days on the road, culture shock is REAL, guys! Although Danny might argue, she's quickly embraced the new lifestyle.
We headed out early for a twelve-hour drive to South Luangwa, a park in east Zambia known for big cats. Our accommodation, Wildlife Camp, provided meals, so we had a break from cooking and dishes on the truck (amen!). Our chalet was located directly next to the river and we were woken up by hippos on the property throughout the night - one just outside our window!
We did two game drives in South Luangwa. Both drives were led by Ryvers, a fearless driver from Wildlife Camp, who loved getting as close as possible to the animals. On the morning drive, we saw impala, elephants, giraffe, zebra, warthog, and a variety of birds. We were also lucky enough to see two male lion, known as Garlic and Ginger.
They had no interest in us and when one of them woke from his nap, he got about a foot away from our truck as he passed! He could have been thinking about Hailey for an afternoon snack...
We relaxed with lunch and tea along the river before our second game drive.
On the night drive, we saw many of the same animals. Before sunset, we took a quick break for sundowners. Once the sun went down we had the spotlight on the truck turned on to scan for wildlife. Other trucks mentioned sightings of a leopard, but we weren't as lucky - next time!
We returned for dinner, which included African dishes like pap and pumpkin squash. It was crashed by a heard of elephants coming to say hello - nothing to do but sit still and stay quiet until they decide to leave! As we were walking the short distance back to our chalet, we almost ran directly into a hippo!
Wildlife Camp was an amazing stop with a nice room, great food, awesome staff and amazing wildlife right at your doorstep. We are very thankful for them to have hosted us and hope to make it back someday!