A quick overnighter.

[OnlyMark]

A couple of weeks ago we decided to treat ourselves to an overnight in a fairly posh lodge about 40km north of Lusaka. It's called the Protea Safari Lodge.
I'll get round to showing you more of the hotel in a minute, but as soon as we arrived we wanted to go and stretch our legs. The journey north from the capital should have been straightforward and only taken about 45 mins or so. But, due to a long length of road works whereby all the traffic was shunted onto a dirt track, and as it is the main road north with plenty of trucks, it took us nearly two hours.

The hotel is set in large grounds with its own sort of game reserve. I say sort of because the game consists of mostly deer and antelope. All well and good for us really as we wanted to go for a few walks in the countryside and not be bothered by predators deciding Mrs M would make a tasty meal. Me, they'd ignore. Too fatty and gamey.
We decided to have a stroll up the side of the dam/pond first. This was built forty or fifty years ago to form a place for fishermen when the land was originally a farm and then another lodge before the Marriott chain took over -










At the far side is an enclosure where they are keeping some lions. There are two older ones and two new ones they are for now, keeping separate. The idea is supposedly to introduce them back into the wild. I'm not so sure myself. I think they will be deemed "not suitable" and kept for the lodge guests to look at -














Mind you, the enclosure they have is quite large. This is just less than half of it –




I've stolen this photo from a website, it isn't mine. But I realised I'd not taken one of the room we had. This is similar –




Coming back round to the lodge and after a coffee or two, we noticed we weren't alone. Of the day and the next we were visited a number of times by the tame wildlife. They were quite happy to pose for photos -
























Tea on the lawn in the afternoon was the expected thing –




As was avoiding anything laying around also taking a siesta –





Or even a shower -




A few shots of how it is –










The pool looked good in the website photos, but does need a clear out more regularly -




Relaxing in the grounds for the adults and letting the kids blow off steam, seems to be the thing for the weekend –





We'll certainly be back as a short break to get out of the city, but I've no idea when yet.

[Baz Faz]

It looks really nice. Did you have to do your own cooking or was there a restaurant?

[OnlyMark]

There is a restaurant, the prices about the same as in a normal restaurant in Lusaka, thus not cheap but not too expensive. The buffet breakfast was included in the room rate and they did al la carte for lunch and dinner as well as a buffet if you preferred.

[shrjeff]

those low seat lawn chairs look awfully uncomfortable... the lady in the 'tea' picture looks rather contorted...

[OnlyMark]

She looks as though she has twisted round. I do have another photo of her where she us sitting normally. That couple spent virtually all day in that one spot so I'm not surprised they've altered position now and again. They had come for a day visit, which many people do. The photo later with the kids climbing frame shows the seats somewhat better. They are actually quite comfortable but seem to promote putting your feet up on the table.
This lady looks a lot more uncomfortable -

[slowcoach]

Pictures !!!

Putting captured/rescued/captive-raised predators back into the wild has to me, always seemed a bit of dubious activity. If there is wild for them to go to then wild predators will repopulated it very quickly given the chance.

[auntieannie]

It does look like a very comfy place to spend a weekend in.

[OnlyMark]

One major problem is that over the years there are areas where predators have been eradicated so that humans can benefit in one way or another. Then, due to civilisation taking over tracts of land, there is no way for predators from other areas to fill the void. Humans are now in the way. It is these places that they wish often to re-populate as there isn't an alternative.
One other obstacle is the growing trend to have walking safaris rather than vehicle based ones.

A man, famous in Zambia, called Norman Carr, in the 1950's persuaded a local chief to allow walking safaris on his land. Carr held to the principle that hunting was bad and the way to let the locals make the most money was by tourism. And rather than using vehicles the more environmental way was to walk. He pioneered this and especially the setting up of various camps, the idea was rather than set of from your camp, go for a walk and get back to the same camp, but to walk between camps.
As time has progressed this has evolved into a large number of camps/lodges in Zambia doing walking safaris, but, some of them want to have it bit easier, plus in response to demand from tourists who don't feel comfortable with a full on potentially dangerous situation, don't want predators in the area they are doing it. So they are somewhat reluctant to introduce them to an area previously denuded and where they have now set up their stall to make money.

There are though still many walking safaris that are in predator rich areas - but you are suitably guarded as you do them.

[OnlyMark]

Annie, to get out of the city and have a change and to relax/stretch your legs, it is.

[slowcoach]

Sept 4, 2017 11:16:52 GMT 2 OnlyMark said:

One major problem is that over the years there are areas where predators have been eradicated so that humans can benefit in one way or another. Then, due to civilisation taking over tracts of land, there is no way for predators from other areas to fill the void. Humans are now in the way. It is these places that they wish often to re-populate as there isn't an alternative.
One other obstacle is the growing trend to have walking safaris rather than vehicle based ones.

Then can it be called the wild?

I don't know how big these places aexre but if they are not huge and they are not connected together then they are not likely to be viable with out continual interventions, animal transfers, in and out, with all the darting, helicopter chases, and boma roundups, (so beloved by TV crews), that tends to be entailed.

I don't know how far they have got with KAZA TFCA (Kavango–Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area), but early on it was intended to allow free roaming so there would be large enough areas to support the African Wild Dog, and accommodate the whims of the 200,000+ elephants that roam those parts.

[OnlyMark]

Just to give an idea, the KAZA TFCA is comprised of parks in the west of Zambia. If you look at the following photo, you can see there are many others to the east as well. The most major for tourism purposes in the east being North and South Luangwa, though the Lower Zambezi is also very popular and a close second. KAZA, in the west, also misses out West Lunga, Nchila, Lochinvar and Blue Lagoon. So it is a good idea and is tied in with trying to make it so tourists only need to obtain one visa to visit all the countries (Zambia, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Botswana, Angola).

Only though Zambia and Zimbabwe currently allow this joining together regarding visas - bear in mind though this is also not a permanent arrangement and is subject to the whims of government but, more seriously and mundane, the are frequent times when the borders where you obtain the KAZA visa actually run out of the bloody things. It is a thing you stick in your passport and the printers don't seem to be able to keep up with demand.

The national parks in Zambia are -



A number of the smaller ones have currently little in the way of game. Game that fly in tourists would want to see. So they do need a lot of help and do struggle. They are improving though quite quickly, but probably not quickly enough. The spur to get them on their feet is private enterprise rather than the government. If someone/some company sees a money making opportunity then they will invest in getting the park stocked up, facilities built, infrastructure put in and conservation properly started. Otherwise the parks will end up as just bits of spare land.

As for the whole Transfrontier Conservation Area itself, well, let's just say cooperation between the various countries could be better. They know there is a conservation area and individually have the intentions of improving it and working together but practically is a different matter. It makes for good PR and I think that is about it.
Can they be called 'wild'?
I think mostly they can. The ones with little game, little in the way of any facilities and with just poorly maintained dirt tracks running around them are in my feeling, even more wild. To me it doesn't need hordes of game to make it so.

[kuskiwi]

It looks like a great place to sit relax and let the world take care of itself.

Thanks.

[Netsuke]

Keep the tales coming Mark. I so enjoy reading them and seeing the great photos. The one where the deer? is licking its lips its cute. The downside of today is the more people want to see, the further animals wild and otherwise get pushed further and further from the habitat. Humans don't see themselves as predators encroaching on the home of other species.