Your Boma Away from Homa - Kafue National Park, Zambia

Activities by Water

The double-decker thatched comfort of the Fish Eagle boat provides the perfect viewing platform for hippo. The river is low before the rains and their dark, swift shapes are clearly visible under the water as they flee the approach of the boat. Hippo can remain under water for 5 - 6 minutes at a time. Their distinctive four-toed spoor are webbed to aid swimming.

We drift downstream, fishing for yellow-bellied bream with more enthusiasm than success. 7 or 8 different bream species are to be found in the Kafue River including the wide-mouthed bream and squeaker. As we putter back up the river to camp, groups of the water-loving antelope, the puku straggle the water's edge in the midday sun. Hippoes graze on the banks in broad daylight. A Lappet-faced Vulture surveys the scene from far above us.

Ativities by Land

An early morning game walk gets underway after taking the Fish Eagle across the river to the far bank. Three Meyer's Parrots flutter overhead with a chirruping welcome. Over 400 species of birds have been recorded in the park, including Pel's Fishing Owl, Wattled Crane and the Purple-crested Lourie. A Bateleur Eagle swoops overhead, his pink talons and beak aiding identification. A lone Knob-billed Duck, who only lives up to his name in the breeding season, occupies the shrinking margins of the Hamerkop waterhole.

Fresh elephant spoor is spotted and 100 metres later, there they are. A quick glimpse of sunlit rump and sweep of ear, and we beat a hasty retreat. Fresh buffalo spoor fails to have the same outcome. They stay just ahead of us and out of sight. A termite mound has been taken over by hyaena. Scattered around the two entrances are the bleached bones of long-gone dinners.

For game watching, the best time to visit Zambia's Kafue National Park is from May through to October by which time the summer heat is back. The Zambian unit of currency is the kwacha which means sunrise. A new day seems to be unfolding for the central African country and McBrides Camp is just the place to view the dawn.

Copyright © 2002 Laurianne Claase. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without the permission of the author is prohibited.