So with holidays come and gone… and the new year in full swing… that was not the case with the animal sightings we have witnessed

On one special morning guests leave for their morning gamedrive and got a very special visit and they didn’t even have to go far in to the Park.

We had a leopard sighting not far from the lodge and the guests were all but very excited and happy to have this opportunity and a memory of a life time. This does not happen often and this morning the leopard decided to come very close to the clients in order for them to get great shots as seen below.

The famous leopard that got up close and personal.

This picture was taken by one of our clients on there way out on safari. Their safari sure did start off very well we should say. Well done!

Not only was the safari off to a good start, with the above sighting, it even got better!. Wild dogs spotted right on the road, and the goodness of the rainy season, is that although the grass is high, most of the bush is waterlogged and there is a high chance you will see all your game up close and personal on the road. How close would you rather be and get these good shots too!!

It is a known fact that no two wild dogs are marked exactly the same, making it easy to identify different individuals. Why such a pattern should develop, and how it serves the hunting dog, has long intrigued scientists.

Wild dogs are usually on the move over a very large range, covering for example, some 900 square miles in the Serengeti. After a litter is born, however, they will limit their traveling and hunting to areas closer to the den. In South Luangwa, to have this sighting is like no other!!

The heat is on in Ocotber and temperatures are reaching 40 degrees in mid day. But that does not stop people from visiting the Park with its beautiful animals and scenery, and of course a pool with a view to cool off during the day.  This month we hosted a group all the way from Australia with tour guide Ben Grobller leading a group of 22 people on a safari not to forget.

The group arrives for a surprise bush breakfast over looking the Luangwa river which is almost empty this time of the year.

Wow look at that view… Special sundown, one of the activities done for guests on their last night and the Travel Joy group thoroughly enjoyed every bit of it.

Apart from all the surprises safaris were at there best with clients managing to see leopard, lion, elephant, buffalo and many more on both morning and night safaris. This time of the year, the park is very dry and open, leaving this a great opportunity for guests to see most of the animals up close and personal.

Above: A spectacular view of a young male lion climbing up a tree to play with its mate.

After suprises and game drives the guests come down to relax and cool off in our pool with a view. Temperatures can reach up to 42 degrees during this time of the year in Luangwa.

Talk about cameras in the bush… recently Mushroom Lodge hosted Zambia Tourism Board PR and  Media Manager Caristo Chitamfya and for the first time in South Luangwa a crew from Good Morning Africa (GMA). Good Morning Africa is a daily morning show on Africa Magic on the DSTV bouquet and is watched all across the African Continent. This project is part of the ZTB’s strategy to market Zambia to a continental audience using established and popular television channels, and the crew were invited by ZTB for a 10 day filming trip to Zambia’s top tourism destinations namely South Luangwa, Lower Zambezi and Livingstone. With this, we in deed offered to host the crew as one of the Safari destinations for South Luangwa.

Above: Safari Guide Ashed Makukula being interviewed by Rorisang Thandekiso and camera man John Birikorang. Among the other crew was also Aiyeshinde Babfemi.

Below: Louise Ndhlovu also being interviewed and giving the history of the Kunda House in the background.

Above: Deputy Minister of Tourism, Honorable David Phiri who happened to be in the area and decided to pay us a visit. It was such good timing as he got to meet the GMA crew and Caristo got a chance to show case the ZTB project to market the country.

As it is that time of the year again and Mushroom Lodge as always supporting the Zambia Tourism Board participated in the 86th Agricultural and Commercial Show, which was held in the Lusaka Show grounds and was host to a wide range of exhibitors.  The show this year was officially opened by his Excellency Mr. Robert Mugabe—the President of Zimbabwe. Other officials visiting the stands were Vice President Mr. Guy Scott , First Lady of the Republic of Zambia, Dr. Christine Kaseba and First Lady to the Republic of Zimbabwe, Mrs Grace Mugabe. It was an exciting and productive show with loads of entertainment through out the 4 day show.

Above: Vice President Mr. Guy Scott visiting the Mushroom Lodge table at the Zambia Tourism Board stand. He also walked the whole stand and saw what the exhibitors had to offer.

On the safari aspect of things, winter came and went and now we head into the dry month of August and all the leaves start to fall on most of the trees in the South Luangwa National Park. Yet again, this is one of the best months to come and see game with leopard and lion being in seen during game drives. We had 2 big groups over the past week, including 2 groups from Christ Presbyterian Church in Minnesota, who by the way are visiting us for the 3rd time in 2 years. The group had loads of fun during their stay, seeing almost all the game.

Above: On arrival from their very exciting morning drive, the group take pictures in and around the lodge. Seen above is the first group who arrived on the 8th to 10th July 2012.

Excitement as the clients enjoy their evening sundown overlooking the Luangwa river on their last night with us.

As the winter approaches, the vegetation starts to dry up and the game becomes more visible for clients to view and there is more and more excitement on each safari. Although it is winter, for the first time in Luangwa it still feels like summer as temperatures have not changed and it still remains like the summer with high temperatures during the day. However, Julie despite the weather manages to go on every single safari, like seen below arriving for her bush breakfast.

Above: Julie and her safari guide Mr. Ashed Makukula in amusement as they arrive at their surprise bush breakfast cooked by our experienced chefs.

 Above: Watching the sunset from the banks of the Luangwa river on her last night at Mushroom Lodge this year with her favorite beer in hand—Mosi Lager

 A fire in the bush, what better way to watch the sun go down with all the animals and noises of the bush around you.

It has been a pretty busy over the last 2 weeks, as we welcomed back Julie, we also welcomed back our Brazilian group all the way from Mozambique—Tete. This time with a group of 26. The group consisting of different members each year and some repeat ones as well. They drive down every year for a 2 day safari at Mushroom Lodge. We had lots of events for them, including a bush fire sitting on the banks of the Luangwa river with delicious snacks served around the fire and loads of story telling amongst the group and their safari guides.

Above: The group arrives for their special sundown surprise on their last night, at Mushroom Lodge.

 Below: The excited group immediately start taking amazing pictures with the sun going down with the fire in the middle.

 Below: Luciana the group leader, brought her parents in-law, and it was their first time in Zambia and had a wonderful time as they take one last picture before departure.

Back to the grind and yet again Mushroom Lodge were on the road, this time all the way to the Kitwe for the Copperbelt Mining, Agricultural and Commercial Show. The show was held at the Kitwe Show grounds from the 30th May to the 3rd of June. As like last year, Mushroom Lodge worked hand in hand with the Zambia Tourism Board to offer the many places our beautiful country has to offer. This year we saw an increase in the number of exhibitors to 33 new exhibitors.

Above: The ZTB stand where Mushroom Lodge was exhibiting and received a lot of interesting visitors during the 4 day event.

During the show there was a tour of the stands by the Minister of Mines & Mineral Developments, Minister of Agriculture & Minister of Food & Fisheries. Seen above is Doris Kofi to the far right( Senior Marketing Manager—Domestic ZTB) welcoming the delegation to the stand to see what we had to show case.

We have to say congratulations to ZTB and ourselves, including GN Tours (who also on the stand and are a car hire company in Kitwe) for winning 2nd place for the best stand during the show. 1st place went to CEC and 3rd went to Zamtel. To put a good end to the show, Mushroom Lodge and ZTB recently appeared in the ZTB Lets Explore TV show that plays every Wednesday at 18:00hrs on ZNBC.  It was a good way of also getting the Nation as a whole to get to know the feed back we had from the show and how we are continuing as a team to promote domestic tourism around the Country.

Above: A photo after the Lets Explore show which was aired on TV on Wednesday the 6th of June. From the far right is Doris Kofi Senior Marketing Manager—Domestic, Patricia (from Zambezi Airlines), Caristo Chitamphia—Media Manager—ZTB, Antohony Matoka—( Zambezi Airlines) and Louise Ndhlovu—Reservations and Marketing—Mushroom Lodge.

Last but not the least, Mushroom Lodge yet again welcomes back Julie Howlet (below left), who is visiting us from the 10th of June for a total of 7 nights. This is Julie’s 5th consecutive visit and we have lots of surprises for her this time around. Welcome back Julie!!

  Taking you to the safari aspect of things, Mushroom Lodge hosted another group all the way from the UK who spent 2 nights with us and had an incredible time with lots of exciting safaris and a cultural show that was an amazing experience. The group arrived from Livingstone and arrived at the Mfuwe Airport around 12:30pm.On arrival at the lodge, the group had lunch and then headed off for their first night drive.

Above: Enjoying meal time after morning game drive.

Below: The group as seen below wave good bye upon their departure to the Airport for their flight back to Lusaka. The group did promise to be back with their families as they had a great time with us.