Day 14 – Kasanka, Zambia

We had arranged for a field ranger to take us for a walk today, we wanted to set off quite early as we didn't want to walk in the heat of the day. We need not have worried however as it was a fairly cold morning, completely overcast and even looked like it might rain.

Last time we were here, the camp boy took us for a walk but this time we had a fully trained ranger plus I might add an AK 47. One mean gun! The reserve has been taken over by a Wildlife Trust since our last visit and security etc. has been tightened up. There are also quite a few elephants in the park but one antagonistic bull that has been creating a fair amount of chaos. He attacked the game guards’ camp the other day and started throwing their pots and pans around. He had been beating his way around the reeds in front of the camp last night but the scout said he had moved off in the opposite direction to where we were walking. You could see that for the first half an hour we were very quiet in his territory and the scout was very nervous even with his AK 47.

The further away we got the more he relaxed, he was saying that if we run into the herd of elephants, we would be fine, it was just this one bull that would charge and he was obviously scared of its unpredictability.

Puku

Anyway we had the most fantastic three hour walk; we saw a lot of game on the open plains, Puku, Impala, Wild Pig and Warthogs. They were very skittish and we couldn't get close to them, they would just run for their lives. Kenneth our scout was saying that the poaching had reached epidemic proportions and they were battling to keep it under control. He said that the Congolese had arrived in the area (Kasanka is fairly close to the DRC) and first bought up all the goats as they have no meat in the Congo and now that they have exhausted the supply of goats they are encouraging the locals to poach in the reserve and supply them with meat which they ship across the border illegally. The plague of Africa, no production so they cannibalize whatever they can find. We were just wondering if our Grandchildren will ever see and experience what we enjoy today of the African Wildlife.

We started our walk on the flood plains in front of our camp and saw the Sitatonga tucked into the shade of the reeds; because it was so overcast they had not fully retreated into the dense foliage of the reeds. There were two females and a baby but no sign of the male as yet.

We walked along the river flood plain, saw great crocs but fortunately never saw the Ellie. He took us to the 440 hectare forest where the bats nest and very enthusiastically showed us all the hides and platforms that were built for the BBC film crew that did a documentary on the bats last year. There is one very well-known platform that has been built in a red Mahogany tree that was our final destination..... We were shown every bench, bridge or clearing that the film crew had sat on or walked on or filmed from, this was obviously the highlight of his life and half the time his Zinglish....Zambian English.... was so bad you could hardly hear what he was saying.

Finally we got to the hide-out which we had climbed last time we were here, and were one of the major reasons why we had returned to show the others. It has been built, with sticks and a few planks in a red Mahogany tree and the platform itself is 22 meters off the ground. Our little Kenneth told us that it is quite safe as someone inspects it every week and replaces any rotten wood. Shew, that is comforting when you are climbing up an almost vertical ladder to one platform and then crawling around some big branches to climb the second and then a third tier up to the highest platform which is quite rickety but has a stunning view over the river, some flood plains and reed beds.

We arrived a little late for us to see any Sitatonga (the sun was out by this time) however sitting at the top overlooking this beautiful terrain was very well worth the long walk and climb.

Our walk back was at quite a pace! He suddenly put his head down and marched with all of us behind him, real “boot camp” training. He tried to get us all to stay together but as you can imagine with a bunch of self-determined geriatrics that was an impossible task. There was also a constant chatter coming from the back (guess who? Ernest and Ken) and towards the end, as we neared the camp I could see him getting increasingly nervous and looking back to try and get the stragglers to catch up. Fortunately we got back to camp without having seen the Elephant, much to Kenneth’s relief.

The terrain at Kasanka is quite varied consisting of wide open grasslands with clumps of red mahogany trees and huge palms dotted around. Then this very thick lush green forest where the bats reside and the smallish but fast flowing river lined with very thick reeds.

Coming into the park you have to drive for about 20 kilometers through the Momba forest which has very little grass and is quite stark with simply no animals so you begin to wonder if you are in the right place. There are no lions but they do have leopards and spotted hyena which we heard calling every night.

Sitatonga

Just before sunset we saw our first real good sighting of two Sitatonga rams. They were on the flood plain in front of the camp and are quite beautiful to see. Two white spots on their noses and huge horns for their size. Oh yes and our elephant reappeared crashing through the reeds and onto the flood plain where we had been walking this morning, so our little Kenneth's nervousness had been justified. He had apparently put one of the other game scouts in hospital earlier in the day when he chased them and he had fallen and hurt himself.

 During the afternoon and evening we saw a huge fire in the distance apparently started by the poachers..... Gosh they have a huge problem here. The reality is that this is a spot that is really worth seeing but I fear will not exist as it is today in the not too distant future.

Signing off, until tomorrow!

Interesting fact on the bats (Eidolon Helvum)
It is believed to be the highest density of mammalian biomass on the planet, as well as the greatest mammal migration known to man!