On the day we arrived, we went for an evening drive. This started at 4 pm, with a break around 6 pm while the sun set, then on to 8 pm by spotlight to look for nighttime predators. We saw a number on this and the following evening, mainly smaller cats, Genet and Civet, and several mongooses. A brief glimpse of a leopard - possibly the same one that ran across the road on the first morning. No cat pictures unfortunately. A morose welcome by a big bull buffalo, sleepy storks, our open topped truck and a beautiful sundown on the Luangwa River.

The forest in the section of the park that we visited contained a variety of trees, and was mostly fairly open in nature. This panorama (two shots stitched together) is available in the usual larger version by clicking on the thumbnail. A double size (273 Kb) picture is also available here.

Up early the following morning for the 8 am game drive, again lasting four hours. About 20 minutes drive to the Park entrance, but there was wildlife near the camp as well - this Elephant and baby were just outside the boundary, and the only bushbuck we saw was right by the Park gates.

The park contained many animals, often several different species in the same area. We saw no big cats, but we did see a wounded zebra (picture lower down). The view from our vehicle was magnificent - we sat back and enjoyed!

Look for the tick birds on the warthogs, and the buffalo (lower down the page). The weird fruit of the Sausage tree (yes, that's it's name!) is a useful source of food for grazers during the dry season. Thornicroft's Giraffe is specific to this part of Zambia.

Hippos are dangerous and unpredictable, but both they and crocodiles seem to live in harmony with Storks and Herons.

The elephant matron had a distinctive mark on her cheek - probably a flow of fluid from the temporal gland. The Impala were very upset by a commotion in the undergrowth. It turned out to be baboons harrying a mongoose.

This zebra had probably been attacked by a Lion. The Water Monitor was approximately five feet long, the crocodile nearer twelve! The Fish Eagle is the emblem of Zambia, and for many the Baobab tree IS Africa.