- Magic is a Real Thing
- Kakuli, The White Buffalo
- A
Midnight Maestro
- This Land of Dreams
- The Big Picture
A Midnight Maestro
Zambia is one of the only countries that allows night drives all be
it on a strictly controlled time limit so as not to disturb the
nocturnal animals.
The whole concept is great and allows visitors to view some of the
lesser known animals. Even wildlife documentaries tend to omit
information on night-time creatures and I was really pleased to discover
some I had never seen before. My favorite was the little genet.
This is an omnivorous predator that feeds on any thing from fruit to
small vertebrates and has the appearance of a small leopard. Genets are
solitary predators that is just as much at home in the trees as on the
ground and we had great fun as we watched one repeatedly jumping for a
bat that was swooping over his head.
He never did catch it but his acrobatics as he leaped twisting in the
air time and time again were hilarious.
On the way back to camp we where once again blessed with the luck of the
white buffalo as a several popped nonchalantly out from the thick bush
and stood in the center of the road. I, of course, was slow to
appreciate the value of this sighting but apparently it is one of the
rarest and Phil said he had not seen one for a year. They are apparently
only active for two hours a night so we really felt privileged to see
him.
Was it over…not quite. The best of the night, five minutes from camp, an
aardvark! This little fellow usually only shows himself in the early
hours of the morning when the park is off limits to us. To see him like
this made it truly a remarkable safari.
 Dinner
in the camp was as luxurious an affair as the safari, and the delicious
meal and good company combined with excitement and overdose of fresh air
of my first full days safari had me well and truly ready for bed.
Phil did comment that my drooping eyelids may have been due to the oaky
essence of the full bodied red that accompanied dinner but as he walked
me back to my chalet I assured him that this at least was one thing
about the day that I had experienced before.
Any new experience often leaves one waiting for sleep as the days
memories replay trough the mind, but here in Kuyenda the new experiences
just keep on coming and night in Africa certainly made my stay a whole
new experience.
The black curtain of night seemed at first glance so thick and
impenetrable, yet the darkness was rarely silent. The cacophony of
sounds was mesmerizing as the orchestra of night offered its unique
lullaby and I sat transfixed as my imagination tried to put a picture to
each sound.
The grand finale conducted by the midnight maestro himself. Ladies and
gentleman the Luangwa Valley concerto is proud to present, his royal
highness, the King of the Jungle. Seeming to come from a mile away but
yet ending up almost outside my door. The lions roar truly is the most
impressive sound I have yet to hear and far exceeded how I had imagined
it back in my south London apartment.
Call it journalistic license or call it a personal lust for
romanticism, but the lions call seems to issue a challenge across the
hunting grounds, a dare to one and all, man or beast to intrude upon the
pride lands!
[continued...This Land of Dreams] |
