Day Three in South Luangwa: Rearing Elephants, Lucy’s Cub and a Pel’s Fishing Owl
This is part three of our South Luangwa safari. If you’re just joining us, start with Return to South Luangwa and Searching for Lucy and Her Cubs.
After the storm the night before, we woke to a fresh, rain-washed morning. The light was soft and even — a welcome relief, and perfect for photography — and we set off keen to make the most of it.
Morning drive
We hadn’t gone far along the main road when we met a big bull elephant. He seemed in no hurry at all and simply stood there in the soft light, close enough for us to fill the frame with the folds and creases of his face.
Further along, a small group of young male waterbuck were sparring in the early morning sun, a herd of buffalo grazed nearby, and another elephant reared up on its hind legs to strip the leaves from a tree, quite happy to carry on feeding while we photographed him.
The birding was good too. We picked up a woodland kingfisher, a group of southern ground hornbills, a Verreaux’s eagle-owl, an African sacred ibis and a pair of grey crowned cranes, all in the space of a morning.
After our morning tea stop we came across two hyenas resting in a dry riverbed. As the heat began to build again we turned for the exit, and close to the bridge we found a warthog with her young piglets.
It’s one of the things we love most about South Luangwa: even on a morning without lions or leopards, there is always something to see, from the birds to the trees and flowers.
Afternoon drive
In the afternoon we headed back to Mbangula, where the elephants were once again enjoying the water and the fresh green vegetation. Another woodland kingfisher perched low down nearby, giving us the shots we were hoping for.
We moved on to where Lucy had a kill up in a sausage tree, but we knew it wouldn’t be long before several vehicles arrived, and with little chance of good photographs we went looking for her cubs instead. We found one of them just emerging from a thick patch of scrub.
From there we made our way down to the dry riverbed of the Katete to look for the lions. We found the spot where they had been resting, but despite our best efforts the pride itself stayed out of sight this time.
Sundowners and a night drive
We stopped for sundowners with a rainstorm rumbling in the distance, and this time it passed us by. Meanwhile, the second vehicle in our group had caught up with the leopard cubs, although by then the sighting was busy with vehicles.
At the start of our night drive we called in briefly to see Lucy and her cubs before moving on. The spotlight then turned up a tiny chameleon, a genet, a hyena and — best of all — a Pel’s fishing owl, before we headed back to Flatdogs for another excellent dinner.
