Campsite at Flatdogs
We arrived at Flat Dogs Camp at noon. Flatdogs is located in [[Mfuwe]]. The native language here is [[Nyanja]], the same as in Lusaka.
We were lucky enough to get a campsite that had a tree platform for our tent. The camp has these platforms because the wildlife commonly roams the campgrounds during the evenings. We were directred to our site and then set up our tent and made some pasta for lunch over John’s kerosene stove. After lunch, we took a walk to the nearby Luanga River to see the hippos. Hippos have no sweat glands so often hang out in water during the daytime to cool themselves. Hippos stay mostly submerged with only their noses sticking out above the water to breath though they can stay completely submerged for up to six minutes. Towards the end of a day, the hippos will stick their heads up out of the water and yawn. This is done to jumpstart blood flow throughout the body in preparation of leaving the water to head onto land for nighttime. At night, hippos will commonly feed on grass, sausage fruit, and Nile cabbage.
Food storage shack at Flatdogs
We put our food in a special house so the animals (mostly baboons and monkeys) don’t come through our campsite and take it. The house is completely sealed with mesh wire and has a special latch. It also contained outlets by which to hook up appliances for cooking, such as a hotplate. The small shack also contained a refrigerator for keeping perishable items.
Laura and Robert Malone
During this time, we met a couple from Austin, TX. They were retired teachers and have traveled much through Africa. Their names were Robert and Laura Malone. We also met two girls from England who recently finished medical school and were in Zambia volunteering at a hospital. Their names were Charlie and Bex.
Before we left the campsite, Robert and Laura exchanged contact information with me. They have a travel blog at http://malonetravels2.blogspot.com.
Flatdogs had an Internet Cafe on site, the only Internet cafe in the Bush as they advertised. I checked my Facebook at this time to let my family know I arrived safely there.
Safari vehicle
We went on a night safari this evening, our first safari of four at the camp. The safari was a driving tour through the [[South Luangwa National Park]]. We drove in modified Toyota Land Cruisers. The safari was four hours in length with a half an hour break for drinks and snacks. We had two hours of daylight and two of nighttime. The nighttime part was the better half. We drove right through a pride of lions and encoutered a single lion that was no more than ten feet away. It was incredible! During this safari, we saw: [[giraffe]]s, [[water buck]], [[bush buck]], [[civet]]s, [[impala]]s, pride of lions, many species of birds, [[hyena]]s, [[warthog]]s, [[elephant]]s, [[baboon]]s, [[hippo]]s, [[zebra]]s, [[crocodile]]s, and a [[leopard]] hunting impalas.
Zebra grazing
The night sky in the park was incredible; it was entirely filled with stars all the way to the horizon. You could clearly see the cloudy Milky Way as well as the [[Southern Cross]] constellation — absolutly amazing!
The Malone’s came with us on this safari and their experiences about it, including pictures, can be found at http://malonetravels2.blogspot.com/2009/05/lion-on-hunt-night-game-drive.html
A hippo at our campsite at night
When we arrived back at our campsite, I attempted to brush my teeth. I went up into our tree platform to fetch my stuff and began to climb down the ladder when I heard some rustling below me. I originally thought it was John just goofing off. When I turned around though, I saw a huge hippo next to our sink! I climbed back up the ladder and waited for the hippo to finish grazing and leave our campsite. Visitations by hippos were something we would experience nightly at our campsite over the next few days.
I had a cold today — sore throat and a stuffy nose.