Luapula Province Off The Beaten Path

  Crossing a Small Stream
by Bwana_Brown
 
  • Crossing a Small Stream
      Crossing a Small Stream
    by Bwana_Brown
  • Checking the Plain for an Antelope Chase
      Checking the Plain for an Antelope Chase
    by Bwana_Brown
  • A 'Walking Safari' on Lusenga Plain
      A 'Walking Safari' on Lusenga Plain
    by Bwana_Brown
  • Getting Our Camp Organized
      Getting Our Camp Organized
    by Bwana_Brown
  • Stop at a Bush Village
      Stop at a Bush Village
    by Bwana_Brown
 

Reviews from VirtualTourist Members

Headed Into the Game Park

by Bwana_Brown

I had never experienced a Land Rover in action before, so I quite enjoyed this first time experience seeing what they were capable of! For starters, I was totally amazed that this 4WD vehicle could carry 10 people, not to mention all our camping gear and 3 days worth of supplies!The drive into the park through the surrounding mopani forest was done at slow speed on rough roads that required a few fords across small streams. Most of the driving on the Plain was quite straightforward but we did get bogged down once as we drove into a swampy area without realizing it. We could hear the engine working harder and harder and then, suddenly, the wheels broke through the ground into the muck. We were not too far from the wooded edge of the park, so with the help of some branches and a lot of pushing backwards, we were able to get ourselves 'unstuck'!

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Looking for Game the Easy Way

by Bwana_Brown

On our second day in the Park, we did our game touring the easy way - from the back of our Land Rover! In this photo, you can see that we have found quite a large section of the park that has had the grass burned off. That enabled us to spot any troublesome termite mounds while getting the old machine up to speed when we spotted some antelope. We actually chased along beside some hartebeest that were amazingly fleet!! The tall chap standing on the front of the LR is the Fisheries Patrol Officer that later also took us out for an overnight trip on Lake Mweru.Over the years since I visited Lusenga Plain, the lions have been eradicated and poaching has also much reduced the game. Due to it's isolated location, this park received even less protection from poaching activities than it's more famous cousins at Luangwa and Kafue.

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So This is What Antelope Feel Like?!

by Bwana_Brown

Lusenga Plain National Park was intended to protect a large open plain that was surrounded by a combination of swamp and dry evergreen forest, as well as the Kalungwishi River along it's northeastern side.Because of it's isolated location and the lack of roads inside the Park, game was very plentiful when we toured the park. At that time, lions, leopards and occasional elephants frequented the area. This was in addtion to the vast numbers of antelope such as buffalo, duiker, bushbuck and reedbuck.As we set off on foot for some exploration, our two Rangers led the column with our single rifle! I remember feeling a little vulnerable to lions lurking in the tall grass since the rest of us had nothing but an axe or two to fall back on! For the first time in my life, I knew what it felt like to be at risk of attack because something might want you for dinner!! Zambia was one of the first...

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Setting Up Camp

by Bwana_Brown

Once we reached the Lusenga Plain, not too many miles due west of Nchelenge at the bottom end of Lake Mweru, we set to work organizing our camp for the next two nights.We picked a spot in the scattered mopani forest that surrounds the Plain where we pitched our two big tents and dug a fire pit and latrine. It was really strange to be out in the middle of an African Game Park at night with only a few gas lanterns. We had to have someone awake all night in shifts to make sure that our fire did not go out, or maybe the animals would get a little too brave! That is me in the foreground with the white t-shirt.

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Must Have a Game Ranger!

by Bwana_Brown

On my second trip to Luapula Province, a group of 8 volunteers decided that we would like to see the very off-the-beaten path Lusenga Plains National Park. Normally, it was not even open to visitors but, because one of our group was a Fisheries Patrol Officer based on the shores of Lake Mweru, he was able to exert some influence to line up two Game Rangers to accompany our little expedition.This photo shows our borrowed Land Rover in the morning as we stopped to pick up the Rangers at the little village near the Lake where they lived.

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