Scout Success!

We are pleased to announce, that the scouts have been on top form recently, through combined efforts by two different scout groups, they were successfully able to track and apprehend two poachers found to be operating within the park. The scouts’ re-kindled motivation comes after a donation of boots was made by the Luambe Conservation Project, through a grant from the NGO CCSC. Many donations have been made to the scouts this season, such as uniforms, rucksacks, hats, sleeping mats, mosquito nets and other items that will ensure the scouts can carry out their duties to the best of their abilities. We hope that with the proper equipment, the scouts will continue the good work and ensure that Luambe National Park stays poacher free.

Welcome to our New Guide!

This month Luangwa Wilderness Lodge is excited to welcome our new guide James to the lodge. James is a grade I guide who hails from Mfuwe, he has worked at many prestigious lodges such as Flatdogs, Kafunta and Norman Carr safaris as a successful guide and we are very pleased that he has decided to join us at Luangwa Wilderness Lodge. Being a Grade I guide also means that we are now able to offer walking safaris to future guests, thus expanding our range of activities. James has already proved himself to be very knowledgeable about the game and its’ surrounding habitat and has kindly demonstrated his skills to us managers on both a game drive and walking safari. We were very impressed by the range of information that James was able to offer and left each activity armed with facts and feeling more educated about our surroundings. We are looking forward to future guests taking full advantage of James’ knowledge and skills on either a game drive or walking safari.

Romance in the Air?

Sightings of our resident male leopard were sparse early this season. Fearing the worst we have consistently kept an eye out for him at the lodge watering hole hoping to catch a glimpse and confirm that he is still with us. We had almost given up hope when early one evening our night-watch man came to inform us that there were two lions on the road, very close to camp. We silently made our way to the car and set off up the road to find the lions, alas, there were no lions in sight. What we did find though was our resident male leopard with, what we believe to be, a female leopard in the thicket just outside the boundaries to the lodge. After watching them disappear into the bush we made our way to the watering hole, just in case, and were rewarded with the sight of our resident male quenching his thirst with the female lingering in the background. This sighting was exciting for two reasons, firstly that our resident male is well and still situated close to the lodge which has been the start of many more sightings this season. And secondly that this appears to be a mating pair who will stay in the area during their ‘courtship’, with frequent romantic outings to our water hole we hope!

Name the Leopard Competition

As our resident male leopard has been spotted more frequently this year, we at Luangwa Wilderness Lodge have formed quite an attachment to him. Unfortunately we are having difficulty deciding on an appropriate name for our friendly leopard. We therefore are requesting that readers try to come up with an imaginative and original name for our leopard, please send all entries to news@luangwawilderness.com. The winning name shall be announced in next month’s newsletter and on these pages. Be ready for a little surprise as well.

News from the Clubs

The gardening club has come on leaps and bounds this last month, providing fresh produce such as tomatoes, lettuce, cucumber, cabbage, green beans, carrots and papaya to the lodge, and to other lodges in the surrounding area. Passimo has been working hard to ensure that the garden is well maintained and we are hoping that guests will be eager to book a village tour to visit the clubs and see first hand the progress that is being made. We are looking forward to receiving many more items from Passimo and the other clubs that Luangwa Wilderness currently supports.

News from the Schools

Our conservation Manager Bjorn has been working closely with the two local schools that the Luangwa Wilderness conservation project supports to ensure that the students have suitable accommodation. Plans are currently underway to construct two new teaching blocks at both Chanjuzi and Chilabezi schools to replace the current, outdated timber and clay buildings. Bjorn has been working hard in conjunction with teachers from both schools to create a suitable plan and budget and we hope that construction of these new teaching blocks will soon be underway, once the planning stage has been finalized. We hope that with Bjorn’s continued hard work we will be able to confirm that construction has begun by the end of the current season.

Visitors in the Night: Large Lion sends the Baboons barking

Yet to be seen, over the last month we have been regularly visited by a VERY LARGE male lion! So far, we have only been able to identify him by his tracks, nevertheless, night after night he comes into the lodge, unnoticed and silent. Leaving no sign except barking baboons and his tracks, he has us all intrigued and we are waiting until our first sighting. Obviously shy, our night-watchmen have only caught him as he has been leaving so have not had a good look as yet. However, he has made himself at home slowly walking from the dining area, to the director’s area, through the maintenance yard and finally leaving via the staff compound. We are all interested to see the impact his presence has on our friendly resident leopard; however, we are pleased to say we are regularly seeing his tracks too!