Welcome to Chiawa Camp's first newsletter of 2009, written from the banks of the very full Zambezi & Chonwe Rivers, which is unusual for this time of year when we are usually safely ensconced in Lusaka or overseas.

However as many of you will know this is the year where we are upgrading our 6 Classic tents, demolishing them completely actually, and building from scratch 6 fabulous Superior tents. 

We have through some juggling improved the spacing between them and already the frameworks and roof structures are up - John from Old Mondoro came over to lend a very big helping hand whilst Jason and Kayla were in South Africa and did wonders in getting that job well underway before the rains came.

Well the rains and hence the flying ants (winged termites) did arrive before we finished as can be seen here as we tried to prepare a roughing it bush dinner. Needless to say many, many ended up in buckets as the camp staff swept them up for dinner - a feast fit for a king! 

 Back from a 5 week holiday in the UK with Lynsey, Scott (who turns three on Saturday) and Lauren who has just turned one and now back in the bush, we are about to launch into the task of laying about 600 square meters of teak decking whilst we anticipate the timely arrival of our massive new tents and luxurious bath fittings.

The linens are en route from Egypt, bath amenities and brass light fittings coming from the UK - enough said other than to say that these will be Zambia's finest, most comfortable, well laid out and appointed tents to date. Many have said the improvements are not necessary but we feel they are and have committed to this huge expense even during these unusual times, which are at best proving to be a challenging economic environment.

Anyway we arrived in camp Saturday in the dry after a long boat ride but passing ele's taking a swim, buffs, hippos, crocs and impala en route and woke up Sunday morning to the wet - lions calling behind camp complaining at what, muddy paws perhaps, and the fact that our "dry" riverbed was flowing at a rate of knots I have rarely experienced. The escarpment was obscured by dense grey cloud that touched the tops of the trees in camp, growing out of incredibly lush, green vegetation. What a sight, like something out of Jurassic Park - with a croc lurking in the background to remind me that Jurassic Park wasn't actually that different.

I have never seen the camp and surrounds as lush.

Jason and Kayla are with me having recharged their batteries in Zanzibar, South Africa and even Zimbabwe. They are fired up with enthusiasm as they squelch around camp in their wellington boots, as are Andy and Cindy Smith who have just joined us from Zimbabwe. Andy is a well known pro guide having spent the past 6 years guiding in Mana Pools and who brings with him not only his multi talented and charming wife but even more skill, experience, charm, wit and knowledge to what is already hailed as Africa's best team of guides. 

 As you all know by now, we take our guiding more seriously than most, and our in-house training will ensure that the next generation of Chiawa guides will be even better than the last. Stephan, one of our trainees who has been cutting his teeth on the airport runs between Jeki and Camp had what we have to term the best sighting of the season beating the likes of what even grizzled, seasoned pro's like Boaz (& I) could turn up - 30+ wild dogs including at least 6 pups take down a warthog at sunrise. Our stunned guests were so excited they didn't manage to take photos unfortunately but who cares, that's one memory that will last them a life time and most importantly, this signals a return to the area of a healthy population of these endangered, fickle and elusive creatures. This is especially exciting when our last sighting of more than 6 wild dogs was about 5 years ago! Well done Stephan and well done to the dogs of the Lower Zambezi - here's to many amazing sightings in 2009!

Back to our guides, because of Chiawa's efforts and commitment not only to training but also to conservation, guests Jack & Janet Helfenstein via the Pitot Foundation made an extremely generous donation to CLZ to further environmental education and safari guide training in the area - THANK YOU Janet & Jack! Please remember that CLZ relies on donations to keep up its vital works in supporting conservation and without which I assure you the valley would be a mere shadow of what it is today. If you would like to learn more please email me.

Now, if you like statistics how about these from Chiawa's 2008 season: 

• leopard sightings ... 116

• lion sightings ... 283

• kg fillet steak ... 645 kgs melted in the mouths of Chiawa's guests

• red wine  ... 804 bottles complemented the amazing meals created by our renowned chefs  

• white wine ... 953 bottles helped wash the dust and thoughts of the credit crunch away

• dozen eggs ... 500 dozen eggs went into fabulous pastries, omelettes, breads and breakfasts/brunches

• fruit juice ... 1092 litres were sipped, either straight up or with a tot, for a day or night on safari

• champagne ... 186 bottles of bubbles were poured to toast engagements, honeymoons and other special occasions in special locations!        

But enough about Chiawa - please click HERE for Old Mondoro's latest newsletter

All the best,

Grant