Today was boating day here at Lufupa Camp: one cruise in the morning up the south fork and up the north fork for the sundowner cruise. They have two boats, one for four people who wanted to fish and one for the rest of the group to cruise and look for wildlife.
Chris and three others took the fishing boat this morning while the rest of us (minus the Carolina ladies who opted to take it slow) cruised with Akim as our guide. We spotted- (and excuse inconsistencies in capitalization usage):
Fish Eagle
African Darter
Malachite kingfisher- stunning bird!!
Half collared kingfisher
Jesus bird or African jacana
Nike crocodile
Southern black titi
African pied kingfisher (a favorite)
Green spotted wood dove
Vervet monkey
Slated hinged terrapin turtle
Water thick knee
Sqwakle heron
Hadida ibis
Western banded snake eagle
African harrier hawk
Wire tailed swallow
Brown hooded kingfisher
The fishing boat people caught loads of catfish and saw an elephant. The chef cooked up the catfish to supplement the dinner. It was delicious.
We then had free time followed by high tea and a talk about Zambian culture from a woman on the staff named Nomsa. We leaned about dowry, marriage customs, the passage into manhood ritual, and family life.
Then it was back to the boats for cruise #2. Maxine joined Chris, his dad, and Scott from San Fran, with Brian as their guide. They only caught two catfish this time, but Maxine was one of them. Thanks to Akim’s expert eye, we saw tons of birds again, plus a baby crocodile.
After dinner, since it’s our last night, the staff performed two jubilant songs for us by the fire. It’s tradition for the guests to then perform or lead some type of activity, so we taught them how to play musical chairs. They got very into it, and everyone had a blast. We’ll miss the good people here at Lufupa.
Onward to Botswana tomorrow.
My Corner of the Village 