After some tearful farewells from all the brave souls who had participated in what shall be known as “The Ron Magill Safari”, Joyce and I made our way back to Cape Town while the rest of the party went on to visit Victoria Falls.

We had just two weeks to rest before our next safari was scheduled. This one we did on our own…Just Joyce and me. She was the Ron Magill of the expedition, minus the intimidating camera equipment, but just as bossy. I was the diligent follower, through thick and thin with, as usual, no rights to interpose any complaints.

Fortunately, the Joyce safari turned out to be far more relaxed and sybaritic than the ‘Magill Drill”.
The destination was Zambia.

This is a vast country, currently a peaceful Republic, with a strong economic base built largely on mining and tourism. The latter is manifest by some of the largest unspoiled game preserves in the world. A safari in South Africa is like a visit to Disneyland compared to Zambia which can, because of its remoteness, completely immerse you into its pristine wilderness. On a map, the country shows up like the bull’s eye of Africa, being land-locked and surrounded by most of the familiar African destinations, to wit the Congo and Tanzania at the North; Zimbabwe, Victoria Falls, Mozambique, Botswana and Namibia at the South; Angola at its West; and Malawi on the East. We asked whether the current troubles and the political and economic turmoil in adjoining Zimbabwe were of major concern for Zambia. The answer was simply that massive uncontrolled immigration into Zambia would never happen because the country simply cannot offer any employment opportunities or relief resources to migrants. Whether the future will bear this up is a question that is difficult to answer in Africa where so many crosscurrents continually intertwine.

Zambia was originally part of a huge region of Africa controlled by Cecil Rhodes (1853-1902), which included Zimbabwe and was called Rhodesia. In 1891 it was declared a British “protectorate”. It did not achieve independence until 1964. As such, many aspects of Zambia life are rooted in British culture. We were, therefore, not in the least surprised when Marmite, Bovril and Pims were always prominent, rather than Ketchup, which is always on the breakfast, lunch and dinner tables of the South African safari camps.

As a safari destination, the parks in Zambia are less crowded and far more remote than most other African safari destinations. Kafue, one of the parks we visited, is limited to not more than 300 people at any one time. While the National Parks and game Reserves take themselves as seriously as those in Kenya or South Africa, they are far more permissive when it comes to experiencing the more exciting aspects of a safari. It is possible to drive off the beaten paths and follow wildlife into the bush; night drives are permitted, and can be very exciting when intruding on the hunting activities of the predators; walking safaris are allowed in many areas, including those with predator populations and, lastly, many camps (unfortunately, usually the larger ones, which we don’t like to stay in) offer unique experiences such as horseback or ultra light safaris. Joyce was desperate to do the ultra light safari, but the not-so-near-by camp offering it had already fully booked the flights with their own guests and couldn’t accommodate her (Whew, what a relief!).

My Joyce and Joyce-the-Travel-Agent had booked us into two camps in Zambia. The first was Tena-Tena, a small exclusive tented camp in the Nsefu sector of South Luangwa National Park. The camp is really not much more than a grouping of 6 very well appointed tents around a tented common area where a bar and camp fire perform as the camp’s social gathering place and dining room. The tents and the wooden platforms on which they sit are taken down, together with the rest of the camp, in December when the rainy season begins. When the rains subside, the camp is then rebuilt from scratch. The tents, however, belie this nomadic existence. They feel very secure, as they are erected on wooden platforms with electrified wires to protect us from unwanted visitors. The beds are really cushy and the bathing area in each tent is exceptionally fun to use. The latter is in an open air enclosure high enough to keep the wild life out, yet open enough to give a real sense of communion with nature. Indeed, to shower in the buff in such an environment can be very exiting.

Our trip to Tena-Tena had us flying from Cape Town to Johannesburg and from there to Lusaka. Once there, we transferred to a little Cessna Charter which brought us to the metropolis of Mfuwe. There we were greeted by Bertram, who was to be our guide throughout our stay at Tena-Tena. At Sabi-Sands, the Guides were called (much more heroically) Rangers and the Spotters were called Trackers. Notwithstanding these nuances in their respective titles, they all have amazing eyesight and an extraordinary talent for managing seemingly unchartered terrain like Hollywood stunt drivers. Bertram introduced us to the four-wheel Toyota Land Cruiser which was to be our universal ground transportation, getting us from the Mfuwe airport to the camp and then on subsequent game drives. We were impressed with the fact that we did not have to share the vehicle with anybody. We had our own private Land Cruiser and our own private guide.

And so, Joyce and I climbed on board the Land Cruiser and Bertram started to follow an endless, deeply rutted and very bumpy mud road for more than two hours. When we finally came to the gates of South Luangwa National Park, we had a private game drive for the last half hour, during which we encountered, as if summoned by the Zambia tourist authorities, a pride of lionesses sleeping under an Acacia tree. Eventually we reached the Tena-Tena Camp. We were greeted like celebrities by Carrie, the camp manager and Katherine, her charming deputy and catering manager. As an interesting aside, we should note that the camp managers are also highly skilled guides, having spent a great deal of time in training on all areas of wildlife, conservation, history, flora and fauna. Therefore, running safari camps is a dedicated career decision for them; catering managers, on the other hand, are usually escaping civilization (and, more often than not, a badly ended relationship) and sign on for 1 season at a time.

Dinner was wonderful, far better than the food at Phinda and Kirkman’s Kamp. After dinner, we immediately hit the sack - exhausted, having been traveling since before dawn! The best news after our arrival at Tena-Tena was the fact that reveille was to be at 6:30 am, not the obsessive 5:00 am we had never really gotten used to at the other camps. We were always roused out of bed in what felt like the dead of night. By 5:30 am in those other camps, after a quick mug of coffee and a cookie, we were underway in a pre-dawn game drives that would last till 10:00 am. That’s when breakfast would finally be served!

At Tena-Tena, everything was much more relaxed. A normal breakfast is served at about 7:00 am and the ubiquitous game drive doesn’t get underway till around 7:30 or 8:00 am - in daylight. It lasts till about 11:00 am; then there is lunch and after that down time during the heat of the day, until tea time around 3:30 pm followed by the evening game drive. This was really civilized!

The other major difference is that Zambia is much further North than Phinda and Kirkman’s Kamp and, therefore, the weather was much warmer at TenaTena. We were not freezing all the time; in fact, even early in the morning we were quite comfortable.

Tena-Tena is a Robin Pope camp. As such, many of the commercial and marketing aspects normally found in a CCAfrica or Wilderness Safari camp were subordinated to what seems a passion for undisturbed nature and conservation. This is found in the tent theme, which extends from the sleeping accommodations to the very modest bar and lounge areas. There is no lodge in the traditional sense - it is truly a Camp, although with all the luxuries. The common areas are defined by folding chairs arranged in semi circle around a camp fire. Therein lays the charm of the place: Comfort in the middle of the wilderness!

The wild life at Tena-Tena was not as prolific as in Sabi Sands. But we did manage to see the lionesses we encountered at our arrival again, and this time we saw their three cubs. We were gratified to see that they seemed well fed. We also saw lots of elephants and, at every turn, we were running into Pukus. A Puku is an antelope, smaller than an Impala, which is as charming as they are numerous in South Luangwa National Park. On the evening of the second day we finally saw not one, not two, but three Leopards. Bertram informed us that we had invaded the territory of a female Leopard suspected of coming into heat and two males who were evidently sniffing for romance. Two other Land Cruisers had received the radio message and were closing in to share the action. And so, this forest so calm for much of this nocturnal game drive came alive with three Leopards, three safari trucks and over a dozen visitors, guides and spotters, all try to find each other amidst the bushes, termite hills and dense forest undergrowth. Unfortunately, we shall never know the out come of this game of cache-cache.

Joyce, in the meantime, had her own encounter with wild life. During the long drive from the airport to Tena-Tena, there were lot of flies, mosquitoes and other buzzing critters in the air. As the sun started its descent over the horizon, the insects were especially active. It was no surprise therefore, since Joyce is clearly more appetizing than I, that she would get bitten again and again. One of these bites, this one on her arm, was particularly painful. The next morning, it was still hurting and it had turned into a large blister. Katherine, the camp manager was full of empathy but couldn’t do much about Joyce’s pain. It was a clear case of TIA (This Is Africa). She was sure that it was a Tsetse fly bite, which is not uncommon in the region, and it would heal in a few days. There was no noticeable evidence that the bite had given her the dreaded sleeping sickness usually associated with Tsetse flies.

The relative paucity of wild life at Tena-Tena was offset by the fact that the trees we encountered on our game drives were really interesting. I spent a lot of time asking Bertram to identify them. He seemed to have an unlimited knowledge of not only the wildlife in the region, but also the fauna. We turned this activity into a lesson with a quiz, and I was to be given a test during the long ride back to Mfuwe. The first lesson was easy; I was unerringly able to identify “Sausage trees”, with their pods hanging all over the trees like salamis in a deli. The lesson got a little harder with the “Rain tree”, as these came in different sizes, depending in part on the extent of the damage done to them by Elephants. It became challenging when I had to distinguish between Mahogany, Ebony and Tamarind trees. The latter was infuriating, as Joyce was always able to identify it and I was always wrong. Even worse, in true alpha-female style, she made that “game show buzzer” sound (Nnnyyytttt) every time I guessed wrong! I was mortified and embarrassed by this until I was able, to everybody’s amazement, to identify a Sycamore fig tree.

Throughout our six game drives at Tena-Tena, we had the Land Cruiser and Bertram with his Spotter to ourselves. It’s not that we are misanthropic or hate people, but the luxury of having it all to ourselves was good trade for even the best of company!

The morning of the fourth day, after very warm farewells from Carrie, Katherine, and the rest of the camp staff, we climbed one last time on top of the Land Cruiser for the long, long drive to the Mfuwe airport. Bertram had gone off on a game drive with his new charges, but he had evidently briefed our driver for the trip, because the moment we were installed he proceeded to administer the quiz about trees. I had great anxieties about this, to a point where I had serious problems sleeping the night before. I kept seeing this monstrous Tamarind tree pushing me deep into the termite mound, trying to turn me into a resident of its root system. Anyhow, I passed my tree identification test with flying colors. Indeed two turns out of the camp I was able to identify a sausage tree, a Rain tree, an Acacia tree and even a Sycamore Fig. The driver was impressed …. Thank God, there were no Tamarind trees on the road. I was safe!

By late morning, we finally reached the little airport. We were immediately ushered to an eight-seat single engine Cessna. However, after we were installed, nothing happened. Our pilot could be seen gesticulating through the window of the airport terminal. After waiting for about an hour the mystery was cleared. The other four passengers had not yet arrived. It turned out that the latecomers were the family of the first (and former) President of Zambia. When they finally showed up, they apologized profusely for causing the delay. Though we were really miffed, we graciously accepted their apologies and exhibited a level of noblesse oblige befitting of an ambassador on a mission of good will.

The one and a half hour flight took us from Mfuwe to Kafue and there we boarded a four-seat Cessna which landed at what could hardly be called an airport. It was basically a landing strip called Lunga, which serviced many of the camps in Kafue National Park.

Waiting for us there, like a new car in showroom, was our transportation to Shumba, our next safari camp. It was a very slick shiny blue helicopter which was to take us some sixty miles further into the wilderness and gently deposit us at the front door, if one can call it that, of Shumba. Joyce was badly in need of an adrenalin fix. After all, she had not done any bungee jumping and not once had she been attacked by any of the magnificent predators that roamed around the wilderness. Elephants ignored her and Hippos merely snorted at her. Her most exotic encounter so far was with a bunch of Tse-Tse flies!

The ‘copter ride, however, made up for this. Once strapped in, with the head-sets that dampened the engine noise and enabled us to communicate with each other and the pilot in place, Joyce got her fix with a vengeance. Mike, the pilot, cranked up the rotors and proceeded to give us a thrilling ride, with the machine rising and falling at great speed like a roller coaster. This gave us a fascinating aerial perspective of the bush with herds of Elephants and Antelopes rushing through the wilderness, as if on a mission of critical importance. Joyce was enthralled; I was a nervous wreck.

The last time I experienced a helicopter ride was circa 1954 when I was in the army and had to ride on a Huey in connection with military maneuvers at the tail end of the Korean conflict. I recalled the ride as being extremely rough and unbelievably noisy. And so I was braced for a similar experience here. All this fear and trepidation, however, was for naught. The ride to Shumba was in a brand new French machine with only four seats. Even with the rotor spinning at full power it was as quiet as a feather wafting up and down the air currents. I even wondered why we were supplied with ear muffs.

Shumba Bush Camp is situated in the north-eastern region of Kafue National Park which, at 22,500 sq km, is one of the largest parks in Africa. The 750 sq km Busanga Plains in the extreme north of the park is where Wilderness Safaris has just very recently completed the construction of Shumba. Busanga Plain is one of Zambia’s most significant wet land resources, and one of the few areas in the world that remain untouched by development and human activity. The contrast between the environment of Shumba and the other camps is dramatic. The latter were in the middle of the bush, this camp is in the middle of a Savannah!

The area is surrounded by high grasses where, we were told, Lions and other predators effectively lay in wait for prey. Despite the fact that our guides and the Shumba staff tout the presence of Lions, including a notorious “resident pride”, we found that the dominant species were various kinds of Antelopes. The Plains are home to thousands of Red Lechwes, ubiquitous Pukus, stately Roans and diminutive Oribis and Duikers.

When one is surrounded by this much water and wet lands, it was no surprise when Hippos made their presence felt throughout the night. Their unending snorts provided a musical relief beyond anything that could be produced by man or animal. We spent a day on a little boat watching their antics in the daytime, with Joyce trying desperately to catch them yawning with their humongous maws wide open. This was a bit of a challenge; More often than not, by the time she got the camera in focus, the mouths were slammed shut.

We did not see that many Lions and we saw no Leopards, Elephants or Wild Dogs. Seeing the vastness of the Savanna and the proliferation of Antelopes, we felt that Cheetahs would have a field day, but we did not see any either. The reason was two-fold; first, this is Zambia’s newest park. It has only been a few years since they significantly stopped poaching activity, so the animals are still very shy. Second, the rains were heavy and late this year, thus the animals are still very widely spread across the savanna as water is still plentiful in many watering holes and streams. But we did see an immense amount and variety of birds. A lot of magnificent aquatic birds, all sorts of Egrets, Grey Herons, Storks, Kingfishers, Guiney Fowls and myriads of Francolins crossing the road in front of us.

It is really the camp itself and its magnificent setting in the vast Plain that had us enthralled. The camp comprises six spacious and luxurious safari tents that felt more like a one bedroom bungalow. The “tents” are interconnected with one another and with the main lodge, as well as such notable features as the gift shop and the unique “Loo with a View” specially designed for the entertainment of the wild life witnessing humans relieving themselves. This is accomplished via a network of boardwalks and platforms, raised high enough above ground to keep the wild life out of the camp; a good thing, as every night and morning we heard lions and hippos just off the boardwalks.
All this construction, as well as the furnishing of the camp, is exquisitely designed in strict conformance with the proportions ordained by Le Corbusier’s Modular Scale. The camp is only 1 year old. It was built entirely out of timber which had to be floated in along the water-soaked plains that surround the camp. If masonry was used, it is invisible. The wood platforms provide spectacular infinity views of the plains, with dining and bar areas elevated to maximize observation.
Shumba, in brief, offers a marvelous contrast between a sophisticated man-made habitat and the natural qualities of a far, far away wilderness.

Unlike Tena-Tena, the so-called tents at Shumba are far from mobile. The bathrooms are totally indoors, except for a second outdoor bucket-shower. Although there is canvas for shelter, regular doors access the interior of the tents. There is sufficient generator power to provide lighting all the time, and the supply of hot water is seemingly unlimited. The camp truly epitomizes supreme luxury in the wild.

The night of our arrival, I developed a friendship with Graham and his charming wife who manage Shumba much in the way that many the Amanresorts employ couples to manage their assets. It is a formula for excellence in hospitality and it certainly worked at Shumba. Graham and I bonded over wines, specifically South African wines, for which I am gradually developing a passion. Even Joyce is beginning to warm up to the stuff.

Part of the hospitality was a great dinner on our first night, served in the Boma, which is accessed from the boardwalk. Like the Bomas used in African villages, this one is surrounded by tall bamboo fencing creating a circular space within which the food is cooked on an open fire and served family - or in our case, buffet style - on tables arranged around the walls.

As in Tena-Tena, we had our own private safari vehicle and guide, this time a Land Rover instead of the Toyota Land Cruiser. The game drives took us through the four corners of the plain. At one point, because of the unseasonable wetness still remaining on the plan, the Rover got stuck in the mud and, when the wheels failed to gain purchase, it had to be towed out of the muddy rut, to the embarrassment of the Guide, by one of the camp’s other Rover which had been radioed for help.
The trip back to Cape Town was uneventful and far less complicated, as we used Livingston as our jumping off point to Johannesburg. In the process, we enjoyed the helicopter ride as much going back as we did coming in. The Livingston airport, however, was a nightmare of disorganization, having been high jacked by an Italian tour group whose members emoted, joint and severally, as if the world was coming to an end. When they finally left, sanity returned and the airport routine resumed in proper order.

At this point, it is difficult to decide which of the three Companies - CCAfrica, Robin Pope or Wilderness Safaris – we like the best. The camps all differ in subtle ways. There is little question that CCAfrica and Wilderness camps tend to be more luxurious than Robin Pope. Sometimes this luxury borders on the obscene…as do the prices. But in general, it is hard to escape the charm of enjoying the civilized comfort of these camps amidst a wilderness that seems to us extremely harsh for those who have to survive in it without our human support systems.

On the flight back to Cape Town I felt very conflicted by the safari experiences. On one hand I envied the wild life. I would love to soar like a Peregrine Falcon, dash like a Cheetah, have a multi-purpose trunk like an elephant, be as limber as an Impala and assert my authority like a Lion…or better still, a Lioness. On the other hand I empathized with what must be an unimaginably hard and cruel life in this vast wilderness where survival is, in the final analysis, an ongoing trial and test of your capacity to cope with only your own resources, without help from human society.