Office Africa - July 2018

We’ve come full swing into our season, with Kaingo open since the 20^th May, and Mwamba since the 1^st of June. We can wholeheartedly say that every single day has had incredible experiences, and sightings: with introductions of new faces into our extended family. We’ve been blessed with incredible sightings of leopard cubs, lion cubs and new coalitions of young male lions in the area. There has also been the highlight of Sylvester’s year (thus far!), his incredible sighting of a Caracal! All intertwined with our usuals, Chiphadzuwa still the reigning queen of Fish Eagle Lagoon, Luambe - until very recently the most prominent and most robust boy in the area, and of course the best thief! Our Pel’s Fishing Owls have been huge highlights as well in this month, with a juvenile hunting with parents regularly spotted around Kaingo. We know we share how wonderful our sightings are every chance we get, but as an office girl myself receiving the stories second hand from guests, we can say most days our guests leave us completely jealous!

We have been blown away by the phenomenal Wild Dog sightings that we continue to have as the season has progressed. The growing numbers of packs we’ve had in our little corner of paradise have given our guests – a lucky couple - the chance to view three different Wild Dog Packs in one day! Over the years, we’ve had increasing sightings, that have generally been concentrated away from the Luangwa River. This year instead we’ve had Wild Dogs at Fish Eagle Lagoon, and therefore overlapping with our famous Leopards, Lions and Wild Dogs all in a single area! One incredible day also lead to Chiphadzuwa – the reigning queen of Fish Eagle Lagoon – feeding all her rival predators. Hyena and Lions, with Wild Dogs pitching up midway in this scenario.

This month has also seen the installation of Kaingo's Hippo Hide's new lower level, which we are delighted to say has been one of Derek's finest additions. The new lower deck was born out of necessity as the bank of the river had been washed away in the last rains, making it impossible for us to structure our usual lower level. When faced with an obstacle, we can guarantee that we're led by an ingenious man. One of Derek's favourite things is constructing new things, which if you've met him you'll know for yourself as well! He does, in particular, have a penchant for creating new hides. We're delighted with the result! The new lower level boasts a carpeted and cushion flooring that can seat more than six guests at a time. This new and improved lower level actually sits on the water, as Derek has created a "floating" platform, that brings you even closer to the action. Derek's building skills have been put to the test as Jules has overseen the entire construction, giving her key input as a photographer to make sure that the new level gifts fellow photographers the best photographic angles, as well as comfort for shooting. Anyone remotely interested in getting that little bit closer will enjoy the additional hinged windows that open up to lower viewing levels eye-to-eye with our hippo pod, whilst keeping you safe from crocs!

You may have heard in the news that most of southern Africa had an unseasonal cold front come through, we were not excluded from this phenomena. It has led to milder temperatures for this time of year, sitting comfortably at 26 degrees Celsius during the day, and down to around 13 degrees at night. Making for an extremely pleasant opportunity to enjoy our hides in the midday. It has also led to dramatic skies as backdrops for both wildlife and landscape photography.

As always, our intimate camps wind their way through each magical day, and we continue to welcome our guests back from every activity, happy and enthusiastic for the next one. With such amazing wildlife moments on each activity already, we're all wondering what incredible sights the warmer months will bring! If you keep up to date with our Big Cat Roundup, you'll see what we mean! If you haven't had a chance to keep up with our blogs, then take a skim through our guides incredible videos and imagery below.

Are you looking for your next wildlife destination? Give yourself a chance to read through our blogs and see what you could be experiencing with us!