Return to the Wild Sleep-out Zambian Safari

Setting up Camp The weather was perfect for walking, slightly overcast with a cool north easterly breeze. We began our adventure from Kakuli camp with our four guests, the omnipotent Abe, indestructible John Saili and myself making up the merry band of men embarking on a true wilderness experience. The plan was to walk from Kakuli to a predesignated spot on the Luwi River where provisions had been dropped for us to stay overnight, before walking into Nsolo camp the next day.

As we set off, there was an excitable nervousness amongst the guests - quite understandably given that, from the comfort of a vehicle, they had witnessed a battle between the eternal enemies Lion and Hyena over a fresh carcass the previous night; but now they were going to be on foot and also sleeping out!

The walk was fantastic as we wound our way up the spectacular Luwi sand river. There were numerous elephant herds along the way, some of which were digging for water in the sand river and spraying themselves with clouds of dust and sand. We expertly navigated our way around the herds upstream through forests of huge red mahogany and stands of adrenaline grass. Abes spotted the spoor of a big eland bull and lo and behold, there he was thirty metres further on, in all his glory. A massive Eland Bull on the edge of the river, chocolate and sand in colour, he stood watching us and then nonchalantly moved into thicker grass.

Not more than 100 metres upstream we walked into three big male lion. At a distance of 60 metres we peered over the top of a termite mound to be met by the lions' intense gaze. One of them took umbrage at our presence and in a characteristic manner let us know in no uncertain terms that we weren't welcome, with a bone chilling growl and swishing of tail. It was an unforgettable scene with us on foot, the lions staring at us, and two herds of elephant in the background. With, needless to say, a spurt of adrenaline, we circumvented the lions, walked down into the river bed between the two herds of elephant and continued our walk through the Garden of Eden towards the campsite.

The approach to the site could not have been better scripted - with the bright yellow flush of Long Pod Cassia tree flowers in stark contrast to a cobalt blue sky, the golden rays of the sunset highlighted a large herd of impala whilst baboons played in the Tamarind tree and yet another lone Eland bull browsed on Bush-willow. To cap the walk off, we spotted a beautiful bull Cookson's wildebeest running in the distance, stopping to look back at us before continuing his rocking gait through the Leadwood forest.

The site of our camp was on a bend in the river, out on the white sand beneath a couple of Red Mahoganies. Bedding consisted of bed rolls, mattress, and a couple of sheets and blankets. It was the duty of each guest to make his bed in the dry river bed - done with banter, a couple of beers and much fervour due to the impending darkness. Fires were lit all round and popcorn prepared and washed down with more beer - we were settled in for the night!

Cooking Dinner Dinner consisted of an aperitif of borevors followed by a main course of marinated steak on the fire, potatoes and honey glazed carrots cooked in the coals with a chilli, tomato and onion sauce. Naturally red wine was the choice of beverage! The campfire stories unfolded with much aplomb and amusement. Everyone settled down with their backs against an old Leadwood trunk watching bush TV (the fire) whilst the night came alive around us, with the ever-present sounds of frogs and crickets, the whooping sounds of Hyena in the distance and the distinctive dueting shrill of the diminutive African Scops owl above.

As eyelids drooped we headed for the bedrolls, except for the indomitable figure of John the scout along with Abe who continued to stoke the fires and keep watch for any unwanted visitors. As the breeze died down we were woken by the whine of mosquitoes so deployed the nets and recommenced our dreams in this truly remote wilderness far from the madding crowd.

Morning Camp We awoke in the early morning to the snort of impala and bark of baboon - possibly a leopard moving across the river bed. The coals were stoked and a kettle put on to boil for tea and coffee all round accompanied by the retelling of the mosquito and hyena exploits of the night. After a quick mouthful of biscuit and fruit we proceeded to pack up camp, dousing the fires so as to leave no sign of our stay other than footprints, and then set out for Nsolo camp. On the way, signs of honey badger, civet and hyena gave the group an insight into the activities of our nocturnal friends. Fresh lion droppings and a sighting of eight hyena on the plain in front of Nsolo told us another story of what had happened during the night under the same sky. And then on to Nsolo for a full English breakfast and to recount the experiences and stories of our return to the wild!

Dave Wilson