NMU in Zambia - 2019!

Writing any semblance of a comprehensive report for our time in South Luangwa National Park would take far longer than the limited internet access will allow. As such, this post can only hit on the highlights: lots of wildlife, good walking safaris, data collection, and excellent visits with conservation partners. After a modest drive from the village, the students arrived to Wildlife Camp where we had arranged for a housing surprise - rather than setting up our tents, we had arranged for these seven “en suite” (i.e. including toilet/shower/sink) safari tents for everyone (to share in groups of 2 or 3). Deep sighs - and a few whoops and ululations - were the response to this surprise. After moving in, most everyone put on swimwear and headed down to the pool/bar area and cooled off. Just as the sun was setting, and folks were partaking in their “sundowners,” along came a parade of elephants - what a way to be welcomed to South Luangwa. The next day we were off f...

Kafue National Park, and the Kafwala Rapids Camp did not disappoint for a good wilderness bush experience. We had breakdowns, planned encounters, chance encounters , missed encounters , adventures, and misadventures. Kafue National Park is one of the largest in Africa, and boasts some of the highest species diversity of any national park in the continent. However, it is also underdeveloped,  which in  many ways may contribute to its high conservation value .  One of the important ecological components of African ecosystems is the occurrence of fire. We got to see lots of examples of this, including on our drive in, when the landscape alongside our drive was burning. This is a regular event, and our driver was nonplussed. We set off on the 8 hour drive, picking up our scout, Clement, on the way. Scouts are  trained, highly skilled Zambians who travel with us anytime we are  on foot  in the bush,  away   from camp. Clement could spo...