In December we had planned to fly to South Luangwa Park and do some game drives and get a a much-needed break. However, that would have taken about 5-6 days and we just didn't have that much time. So we decided to to go to a Chamanuka, a much closer resort that only took 3 days. We had a great time. We saw quite a few animals.....
and enjoyed the grounds and the building (museum) on the property.
The picture on the left is what we could see from the balcony of our room. It was in a great spot where we could see a few animals every day.
We took a banana boat cruise on this little lake. We did't see many animals but a lot of birds.
We also took a 2-hour nature hike through the bush to learn more about the flora and fauna of the area. It was one of the warmer days and we got a pretty good sunburn. We found this termite mound and Alan thought it was pretty neat, so we took a picture. There were actually no live termites in the mound, but there had been. as evidenced by its size.
We went on three different game drives and each day saw something a little different. The lions are not allowed to free roam in the park, but we still got some pretty good pictures of them.
We also did not walk the cheetahs this time. It was so much fun last time, but we just didn't want to do it again right now. I'm glad we didn't because we did it with the senior couples for the conference. The cheetah sure is a beautiful animal.
On different drives we saw a good number of giraffe, but not too many zebra. During the rainy season there is so much water and feed that the animals don't really need to come where people are to get what they need. It was still very beautiful because of the greenery from all the rain.
We saw cows (yup they are there for the cheese factory) and a Cape Buffalo. We haven't seen the buffalo there before. .
We saw many different types of antelope.
They even have ostriches. When we heard they raise them there and had some babies, we asked to go see them. The guides were very accommodating and drove us over to see the babies.
The last morning we were there we took the morning game drive and Kotilla, the elephant, had not been let out of her enclosure for the day. So we got to get up close to her. WE were able to pet her (do you really pet an elephant...I don't know?) and feel how rough and think her skin is. Her trunk is really strong and she wanted to give us a hug.
Her keeper was very careful to keep us a safe distance from her. We were able to feed her some grass and it was just fun! Kotilla has a keeper with her about 24/7. One of the three of them have to be with her when she goes out into the bush of the reserve. If not, she would uproot the trees and destroy most of them in the park! She is very obedient to her keeper though and so he just follows her around all day. The male elephant and her baby died within the past year and so she is a big lonely. They say they are trying to get more elephants for the park, but it's quite expensive and so it hasn't happened yet.
We ate in a very nice dining room as well as out by the pool when it wasn't raining. The resort was very nice in terms of decorations and artifacts from all over Africa.
This is the view from our balcony. IT REALLY WAS THE NICEST ROOM IN THE RESORT! We visited with the woman who owns and runs the place with her husband. She said the room we were in was the one their children stay in when they come to visit because they like it the best. I totally agreed with them.
It was a great few days. The road up was pretty bad and we had to accelerate through big mud puddles to get there. The truck was a mess when we got back to Lusaka--almost red from the muddy water. But it was worth it and we are glad we took a few days off. We came back a little more refreshed and ready to face the rest of our mission days with new enthusiasm and vigor.
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