Breakdowns

After our brief respite in Lusaka where we were able to recharge our provisions and our gumption stores, we loaded back into our bus and headed up the Great East Road. Our rental company (Taiwo Travel) had to swap out our original bus (dubbed the “Zambus” by the students) because while in Lusaka, the Zambus blew its clutch. At first, the replacement bus seemed to be everything the students wanted – more legroom and a sweet paintjob. At least that was the case until we blew the clutch on that machine less than an hour into our departure (we were still in Lusaka). To Taiwo’s credit, they had mobile mechanics on the scene within an hour, and only 4 hours behind schedule (notably punctual by “Africa Time”) we got out of Lusaka and on the road. Things went smoothly until we hit the hills past Chongwe, where we discovered our radiator cap had a blown seal…which means every 50km or so we had to stop, refill the radiator with water and then drive until we ran it dry again. Everyone handled it with great aplomb, and although later than we expected, we spent one night at the “Luangwa Bridge Camp,” which was unexepectedly lovely.

At Wildlife Camp

Hello all!

I wanted to let all the blog watchers know that we are in fine shape. We had a great time at Nyanje village, visiting the school and enjoying the warm hospitality of the Banda family. We then proceeded to Wildlife Camp...where we now reside on the banks of the Luangwa. I will try to get posts and pictures up, but as it turns out there is no general internet access available here (its only via satellite) and I am just sneaking into the administration office to get a minute to post this update.

Everyone is doing great, though. If you check the link to Wildlife Camp you can see the sorts of things the students are experiencing...it really is that beautiful, too. The students are staying at the "Barefoot Tent Camp," which was a surprise I kept from them until we arrived. The first night we had a male lion walk through camp. Everynight there are elephants and hippos, and there is a family of mongooses (mongeese?) that has been great entertainment.

Also a surprise, half the group is now proceeding on a walk out to their "Bushcamp." This walk takes them out into the game management area, where they will stay in safari tents, having had meals prepared for them by their guides...along with lots of natural history lessons and stories from the bush. Tomorrow the other half of the group will do the same thing. It should be a real highlight.

Hello everyone!

Zambia has been absolutely wonderful so far. We've seen so much already and we've still got two weeks to go. Today we've just been catching up on errands in Zambia's Capitol (Lusaka). Tomorrow we are heading out of Lusaka and in a few days we'll be in South Luangwa, which I think we're all looking forward to.

Research is underway for a number of us and I know I'm really excited to get mine finished and analyzed. While at Kasanka National Park we met some really great people, like the general manager Ernst who told us more in depth about conservation in Kasanka. We ended our last night there with a delicious South African braai (barbeque). I highly recommending Kasanka if you're ever in Zambia.

That's all for now, just keep following the blog and check out the fabulous pictures that Dr. Lindsay keeps posting!

Kristin

End of Kasanka...

On our last night at Kasanka, we treated ourselves (well it was a part of our budget!) to a great braai (African BBQ) of chicken, boerwors, coleslaw and potatoes. It was put together by the folks at the lodge, and it was a delicious and relaxing end to a great few days in the bush.

Now we head up the Great East Road for our visit to Nyanje village (and Rural Children's Hope) and then on to South Luangwa National Park and Wildlife Camp.

Research underway...

One of the good things about Kasanka is that more students were able to get their research projects off the ground. Here you can see Elise and Ginger starting their Vervet Monkey behavior projects...who took this photo, by the way? One of the monkeys?

Emily got a good start on collecting her carnivore dung. Between here and Dave (below) there was lots of excitement over animal feces. Its great to be traveling with biologists.

Below, Kristin helps Dave set up some of his pitfall traps for dung beetles. Yes, they were baited with different types of mammal dung. You've never seen someone get so excited over dung as these students.

Fibwe Hide

One of the great things to do in Kasanka (at least in May) is to see Sitatunga. These ungulates are really shy and spend most of their time in the reeds of wetlands. At the park there is a "hide" built way up in a mahogany tree, so if you get there early enough in the morning you can see the Sitatunga out in the open. The view across the vast wetland was remarkable. Here are Chloe (visible) and Mick (hidden behind the spotting scope) from the top of the hide.

Chief Chitumbo and Livingstone's Monument

 One of the things we did while in Kasanka National Park is take a quick day trip over to the spot where David Livingstone died. We stopped to visit the local chief - Chief Chitumbo - on our way. He was the great grandson of the chief who was in power when Livingstone arrived to their village and then died. Meeting the chief was an interesting experience (I am sure the students will chime in with comments).

At the monument, lots of local children and a few adults came running out to meet us and talk with us. That too was interesting. From the visit to Westminster Abbey in London, where we saw Livingstone's gravesite, to this spot where his heart was originally buried in the African bush, these Zambassadors saw ALL of Livingstone in a two-week span. Probably only a few other people can boast that...