Hey folks,
An unscheduled trip out of the bush and back into the village of Kalabo tonight. A few days in the park so far, and I've been blown away. Sure,we've seen lions and a lion's share of hyaenas. No wild dogs yet, as they're proving to be difficult to find (huge home ranges). But the most impressive thing so far has been the copious amounts of large birds. Storks, cranes, vultures, eagles, and more. Hundreds of them. Everywhere. This place is a birder's paradise!
Anyway, this is only a quick email to jot down a couple noteworthy events, and then I have to hand the computer off.
1. My first night in Liuwa Plain. A massive lightning and thunder storm, along with heavy rains. Lightning illuminating our camp, tent-shaking thunder. And lions calling eachother/roaring throughout the night, within earshot of my bunk. I can't express the sensation in such a quick email, but you could say the feeling was electrifying lying under that huge lightning with lions roaring nearby! I layed awake for hours listening to the show...
2. Two nights ago, one of the wildlife scouts (a Zambian from a nearby village who knows the area very well and can search for some of the animals being studied) took one of our vehicles to go visit his wife near the Angolan border. We expected him back by about 6 pm. He didn't show. We went so sleep. Woke up the next morning (today), and he still wasn't at camp. We called around on the radio and couldn't find him. Then a few hours later, we received a report that he had broken down at his wife's village, and we needed to go to his location to fix the flat tire and drive teh vehicle back to camp. (Don't worry. This part of the Angolan border is completely safe and filled with Barotse fishermen who don't really have any issues with the political border between the two countries. They are all very friendly and all smiles; no spooky Angolan interactions, but we weren't even in the country anyway). We arrived at his wife's village, which was entirely remote, all reed huts with maize fields and robust gardens, no electricity or plumbing, and about 50 residents. We found the vehicle and realized that the tire was irreprable, so we improvised a way to get another vehicle out to it tomorrow to fix/tow it back to Kalabo for proper repairs. Keep in mind this is perhaps the most remote place I've ever been, with no roads other than dirt tracks that lead into the flat plains (easy to navigate with a GPS, but not exactly an accessible location for a repair). And the whole while, us four white faces were discussing this plan amongst a village of Barotse, who all congregated around us and stared at us the entire time. I wish I could write more about how surreal and otherworldly the whole situation felt, but I'm running out of time for this email. Just know that although we had a bad situation with a vehicle that seriously disrupts the research being done, I couldn't help but laugh at the situation and wonder how the hell I found myself in a remote Barotse fishing village 2 miles from Angola... As we left, everyone smiled and waved and gave us thumbs ups.... The vehicle is still there, so we have to go retrieve it eventually...
Alright. I have tons more to dispatch, but there just isn't any more time tonight. I'll write again soon, but know that things are well, I'm seeing some incredible wildlife and birdlife, experiencing things I never imagined and having to problem solve in the most surreal locations... I'm having a great time! But I wish I could chat with you all, as well... I'll be able to in no time...
Hope everyone is well. Talk to you soon!
Daven
And please pass this along to anyone who I forgot on the email list. I'm in a rush and I just jotted down the names that came to mind the quickest... Thanks!
A flock of crowned cranes prancing around the grass in the early morning.
Two saddle-billed storks stretching their legs out near a wildbeest bull. These storks were almost as tall as the wildebeest, which were no small ungulates themselves...
Perhaps one of the most remote places I've ever been. This Lozi village is the home of our scout's wife, where our vehicle broke down. We were a few stones' throws from the Angolan border, and I'm pretty sure I can guess how many white faces, let alone strange looking four wheel drive golf carts they've seen in their lives. Lozi is the most commonly spoken language of the Barotse people, who inhabit much of Western Province, Zambia and some of eastern Angola. I have to admit, I felt somewhat uncomfortable and perhaps a little nervous taking a couple photos of this village...
Kalabo town. This dirt road led to African Parks housing, where I could send text messages and emails back to the States. Kalabo used to have a fair amount of money, as it was formerly a sizeable tradepost in the Angolan diamond trade.
Later in the fall I flew over Liuwa Plain with the BBC film crew, hoping to track a certain pack of wild dogs (which we eventually did). This shot was taken as we flew over the bustling Kalabo en route to the park.
No comments:
Post a Comment