So 2009 is behind us and 2010 is here. It was a great season for us and although not quite as many folks passed through our tent flaps as usual it seems Chiawa Camp fared far better than most which is testimony to the quality and value, other than the memories and experiences of a life time, Chiawa offers those that visit.

 We have had some fabulous game viewing throughout the season and you have been kept posted on this via previous newsletters, and it kept on being fabulous right until the end of the year. Our regular huge bull elephants kept on entertaining us in camp, taking dips in the river in front of us and we would have joined them if it wasn't for our crystal clear plunge pool - that and the large crocs which patrol the Zambezi!

The end of season hot weather also brought the big herds of ele's down to the river banks for mud baths and this great photo of Kayla's captures the moment perfectly. 

The leopards kept on performing for us (112 sightings at Chiawa Camp this season) and we had a great sighting of a huge tomcat up in a mahogany tree whilst his "girlfriend" contentedly crunched up the remains of an impala in the grass below.

Lights off, nothing but the moon, the stars and the cracking of bones - and the occasional wheeze of a hippo for company - perfect! We weren't quite sure if it was an adult impala or one of the bouncy newborns that showed up just before we closed - this is one of the spectacles we look forward to each year - the baby impalas bringing on the rains.

All the lion mating that we have observed throughout the season seems not to have been in vain with the arrival of two new lion cubs seen in November just before we closed along the Waterbuck Island channel. Let's hope by the time we return in the new year there will be plenty more sightings in 2010 although we would be being greedy seeing we had 218 lion sightings this season - certainly we saw enough mating to seemingly repopulate the entire subcontinent.

In one of the previous newsletters we showed you a photo of mating lions in front of one of our tents, in this I show you lions having a drink after eating a warthog they had just killed in front of the same tent. Any guests staying in the superior tents overlooking the dry riverbed should be warned that they could encounter at very close range x-rated and deadly behaviour of Africa's biggest and best at any time, sometimes at the same time!

Birding has been great at Chiawa this year and thanks to Kayla we got our first African pitta sighting, in camp, since 1994. She spotted it by her house and Rory then spent the rest of the day crawling about in the dense undergrowth and leaf litter until he also got a glimpse. Not good enough for a photo unfortunately but good enough for him and for us!

Other notable new bird sightings included Black saw wing and barred cuckoo neither of which have been recorded for the LZNP.

We also got to witness what appeared to be a mating dance between two marabou storks, possibly the least beautiful of the birds we see in the LZNP, flapping about and carrying branches to each other. Either that it was some sort of pre Christmas work out routine designed to make way for the seemingly inevitable gluttony of the festive period that we subject ourselves to. A lot of work is going into rationalising and updating the bird list for the Lower Zambezi so Chiawa Camp will be proud to have played a pivotal role in this, thanks to its great team of guides. And its sharp eyed manageress!

The fishing was very good this year, most think better than in the past few years and this is probably to do with more effectively enforced limits on motor boats from outside the park which had been coming in contrary to regulations and putting additional pressure on the system, with plenty (well 36 to be precise) of Tiger caught over 10 pounds though no records I am afraid. The fly fishing was excellent with many fly fishermen catching 20+ tiger per day on fly, the largest on fly a very respectable 11.5lbs. The largest tigerfish caught on conventional tackle was a hefty 13.5 lbs and the largest vundu catfish an even heftier 42 lbs.

 So what's new for 2009? Well as most of you know Chiawa has been practically rebuilt in entirety since 2008 however the very first Superior Tent that we built, the honeymoon tent with the outdoor bathroom, is getting on a bit so we demolished it at the end of the season and are rebuilding it afresh for 2010 - new tent, new timber, some added romance and privacy for good measure and we will be sure to email you photos as soon as it is ready in time for the 2010 season which opens, thankfully, to a full camp pre-booked with a wedding party.  Yes we are doing another wedding at Chiawa and we can't wait.

Speaking of which we had the opportunity to conduct Chiawa's second ever wedding - for the lovely Sally & Simon and it went perfectly. As coincidence had it, Ivor & Margot Phillips who were Chiawa's first ever wedding couple were back at Chiawa for their 3rd honeymoon at the same time so they got to sit in on the proceedings. It is our great pleasure and privilege, and dare I say talent, to make special days even more special!

Of course with Old Mondoro now fully in our hands we are looking forward to helping it reach its full potential, starting with an appropriate upgrade to its 4 guest rooms.

Having just completed a whirlwind pre Christmas marketing trip around the UK and USA (much of it with Lynsey and the kids) I am excited to see not only how well the "new Old Mondoro" is being received but that Chiawa continues to thrive in its hard earned position as the flagship camp of the Lower Zambezi and, according to many of our suppliers, their clients' consistent and firm favourite! We will keep you posted suffice to say work has commenced on both. 

 Thanks to all of you for your fabulous support and we hope to see many of you in the new year.

 All the best,

 Grant and the Chiawa Camp family