As per the norm here at Kaingu we are doing a pictorial review of the month. August is generally the month that winter leaves us and temperatures start to climb. By the end of the month we were seeing temperatures in the low 30s so a big change there. Birdlife on the river also really starts to pick up. Anyway enough talking and we let the pictures (and captions!) tell the story.
Our motivation signs! They are a bit ironic now (and this is why we posted this) as the road that they are on is now actually the fastest way to reach Kaingu. The D769 (Itezhi Tezhi road) is now being tarred and is in amazing shape and then the last 40kms in through the GMA forest has been worked on by ourselves heavily over the last two years. The net result of all this is that this is now the fastest way to reach Kaingu. However the park side/boat arrival still has far more charm and “safari theater”!
School visit
A delightful family from the UK visited ‘our’ school. They had brought footballs and other supplies and were absolutely amazed by the friendliness and enthusiasm at the school.
Pools loops reedbuck. The reedbuck for me is actually one of the most beautiful antelopes; perfectly proportioned and wonderful colour. Fortunately a fairly common sighting on our loops.
Another common pools loops sighting: Israel!
New life at chalet 1: JohnD spotted this tiny newborn bushbuck from the river and radioed in. A new addition to the numerous bushbuck that reside around the lodge.
New life in the river too! In the wild crocodiles are extremely slow growing though so this guy is probably a couple of years old. Check out that eye!
Safari staples: G&T has to be the most often requested sundowner drink. While others go for the botanicals and fancy gin tastings we keep it simple. As it should be.
As the river levels drop August is also the month that we start doing more sleepouts and different activities. A simple one-pot meal under the stars and reviewing the day with a glass of wine and good company. Doesn’t really get much better than this!
Half-collared kingfisher. on the river with a bit of natural framing.
Latest lodge details: A true story is that this bench was once a canoe and used in poaching activities. (we only tell the full story if you sit on it!). 100% recycling.
As water levels drop we start assessing our natural bathing/paddling pools. The late and heavy rains mean that they are not quite there yet. But any day now…
Tonga basket: during August we finished two additional ones. So we now can offer sleepouts for up to 6 people. We are totally biased of course but think they are totally stunning and totally unique. Mike the mechanic (known for his rather sharp and eccentric observations) calls them “human nests”.
Of course in fine-tuning the guest experience testing is required. A hard job! Here is Julia contemplating sunrise from a Tonga basket (human nest).
And now for something completely different. Latest lodge details: We have decided to create our own handmade soaps for our guests. Turns out there is a fair bit of complexity to soap production…..
But the finished results look (and smell) amazing. Everything is curing at the moment so the final results will take a few weeks until they are in. But so far so good.
We did a fair bit of canoeing in August. Always such a fantastic activity.
I always enjoy Kaley’s safety briefs. He has truly developed them into a comedy art form which always puts sometimes nervous guests at ease.
Nyambanza. She is a bit of an unsung hero to be honest. Quiet, efficient and brilliant with family groups. We don’t post enough about her but will get that sorted!
Pic from JohnD: He called up on the radio to announce that once again we had lions in the carpark! Its becomming a bit of a regular thing.
Now when John called the lion sighting in I jumped in a boat and headed across. But what ended up happening was that the early morning light hitting a young puku actually made me leave the lion and photograph the puku. Sometimes it is the smaller things that make your day!
Wildfires. Sadly late season wildfires are a fact of life in the Kafue and surrounding GMAs. Actually historically the GMAs suffer late season fires less than the NP. Anyway we had quite a large one burning out to the East. Due to our regime of firebreaks and early burning we were not really concerned but I did go out to monitor it and ensure we were not going to get any nasty surprises. The opportunity to photograph it was taken for sure.
Moonrise while monitoring the fire.