After last night’s exciting game drive, the following day started early (before 5.00 a.m.) to the noise of ellies crashing around right outside our terrace. They were eventually shooed away by the lodge staff.

After a brief breakfast we went on a game drive, but didn’t really see much game although other guests had apparently seen lion, leopard and wild dog in the previous 24 to 36 hours.

After lunch we left the lodge itself to drive down to Kafunta’s own Island Bush Camp, situated in a very remote region of the south-west area of the Park. The drive lasted over 3 hours on mainly bumpy track, located outside the Park itself. There was a fair amount of game to be seen along the way, even though we were outside the Park, including puku, impala and warthog, together with little, white-fronted and carmine bee-eaters, a dead sand snake and ground hornbill (). Half an hour before the end of the journey we finally crossed into the Park.

The Bush Camp itself () was absolute perfection, equipped with an authentic bucket shower, and situated just on the bank of the river, and largely open to the outside world (no doors here).

At 5 p.m. a canoe took us across to the island opposite for sundowners. We met up with Martin, the guide and two further travel professionals, on a similar reconnaissance trip to ourselves. A particular bonus here was our first sighting of Zambia's national bird, the fish eagle (). A number of vultures feeding on a carcass then completed our day's experiences (). I then slept quite well, only woken by a lion very close to camp in the night.

My favourite story is one that was pictured in cartoon form in the New Yorker by the creator of ‘The Far Side’ comic strip, Gary Larson. It simply shows a couple of hippo, grazing in a swamp absolutely miles from anywhere; one says to the other “I keep thinking it’s Thursday”.

Most people that I tell this story to (verbally) look at me expectantly, waiting for the punch line. Sorry, but it just cracks me up. Possibly you need to experience it visually for it to work. We can’t reproduce the original cartoon, but the accompanying photograph replicates its original effect.

 

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