|
Nyati – The Home
Of The
Buffalo
Nyati Safari
Lodge is another new lodge in the Lower Zambezi area which, like Ana
Tree Lodge, opened its door to the public in June of this year.
I first heard of
Nyati in April when I met Robert Ambroise, a travel agent from
Mauritius (Nyati is Mauritian owned) and following on from that
meeting, arranged to visit the Lodge when they were properly open.
Sadly, I could
only manage the time for one night at Nyati, but a trip was long
overdue – I was starting to feel claustrophobic in Lusaka and needed
to get away. I set off around 8 am on Saturday morning and as soon
as I was on the road, past Chilanga, I felt relaxed, so relaxed that
being stuck behind one of my brother’s copper-carrying trucks
through the escarpment did not phase me – I sat behind it until we
got to the bottom of the escarpment and only then did I pass it. I
then pulled in at Oasis (between the Siavonga turnoff and Chirundu,)
not for something to eat, but to take a look at the new mining
equipment that was coming in and, of course, the check which mine it
was going to (Kansanshi).
 Then
I was onto the dirt road (which is not too bad) and turned off to
Gwabi Lodge – I had taken the easy option and arranged for them to
pick me up so that I could transfer by boat to Nyati. I was early
so had time for a cup of coffee at Gwabi and to take a look at how
things are going there (for those who have not ever been to Gwabi,
you should think about a couple of days down there – it’s an easy
drive and the lodge is in a beautiful setting overlooking the Kafue
River – a good place to relax.)
I was still
having my coffee when I was approached by John, the driver/guide
from Nyati, just letting me know that he had arrived and when I was
ready, we could set off.
At this time of
the year, being out on the river is a pleasure – it is warm, but not
too hot although the sun is still fairly fierce and I did have the
tell-tale tan marks of my sunglasses after the trip. Along the way,
we saw the usual elephant and hippo but were also lucky enough to
see some buffalo and some waterbuck (which John pointed out before I
could even see any brown specks in the grass) and of course, a large
number and variety of birds – Grey Herons, Goliath Herons and so on.
John is obviously a very experienced guide and certainly knows the
river and exactly where the sandbanks are. John is also a fellow
Chilapalapa speaker, so we both took the opportunity to polish up on
our disappearing skills.
On arrival at
Nyati, I was warmly greeted by Tony and Shirley Fouche, the
managers, and after much talking and asking questions, we sat down
to a delicious lunch (it always amazes me how these lodges, miles
away from civilization and supplies, manage to have fresh salads and
fruit available.) After lunch, I trundled along the raised wooden
walkway to my tented chalet thinking that I would sit on the veranda
overlooking the river and read until we went off on a river cruise
at 4 pm. Read I did, but only for about five minutes, by which time
my eyes had closed and my book had fallen off my lap.
Nyati Lodge is
located in one of the areas where the banks of the Zambezi are not
very steep and running down alongside the lodge is a dry riverbed.
The area surrounding the lodge has also been left undisturbed with
its natural bush grass and plants and the game in the area makes its
way down to the river along the paths they have used for years, and
all right in front of the lodge. When I made my way to the bar area,
a group of elephants had come down the riverbed and were playing in
the water – what a sight, and there I was, within thirty metres of
them. One of the elephants had lost part of his trunk (probably from
a snare) and had had to adapt his way of drinking, which he did by
dropping lower into the water, turning his trunk up a little and
pouring the water into his mouth (and we think man is the cleverest
of animals?)
Out on the river,
it was more elephant, hippo, buck, crocs and buffalo and it soon
became apparent to me that Tony’s most favourite animal is the
buffalo. But he also has an enormous amount of knowledge on the
birds and trees of the area – I only wish that I could remember all
that he told me – it was almost an information overload. We also
spotted a heron that had caught an enormous fish and was trying to
hide behind a bush, whilst trying to swallow it. As the sun set,
the river turned to gold, as it does, but with it came the cold;
time to get back to the lodge where we warmed ourselves round an
enormous fire.
 I
don’t want to think about dinner that evening because I ate far too
much, especially of the roast beef and Yorkshire pudding so will
skip those details. But whilst we were chatting at the table after
dinner, we heard a series of gun shots. Contact! And I could see
that Tony had work to do, so decided to go off to my tent for a hot,
hot shower and into bed. Nyati employs a number of community scouts
and provides them with their rations, uniforms and other things
required for anti-poaching. Their patrols are done in conjunction
with scouts from ZAWA. Later on that night, there were more shots
heard and early next morning, the scouts were at the Lodge with the
captured gun and having chased off some poachers – a good nights
work.
Early on Sunday
morning, we were to take a drive into the LZNP. From Nyati it takes
about thirty minutes before you enter the park, but there is much
game to see along the way, including one elephant who wanted to play
games – he was strolling along the road in the same direction as us
and knowing that we were there, continued with his leisurely stroll
for some time. He then turned around, took a look at us and turned
to the side of the road and pretended to have a bite of breakfast.
Then he was back to his strolling and would, from time to time, turn
around, take a good look at us and give us a good ear-flap before
turning back to his stroll. Eventually he made his way off the road
and we were able to continue.
At the park
entrance, there was paperwork to be done and payments to be made.
But be careful – the ZAWA official said K 31,000 was my entry fee
and I had to question this because as far as I was concerned, park
entry for Zambian citizens was K 25,000. He had assumed that I was a
resident, but on production of my green ‘reg’ this was settled.
Within a few
minutes of entering the park, we sighted two hyena who were going
about their business and in the immediate vicinity, some very uneasy
impala. I have not seen hyena for many years, so it was quite a
thrill but they disappeared into the bush far too quickly.
After much game
viewing and visiting different waterholes, we arrived back at Nyati
to a delicious brunch and then I was back on the boat, back up to
Gwabi and home. Until my next visit.
For bookings and
information, contact telephone 01 223-608 or email
|
July 2004