Zambia Pictures

[spike.t]

some photos of the kafue river just up river from takeri. these were taken 21st march .the near trees are the normal river bank..in not that many weeks we wont be able to get even a km up river in this direction as the river will have dropped too much.........

wake of the boat is the normal river course

river channel is to the left of central tree line which is the normal riverbank

near trees and bushes are normal river bank

river channel is to the left

following photos are of a flood plain that is normally dry and hasnt been like this for a few years. it was under water from the tree line to tree line on each side which is i am not sure how many kms.....wherewe are in the boat is normally dry ground. it looked amazing, and 10 days later the water had already dropped so you could only be in the proper river channel.

this is in front of the tented accom on takeri. the far trees are the normal bank, and before the rains in some places the river is only a couple of feet deep then.....

 

[spike.t]

a few photos to show why we cant hunt at this time of the year let alone get around on takeri even by foot in some places
the roads/tracks are slightly wet...

mmm maybe @BRICKBURN can put that one correct way up....

normally dry ground

patsy is standing only about 4ft into the grass and we thought about offering a competition to see if anyone could spot her.....but we cant even see her and cant remember where she was in the photo...so not happening

 

[PeteG]

patsy is standing only about 4ft into the grass and we thought about offering a competition to see if anyone could spot her.....but we cant even see her and cant remember where she was in the photo...so not happening

Thats certainly not fair as you wouldnt be able to spot her in grass more than 4ft high, let alone that jungle...

 

[spike.t]

Thats certainly not fair as you wouldnt be able to spot her in grass more than 4ft high, let alone that jungle...

yeah......we were going to do the photo again with her standing closer but never got around to it. so here is one where you can just see her as she on the road....

 

[Arturo Cuturi]

The Kafue in full flood, is an awe inspiring sigh for sure. We have had unbelievable rains up in the North-West, but thankfully after a week of rain last week, the clouds seem to be clearing.

 

[spike.t]

The Kafue in full flood, is an awe inspiring sigh for sure. We have had unbelievable rains up in the North-West, but thankfully after a week of rain last week, the clouds seem to be clearing.

hi last i heard you had had 1800mills in solwezi but that was 3 weeks ago, whats the total now?

 

[Arturo Cuturi]

I'm not sure, I've been in the UK for the last week, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was over 2000 mls on Mutanda, the rains have been unbelievable. Its the heaviest we have seen in years. How many ml's have you had at Takeri?

 

[gillettehunter]

Spike thats a lot of water. Gonna be a lot of feed for the animals. Best of luck on the upcoming season. Bruce

 

[spike.t]

I'm not sure, I've been in the UK for the last week, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was over 2000 mls on Mutanda, the rains have been unbelievable. Its the heaviest we have seen in years. How many ml's have you had at Takeri?

HA! me to where abouts ? we had just over 1000mills before i left but it was raining when i left so more than that now. so not as much as the normal average approx 13 to 1400mills, but the river is way higher than the last few years where we are, so in the catchment area its been good by the looks of things. had more rain on ours last year but river was lower......

 

[Wheels]

Mike,

What percent of Takeri floods during the rainy season most years?

Do the animals concentrate into a few high points or do they swim off the property and come back when it dries out?

Do pg get issues from wet feet?

Just curious.

 

[spike.t]

Mike,

What percent of Takeri floods during the rainy season most years?

Do the animals concentrate into a few high points or do they swim off the property and come back when it dries out?

Do pg get issues from wet feet?

Just curious.

not sure of percentage possible 30 pcnt , but with the river so high this year in all the river bank areas the water floods up to the tree line which is slightly higher. we also have dambos that go from the river to the fence line and they are flooded or very wet. with the river so high there is nowhere for the water to go until the river drops . just before i left i managed to drive to the dam wall and over it , then up the road that runs through the centre to the dambo at the far end, but had to turn around there as the road running along edge of that dambo was under water after about 60 yards. a week earlier was when i took the photos of the roads under water and then no way could you have driven that route, but with no rains for a week or so it had dropped and dried enough to be able to drive it. some areas we wont be able to drive through till about june. the animals move up into the wooded areas which are slightly raised and dont flood.

 

[fourfive8]

Crossing the Luangwa, Zambia

 

[fourfive8]

Croc and baboons. Luangwa, Zambia. "Don't fall into the water!"

 

[Arturo Cuturi]

The Buffalo herd on Mutanda is growing nicely.

Lone old Buffalo bull on the Mutanda Nature Reserve.

Some up and coming Kudu Bulls...

I think its fair to say, I have a slight obsession with Buffalo.

 

[PeteG]

Here are a few pics from our weekend getaway to the Luangwa Valley...
I managed to convince the madam that we needed to go see Munyamadzi Reserve and she agreed.
After seeing the threads that Thor has put on here, I decided it would need a visit!
It truly is a fantastic area, Thor and Nicky treated us really well and sorted anything we needed/wanted whilst we were there.
There are good numbers of game there, remember that this is an unfenced reserve, game are free to move as the want.
This is definitely one of the places that should be looked into for future hunts... you will not regret it!
Here are a couple of pics that I took whilst we were there.

 

[BRICKBURN]

Looks like a nice weekend getaway.

 

[PeteG]

Looks like a nice weekend getaway.

It was awesome!
They have quite a number of cats there... will try upload an image just now from my phone.
They showed us a bunch of lion and leopard photos that were taken just before we got there.

 

[PeteG]

The image isn't great, but I think you get the idea!
Based on the length of the Labello stock, the pad was 8 to 9cm across.

 

[cpr0312]

Thanks for sharing @PeteG ! Looks like a nice relaxing getaway