Zambezi Mubala Lodge & Camp
15-17 August 2023.
Time to leave the Cubango River, and head to the mighty Zambezi River. Fold up the tent, squash everything into Klippie, and hit the road, armed with crocheting and another Audible book to listen too. The road east follows what used to be known as the Caprivi Strip, now known as the Okavango Region of Namibia…a narrow finger of land sandwiched between Angola and Zambia to the north, and Botswana to the south. Zambezi Mubala camp is located just east of Katima Mulilo, a border town between Namibia and Zambia, and at the extreme end of the finger, which there, also borders on Zimbabwe.
Richard and I stayed at Mubala 5 years ago, and were excited to head back there…great fishing and birding. We were allocated a campsite just off the river, settled in, had a beer at the bar and planned the adventures for the next few days. We booked a boat for a sunset fishing cruise. Snacks, G&Ts, beers, water packed and off we headed, lines in the water, birds to see…fabulous!
After a while, Scott eventually landed a very nice Tiger fish, which is happily swimming back in the Zambezi. Just before camp, Richard got his fish! Happy husbands, happy wives ! Relief for me, as I have tried to find places where there is fishing…very happy me that Scott and Rich have at least one fish each under their belts.
We also got to see the majestic African Skimmers, gliding down the river, bills trailing in the water, skimming for their supper, in the glow of the sunset. It’s just something incredibly special to experience. The skimmers are currently breeding on the sandy islands that braid the Zambezi. The nests are a scrape in the sand. We saw no chicks, but the birds are sitting on eggs.
Next morning I joined another couple on a 2 hour guided birding boat trip up stream, while the men headed downstream fishing. Shelley chilled in camp. We encountered a great diversity of birds, including a couple of Little Bitterns skulking in the thick reeds along the shore. Apart from the wonderful birding, we encountered many crocodiles, a few water monitor lizards and watched a pod of grouchy hippos. I am always in awe of the people standing in the sterns of their mokoros, poling their way along the river, avoiding various physical and biological hazards, hauling in their fishing nets without tipping these narrow vessels over.
Back in camp for brunch, relax and some admin. Shelley and the men headed off for a sundowner fishing trip, while had my quiet time in camp, got the fire going for the braai and did a bit of reorganising.
A very special bird that occurs in this camp is the striking Schalow’s Turaco – deep green in colour, with some white fairy-light markings on their styled Mohawk feathers. I saw them there 5 years ago, and although they are shy, I was very happy to see three of them early in the morning and then in the late afternoon heading to their chosen tree to roost in. Awful photos, as the light etc was just wrong, so find a picture to see how beautiful they are.
