Chiawa Camp - Newsletter

DECEMBER 2001

Greetings! Another crazy year has passed by and despite gloomy world events the bush has been as tremendous as ever. It was brilliant to see so many familiar faces return to Chiawa including Ivor from England for his 11th trip, and Uda from Germany for her 19^th trip! And so many for their 2^nd and 3^rd visits - thank you all. It was a great season for Chiawa and we finally closed for the rains on October 31st this year.

We immediately kicked into what is a large renovation phase and the lounge/bar (sitenje) and dining room have already had a complete rethatch (try transporting 15,000 bundles of thatching grass in 40 degree Celsius heat over 60 kms of bumpy dirt roads!), as have the smaller buildings. We have moved a couple more platforms (Cheetah & Crocodile tents) into more secluded, shady parts of camp, and have completely rebuilt the kitchen and radio room. Having done all this we will be looking at some new soft furnishings for Chiawa in the New Year, and smartening up the interiors of the same structures just a little, in keeping with our theme of blending the bush with the Zambezi.

What else is new? Two non-stop flights per week between London & Lusaka on BA, which will mean more seats available for Lusaka, and this might encourage British Airways to market Zambia more actively.

Two marriage proposals at Chiawa this year could mean at least two more honeymoon safaris - the ladies said ‘yes’. I forgot to put a picture of Kevin & Janet’s wedding on the last newsletter so here it is now – better late than never!

Momba, our resident Ground hornbill, flew off to Zimbabwe’s Mana Pools for the third time this year and based herself at a camp there for three months! We thought that would be the last we would see of her but she returned on December 2nd. This however only turned out to be a temporary visit and she flew off on December 9^th with two wild ground hornbills! Is this it…? We are thrilled at the prospect of Momba perhaps making a proper and permanent return to the wild – this would be what we have been working towards and hoping for.

2001 has been one of our most successful fishing seasons to date - this year we caught & released two 20lb tiger fish (well done Leonard from Texas!) plus numerous others in the 15lb – 19lb range. In testimony to the sheer aggression of the tiger fish, Dr. Mike Bush hooked a large tiger fish, which during the fight also bit and was hooked by the lure of Adam Lethbridge who had a line in at the same time. The fish weighed in at 12lbs, was immediately released, and both anglers took the credit – 6lbs each!

Our superb guides did a remarkable job of finding the game - herewith a sample of some of Chiawa’s more memorable sightings this year, among the unique 300+ lion sightings, the 75+ leopard sightings (one couple from Germany got 8 different leopard sightings during their 4-day visit to Chiawa) and the 12 wild dog sightings!

- Watching a leopard in the moonlight stalk and kill an impala with one bite to the neck, and then immediately have Stumpy our resident male lion appear out of nowhere and steal the kill from the disappointed leopard.
- Watching Tag and her pride kill warthogs on two separate occasions, once by laying an ambush at a water hole and pouncing on the helpless creature, and once by digging a warthog from its burrow. Both were rather noisy events.
- While we were having a dinner on a sandbar in the middle of the Zambezi under a full moon a magnificent male leopard silently came down to the edge of the river and drank its fill just a few meters from us.
- While watching eleven wild dogs devouring three impala the pack had just killed, we saw a hyena try to join in the feast. However the hyena was chased off and reversed into a large thorn bush by two of the wild dogs – amusing to watch and fascinating to see how the dogs did so well in getting the hyena to back down.
- Two mating black mambas in the middle of one of our game viewing trails. This caused Boaz our guide to sensibly wait nearly thirty minutes for the amorous pair, who were not at all bothered by our presence, to finish and slither up into a fig tree.
- A fight between a black mamba and a slender mongoose, where no blood was drawn and after some time both retreated each probably feeling vindicated.
- An old, dying lioness eating the remains of a buffalo kill whilst being surrounded by at least forty hyenas. Interestingly a young, large male lion did a fine job of protecting the old girl and let her enjoy what turned out to be literally her last meal.
- The same lioness mentioned above, a month previously when she was at one stage too feeble to move, had an impala leg carried to her by another lioness in the pride. Who says there isn’t charity in nature?
- A herd of at least 300 elephants came down to drink at Waterbuck Island in front of our vehicle while at the same time a few kms away other guests of ours in canoes were watching another herd of some 100 elephants frolicking in the Zambezi.
- On different occasions, whilst Tag was still nursing her cubs, Stumpy would chase the rest of the pride off any kills and let Tag have the carcass to herself for a few moments, at least until Stumpy would deem that she had had enough, at which point he simply would cuff her off the kill and start feeding himself.

However perhaps the most impressive series of sightings came from a dead hippo that had washed up from the Zambezi under our viewing hide in Camp. Tag and her pride, some 8 lions including 2 cubs, had started feeding on this but were being harassed by a flotilla (does anyone know the collective noun for crocodiles; we’re open to suggestions?) of huge crocodiles who also wanted a piece of the action. The lions, including Little Boy the one-year-old cub, stood on the hippo and swatted the crocodiles away. During this commotion some 70+ elephants dropped into the riverbed for a drink, seemingly oblivious to all the action. Simultaneously a herd of 200+ buffalo also appeared for a drink, but as the lions were right on the edge of the Zambezi, the herd opted to lie down and watch until the crocodiles finally dragged the hippo into the Zambezi and the lions wandered off. Fortunately we had a film crew in camp at the time who recorded everything – can’t wait to see the results.

At the time of writing Stumpy has sustained what could be a fatal injury while defending new cubs and his territory from 2 of 6(!) new contenders. We’ll keep you posted on the outcome but whatever happens we are grateful that things still happen in the Lower Zambezi as nature intends.

You may well be asking about our proposed bush camp joint venture with Sausage Tree Camp? The response to the concept of a bush camp in the Lower Zambezi has been nothing short of enthusiastic – all that remains are a few details to be finalised and these will be sent to you as soon as possible. For those of you who will be at Indaba 2002 in Durban, pictures on cd of Old Mondoro and Chiawa’s renovations will be available then.

Francois d’Elbee, the professional photographer who is preparing a “photographic essay” of the Lower Zambezi and who was based at Chiawa is really enthusiastic about the photos he got this year – we’ll let you know as soon as the book is published.

Now it’s time for the repairs and maintenance of our ever-expanding fleet of 4x4’s and boats. Dave, who got to spend a lot of time at Chiawa this season, is now preparing to get cracking on bringing the fleet back to it’s usual tip-top condition for the new season in April next year. It is a massive and somewhat uninspiring task, rewarded by the fact that guests at Chiawa are rarely, if ever, inconvenienced by break downs or the like.

Ian & Alice are back home at Cheltenham and are already talking about next season. They are seeking the ultimate cocktail recipe book (again if anyone has any suggestions for special cocktails at Chiawa we would welcome them) despite their already formidable arsenal. Jaco & Reinette are back in South Africa taking a very well earned break before I’ll be joining them and embarking on next year’s massive pre-season shopping trip in Jo’burg. And Dean is home with his family in Zimbabwe – we are keeping our fingers crossed that things get sorted out there soon.

Jenny continues to hold the fort at the computers; I ask that you keep her busy with lots of bookings! Lynsey and I are helping her with lots of year-end administration before we embark on our next marketing trip. I also took on the role as Chairman of Conservation Lower Zambezi this year – it is taking a lot of my personal time but I have been given a wonderful opportunity to play a proactive role in preserving the natural heritage of this unique, incredible area. This non-profit, volunteer organization relies on donor funding and plays a HUGE role in supporting antipoaching operations and in educating the surrounding village communities about conservation and environmental issues. It does make a difference, and if you are feeling generous or want to help please contact me, or Conservation Lower Zambezi at inafrica@zamnet.zm

I have rambled on too much so I’ll leave you in peace. Until next time! And in the meantime, all of us at Chiawa thank you for your support and wish you a peaceful and prosperous New Year.